Adventury or now Adventury- are we in a sport with to many championships?

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About 1 week prior to Adventury world champs I posted about me reason to compete / not compete in Adventury world champs, and you can see what I wrote in the blog post below. (Read post here or below)

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Instagram Post:

"Adventury OCRWC or No OCRWC? That’s the question 🤔 .. and it hasn’t been an easy one😅

The venue of Mammoth looks absolutely stunning, but on the other hand, it is a very hard venue to travel to & compete in (especially for sea-level athletes living in Europe).

To be honest, I enjoy OCR with more obstacles, and is more reminiscent of Danish/European OCR. When that is said, I like to race both European & US “style” as I see it as a challenge to do both versions. Racing like this does though require a lot of preparation for the different “versions” of OCR races.

I chose for 2023 to focus on the World Champs in Belgium & doing well in the Spartan NorAm 3K elite series. To ready for the Mexico race (in the height) I am currently at an altitude camp in Colorado, which should preferably be uninterrupted for the next 2 weeks 💪

So No, I will unfortunately not be attending @ocrwc. FOMO of missing out on Adventury this year will be extremely high, as this race has always had a big place in my OCR heart, but this year I simply can’t make it align with my other priorities.

I have had a good streak with @ocrwc competing since 2015 in Ohio (🥇in 18-24 age group) until 2022 finally taking the TOP spot at the 3K distance 🏆 .. feels like a good long love story 🤩😝

I hope to compete in this event again in the future 🙏🏻🙌 but I would wish to see a more considerate choice of venue if Adventury wants to keep seeing European athletes come and be a part of this event 🧐❗️

I wish everyone racing next weekend an amazing time 🙌🔥”

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Reflections about an erea of many World Championships in OCR

It's indeed a challenging and exciting time to be an athletes in a sport with many opportunities to partake in a world championships within Obstacle Racing. Though, I feel competing as an high-performance athletes, that such multitude of championship events make sit extremly hard to managing my race calendar and prioritizing A-races.

Here are a few of my reflections, which helped me alot in my porcess of considering what to race & not race. Maybe it can be helpful to you to:

1. Define Your Goals:

Identify your primary goals for the season. What championships or events matter most to you? Is there a particular title you're aiming for? Accept you can’t do them all (yes I know this us hard, but you need to give yourself some mental and physical peaks of the season, to avoid burn-out etc. For me, I find that maximum 2 of what i call A races each season. Eg. in 2022, for me this was the FISO European Championships in Hungary, and the FISO World Championships, Belgium.

2. Prioritize Races in A, B & C:

Select your two A-races, and then look over your race calender, on the rest of the races, and prioritize these as B, C and sometimes even training taces. A-races  should be the ones you prioritize in terms of training (I likke to have a min 8 week blog leading into these races), to rest, and to reach peak performance. 

B races are important to, but here a 3 week build up / specialization is enough for me. I would still take proper rest around these races.

C races, here I don't alter my training, but I still make sure to revover the day before +after, to ensure I don't get overloaded.

Lastly, you can have races wuth are training races - that just is a par of eg. your Sunday long run, or threshold session. Make sure though for these, you don't get mentally carried away of watining to race/push to hard, and ensure to take these as training.

3. Consult with a Coach:

If possible, work with a coach who can help you plan your season strategically. I used my coach Thomas Johansson for many years, where we schedule our the session together. A personal coach can provide guidance on training cycles, recovery periods, and race selection based on your individual strengths and weaknesses.

4. Flexible Approach:

Stay adaptable. Thats how athlete life is. While having A-races is essential, be prepared to adjust your plans based on how your body responds and unforeseen circumstances. Don't be to rigid about the races you planned, and make sure to keep an open mind if eg. you feel to burned out to do a B or C race, is this important enough? or it is better to keep focus on yout training and building for a A race.

‍5. Enjoy the Journey:

Remember why you started in the first place – the love for the sport. Maintaining a positive mindset is crucial for long-term success, and is not always easy. I can get caught up in doing races for prestige, fame, money, but most importantly I try to remember - THIS IS NOT WHY I STARTED RACING. I remember, I do it because I love my sport, I love the way of training, and how it makes me feel strong and all-around healthy, I enjoy the OCR community etc. Love the lifestyle and progression in pushing myself to the limit, and for me seeing progress is most important either mentally or physically .

6. Learn from Experience:

Reflect on past seasons and races. What worked well? What could be improved? Use this knowledge to refine your approach and continually evolve as an athlete.

7. Community and Support:

Engage with the OCR community. Share experiences, tips, and support with fellow athletes. Building a strong support network can make the challenges more manageable. A bit like what I am trying with this blog post - to do with you guys!

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And remeber to stay awesome, and be kind to yourself and the journey you are on!

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