Episode 81 - Today’s episode includes interviews with some of the podium finishers from the Georgia Spartan Race. You will hear from Alec Blenis, Elliott Megquier, David Magida, Sarah Pozdol, Valerie Smith, Amanda Ricciardi, Kristine Iotte, and TyAnn Clark. We wrap up the episode with an interview Mike Morris, Vice President of Production at Spartan Race, about all those obstacle specs you’ve been dying to know. We are sponsored today by Xtreme Ranger. Check them out on May 17, 2014 in Dahlonega...
Mar 13, 2014•48 min
Episode 80 - Today’s episode features an interview with Hannah Thompson of the Cupid Undies Run. You will learn why Matt B dediced to run his underwear (or did he), and the great cause they are up to over at CUR. Also, we have a nice chat with Dr. Eric Richards and Andrew Griffin of The Garage Games/Firebreather Challenge. You will hear what has worked and not worked for them about putting on obstacle races, and where they are going with crossfit competitions, OCR, and adventure racing. (enduran...
Feb 27, 2014•54 min
Episode 79 - The episode kicks off talking to Race Director Brian Sharenow of The Bad Ass Dash. They are an obstacle racing series which not only survived last year but thrived and added some new elements for 2014. Then we look at the long awaited first race of Extreme Nation. The $40,000 cash purse attracted some of the best OCR athletes in the country. You will hear many on site interviews including Ella Kocuiba, Alec Blenis, David Magida, Hunter McIntyre, Janice Marie Ferguson, Hobie Call and...
Feb 14, 2014•57 min
Episode 78 - Matt B. went to California last week to take on the Temecula Spartan Sprint. He got a chance to meet lots of great west coast folks while visiting, which inspired this episode. You will hear the meeting of the podcast minds, as he sits down with Laurie Hale of the Getting Dirty Podcast. He also plays an interview with Ernesto Gonzales. Ernesto took on the 5 Race Rodina Challenge with some interesting results. Today's episode is sponsored by Goliathon.com. It's not a race, it's a mis...
Feb 06, 20140
Episode 77-Michael Mills lost the use of his legs in 1993. We met him a year ago when we helped put a group together to help him climb Stone Mountain. Later in 2013, he went on to be the first paralyzed athlete to complete the Georgia Spartan Sprint and the Carolina Spartan Beast. He also participated in the 2013 Peak Races Summer Death Race. His stories have been featured in blogs posts and Facebook and have been an inspiration to many. We finally got a chance to sit down for an interview with ...
Jan 24, 2014•45 min
Episode 76 - The first episode of 2014 is the last episode on the 2013 World's Toughest Mudder. Matt had phone conversations with Male winner Ryan Atkins and 2nd place female Maggi Thorne. We get their thoughts a few days after the event was over and they had some time to reflect on their accomplishments. This episode is sponsored by Kimbia Racing.
Jan 03, 2014•37 min
Episode 75- You may want to listen to Parts I and II before proceeding. Part 3 picks up where we left off, early Sunday Morning, November 17th in Englishtown, NJ. We talk to the following people at or near the end of the race. Team 3 AM Waterfalls Megan Jaswell Junyong Pak Deanna Blegg Ryan Atkins Amy Pajcic A few days later, we checked in via phone with Deanna, The guys from 3AM, and Pak to see how they felt after the race. This means there will still be a Part IV to get more post race reaction...
Dec 18, 2013•1 hr 26 min
Episode 74-We pick up on the World’s Toughest Mudder on Saturday morning November 16th prior to the start of the race. This episode will take us through to about 5am on Sunday the 17th. You will hear from some of the folks from the previous episode plus: Nele Schulze Laurence Borst Team Sons of Poseiden Team Four Horsemen Todd Sedlak Team Shark School Amelia Boone And some volunteers and staff from TMHQ.
Dec 12, 2013•58 min
Episode 73-Today's interviews start on Friday November 15, 2013 as we meet some of the participants from this year's World's Toughest Mudder. In this episode, you will hear from the following: Dustin Partridge Morgan Mckay Nolan Kombal Bryce Wilk Team Boston Strongmen Nick Conklin Junyong Pak Maggi Thorne Olof Dallner Ken Jacobus Team Rogue Miami Gus Bisbal Patrick Slevin In later episodes, we will check back in with some of these people and meet some new ones as well. Let's dig in shall we?...
Nov 27, 20130
Episode 72 Fred Smith joins Matt for a chat about their get together a few weekends ago. The Smithfest Events crew brought Matt up to Boston to experience Panic In The Dark and a sneak peak into their mayhem behind the scenes. Listen in to learn about how Panic went and how Matt and Fred bonded for life at 4:00am. The 2nd interview in today's episode is with Jon Watson of JWatsonTV . Jon is the only guy we know that actually gets paid to run around with his GoPro. Jeff Marier (ORM's videographer...
Nov 14, 2013•49 min
Episode 71-Yesterday, Run For Your Lives cancelled all future events including one this weekend. This morning Ruckus Events cancelled their Boston event which was also scheduled for this weekend. Just when we were all wondering when will the madness stop? When many were thinking "Will I ever be able to register for a race put on by anyone but the Big 3 and feel confident the race will happen?" Jeff Suffolk from Human Movement Management contacted Obstacle Racing Media and said "No Mas". Human Mo...
Oct 31, 2013•40 min
Episode 70-In this week’s episode Matt first talks to Tanner Bell of Ragnar Events. If you have thought about doing a Ragnar Relay, this will be a great listen. This is a cool dude who puts on great events for runners nationwide. Also, Jonathan Nolan from CornFed Spartans came back on the show to talk about just what happened on Day 4 of what was a 3 day Summer Death Race. He also talks about the difference between the Joe Desena/Andy Weinberg insanity of a Death Race and the Joe and Nicole Deck...
Oct 24, 2013•51 min
Episode 69-In today's show, we revisit a couple of events from previous episodes. Sam Abbitt is the founder and CEO of Savage Race . We first met him back on Episode 7 in July of 2012. Since then, Savage has put on many successful races in several markets. We catch up with Sam to find out what they are doing right and what is next. Next we catch up with Hunter Brucks, the new "man with the plan" over at Extreme Nation . EN has resurfaced and their first event is scheduled near Tampa, Florida in ...
Oct 17, 2013•44 min
Episode 68- In this episode, you will hear from several elite racers shortly after they crossed the finish line at the hardest obstacle race any of them have done up to this point. Listen in as these racers share their triumphs, lessons, and disappointments. There are interviews with the following: Men: Hobie Call -1st, Matt Murphy- 2nd James Appleton-7th, Alec Blenis-14th , Matt Novakovich-18th Women: Amelia Boone -1st, Claude Godbout -3rd Complete results from that race can be found here . Tod...
Oct 10, 2013•49 min
Episode 67-In part one of our coverage of this year's Spartan World Championship, Matt B. talks to several racers the night before the Vermont Beast Championship Race. There was $15,000 in first place prize money on the line along with thousands more for podium and top ten finishes. It was great to talk to these guys the night before the race to see how they were feeling. First up is a nice chat with David Magida and Matt Murphy who duke it out verbally the night before they were to duke it out ...
Oct 04, 2013•52 min
Episode 66-This week Matt talks with Cristina Devito of Mudderella and Paul Jones of the New England Sphatens . Cristina Devito used to be the Chief Strategy Officer at Tough Mudder. She tells us all about how she launched Mudderella and how they plan to take over the women’s mud run world. They have 20 races in the USA, 3 in the UK and 4 in Australia planned for 2014. Also, It turns out guys can run too. Learn how they can sign up and the other reasons Mudderealla believes they have created the...
Sep 18, 2013•43 min
Episode 65-Matt talks with Kelly Perez and finds out everything you always wanted to know about The X-Rated Run , but were afraid to ask. Then, Matt talks to Jeff Rondina and learns just how he pulled of running 5 different races in a 13-hour period. Last we hear a quick chat with Nic Zahasky, elite racer and founder of Barrel Aid . Barrel Aid directly helps children in Haiti by providing shoees and water filtration....
Sep 11, 2013•58 min
Episode 64. In this episode, Matt talks to several athletes from the 8.24.13 Spartan in Virginia. With 8000 feet of elevation change over 8 miles, everyone said it was harder terrain that last year's Vermont Beast. You will hear from the following: Matt Novakovich-the Alaskan that showed up to his first ever Spartan, did zero burpees, and beat Hobie by 5 minutes. Trish Blackwell-The woman who Matt challenged to finish top ten in her first Spartan and she promptly took 2nd on Sunday. Elise Fugows...
Sep 04, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Episode 63-Joe Desena was on CNBC this morning, you can watch the clip here. I was under the impression that it would be an intelligent conversation about OCR, the growth of the sport, and/or sponsorship dollars. It was not. This gave me a great excuse to call Joe and talk about anything that changed since we last spoke about the big Vermont race. I also wanted to see how he thought the CNBC piece went. Please listen very close to the end of the first segment with Joe for some sage advice. I was...
Aug 21, 2013•1 hr 13 min
Episode 62-Inspired by the demise of Hero Rush and the outcries on facebook that followed, I begin this episode talking about what a scam is or isn't. I then play an interview with Randy Yolo of Mud Endeavor . Randy puts on small, local, high quality, obstacle races with great success. We talk about how simple doesn't mean easy in OCR and how you can build a strong following by doing a few things really well. Next up is Josue Stevens, the man behind Hunter Gatherer . Josue's FuegoYAgua Survival ...
Aug 15, 2013•56 min
Episode 61-The interviews in this episode kick off with a short call I had with Joe DeSena. He talks about the recent "Spartan Rash" that occured at the recent Spartan Race in Illinois. He also talks about a TV show in the works for NBC. I then, sort of, beg for a job. Next, I speak with 3 2013 Summer Death Race finishers. Amelia Boone, Olof Dallner, and Pete Coleman. These 3 all got skulls which means they did everything (or almost everything) asked and outlasted everyone else over the course o...
Aug 06, 2013•1 hr 28 min
(Episode 60) I met Jason Pittman earlier this year through a mutual friend, and we decided to go for an early morning run. I was surprised to discover that Jason had spent the last 15 years working in the Atlanta rock and hip-hop scene. He produced, managed and booked everyone imaginable. His list of heavy hitters includes: Lil John, Bone Crusher, Ying Yang Twins, Too $hort, and David Banner. Find out all of the ways that Jason stayed in the mix. Also hear about his big break in 2007, producing ...
Jul 30, 2013•1 hr 9 min
In today's episode (Episode 59), we interview folks from 3 very different events. UQuest is part scavenger hunt, part scavenger hunt, part unknown. Matt spoke with Anthony Murph, founder, and Steph Dennis, event director in their Atlanta office. Alex ThunderDart Martin, in his first assignment as West Coast Ops, interviews some people behind Alpha Warrior . He sat down with David Nolan and Joe and Mike Timmons, the 3 men behind the concept of this obstacle only event. He also spent a few minutes...
Jul 24, 2013•1 hr 12 min
Part Two picks up on Friday evening June 21. We begin with Andy Weinberg speaking to the familes and crew members shortly after the athletes were sent off to build the "Stairway to Heaven". As we continue on, we give you a sneak peek inside the mind of Joe Desena as we followed him around as much as possible. You'll hear how he deals with the racers as they decide to quit, keep going, or in one case, beg to be DQ'd. We also catch some various racers thoughts and feelings throughout the next 48-7...
Jul 19, 2013•52 min
You probably have not heard of Mandy Baskin. At first glance, she is just an average 38 year old woman who happens to run a hot-air balloon company. Look closer and you will find an athletic champion. She was the 3rd place woman at least year's World's Toughest Mudder completing an impressive 6 laps. She was the only woman to do that other than Amelia Boone, and Deanna Blegg. Then in March of this year, she won the very muddy, very wet Sunday race at the Carolina Spartan Sprint. Our 2nd intervie...
Jul 15, 2013•1 hr
In this long awaited episode we take you to Pittsfield Vermont for Part One of the 2013 Summer Death Race. We begin our journey on Thursday June 20th and talk to some racers as they enjoy their "last meal" before the big event. This leads us to Friday morning's registration, the first tasks, veteran shenanigans, and some other fun interviews all recorded live from Pittsfield. Like the World's Toughest Mudder and Fuego y Agua episodes that precededed it, we hope the voices and sounds that you hea...
Jul 10, 2013•1 hr 6 min
I met Ernest Miller through a mutual OCR friend. As I have gotten to know Ernest, I have been fascinated at how quiet, cool, and humble this dude is. Quite the opposite of his character "The Cat" that he portrayed as a professional wrestler for many years. Back in his WCW and WWE days, he was a heel (bad guy) that people loved to hate. We sat down and talked about wrestling, acting, OCR, and how being a nice guy has helped him finish first. Click here to hear the full version of The Cat's wrestl...
Jul 01, 2013•1 hr 4 min
I was very skeptical about The O-Run Team Challenge . Del Boykin told me what almost every race director tells me. That his race is going to kick my butt and will exhaust me. I was pleasantly surprised when 3 friends and I took on the event recently here in Georgia. The obstacles were as heavy/difficult/challenging as any I have come across. (yes, including a Spartan). Listen in as I talk to Del about his race and how he can replicate this awesome event in other places. Recently, Tough Mudder de...
Jun 12, 2013•1 hr 6 min
Elliot Megquier is known for one thing. Making the podium (usually first) at Sunday Spartan Races. Wait, two things. He is also known for getting lost a lot. Make that three things, he also talks a lot of smack before, during, and after his races. The Rising Tribe is the first OCR where you actually race with your family (as opposed to the children running the kids race later in the day). Listen in to hear how Gary Xavier and his team plan to bring this whole new approach to obstacle racing and ...
Jun 04, 2013•1 hr 1 min
If you have not heard by now. Hobie Call lost for the first time in any obstacle race less than half marathon distance. He was beaten by Hunter "The Sheriff" McIntyre at the Superhero Scramble Intimidator in Clermont, Florida on Saturday. With less than a mile to go, he was actually in 5th place before turning it on to finish 2nd. In today's episode, you will hear interviews with Hobie, Hunter, and David Magida. David placed 4th less than 30 seconds behind Hobie. They will all talk about how imp...
May 28, 2013•1 hr 5 min
