The DRX GAMES were created by the good people at Dirt Runner, the permanent OCR location in Marseilles Illinois, to challenge athletes of different backgrounds in OCR type challenges. Held on a monthly basis starting last April, and culminating in September with two different championships for DRX GAMES and DRX DASH. Competitors are required to complete a series of different OCR challenges and a short course loaded with obstacles that will leave you breathless. Dirt Runner was the original home of the Illinois Spartan Race for 5 years and also hosted Illinois Battlefrog. Most of us in the Midwest cut our Spartan teeth on this course and it holds a warm spot in many of our racing hearts.
In addition to the DRX GAMES, Dirt Runner also offers the DRX DASH (300yd short distance ocr with 25+ obstacles, the WARRIOR RUSH a summer version and winter version (a 2-mile course with 50+ obstacles) the MIDWEST MAYHEM (a 4-mile with 60+ obstacles), a DRX BRUTE (a strength ocr competition) DRX DIRTATHLON (an ocr Triathlon), and a Halloween zombie run.
Midwest Mayhem and Warrior Rush where an athlete has a choice of running a longer and shorter obstacle course as many times as possible in an hour, a strength only event,and a series of night runs. When I found out Dirt Runner was starting to offer up different events I was on board right away!
The DRX-GAMES is my favorite series at Dirt Runner. Scoring in the DRX Games depends on the number of people competing: if say 30 people are competing then 30 points are awarded to the first place finisher in a given event, 29 to second place, 28 to third place, all the way down the line. Scores are added up after all the events are completed and a champion with the most points is named. The kids’ race functions the same way and is an awesome way for your children to work on their overall skills. The first challenge is one that almost everyone hates and needs practice at. Dirt Runner has set up hay bales on stands for a best of five spear throw where points are prorated. How many of us couldn’t use extra spear practice right? How many of us have seen a great race ruined by a missed spear throw and the 30 burpee penalty? If more spear throwing practice is what you want either come early or stay late and throw as many as you want!
Challenge number two is a challenge of strength and power. Competitors line up in a row behind identical 275 pound farm tires and flip them as many times as possible in 60 seconds. Volunteers count the number of reps to prevent cheating, and by the time you finish, your heart is pounding through your chest! Female competitors get off a bit easier on this one. Females must only flip identical semi tires for the same 60 second time limit. Next up is a test of strength and speed: the Atlas Stone carry for time. Set along a 15yd course, male competitors must pick up and do a down and back with a series of three different weighted atlas stones. The weight of the male stones is 40, 72, and 120 pounds with the females lugging around 40, and then two trips with the 72 pound stone. If your grip was starting to fail you now you don’t really want to see what’s next. It’s the Dirt Runner version of the Bucket Brigade! Set along a 25yd course competitor’s carry two 5 gallon buckets down and back, drop one off and then race down and back with just one bucket for time. Male buckets are filled to the top with gravel and sealed while female buckets are not completely filled.
Next up is the Amazonian tire pull and drag. Set along a 30yd course identical 75 pound tires tied to ropes are set in a row. Competitors line up behind wooden posts anchored horizontally into the ground, take a seat and start pulling. Once your tire touches the wooden plank one must drag the tire back down the course till the rope is pulled tight, race back to the post and pull again. The timed event isn’t finished till an athlete drags the tire back down all the way and races past the wooden post. One of the newly added substitute events is a 5 foot long telephone pole flip for time. This was added as a way to beef up and improve a constantly changing course.
The final timed challenge is what can only be described as the mother of all short OCR courses. Both male and female athletes line up 5 wide along an obstacle-rich 300-yard course with very little running between obstacles. Competitors crawl under a metal tube and under barbed wire navigating a series of wooden posts in their way followed up immediately with an over and under obstacle. Dirt Runner used massive logs on this guaranteeing to make it a splinter filled joy. Next up is an Ares spear gamble where a miss will cost you a time killing 20 burpees. Though, you do get redemption opportunity to throw again. If you make it, you are good to go. If you don’t, you will have to do 50 burpees. Strength comes into play once again over the next three obstacles. A down and back tire flip with a semi tire is followed by an atlas stone carry which leads right into an athlete picking up a large log and a dip into a pond where you must carry your new wooden buddy across and dump him on the other side. Once complete it’s down into the mud for a low crawl under another metal tub and on to a spinning log test of balance. So you say you like to climb? Great! Next up is a 9-foot wall to climb over followed by a delta ladder and then over an inverted wall all back to back. After a short swim, it’s back into the mud for a barbed wire low crawl leading to the legendary Dirt Runner slip wall where a failure to climb will cost you another 30 burpees. Last but not least is a series of 6-foot slip walls leading up to the log climb to the top of a hill. Once an athlete finally makes it down the hill their time is marked and the score totals are added up. So if you’re looking to improve your skills or test your strength, the DRX Games might be the event for you!
Scott Brackemyer
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