After we had signed up and raced the Del Mar ROC in May they announced they were doing one here at the OC Great Park. I honestly wasn't going to sign up again because I kept telling myself I already did this one, it's too expensive, etc. Well let's just say a generous friend paid my entry in - so - off we were again.
It was a rough start. I drove by myself and got completely lost. They ROC people hadn't set up the signage yet when I was driving around (what happened to early bird gets the worm), so after a lot of wasted time, gas and stress I finally found the cops setting up signs. Jackasses. We all pretty much arrived at the same time and decided this year to be the Team Average Joes. Below is almost all of our team members:
And the usual sib shot:
I ran with a waterproof disposable camera where pretty much the remainder of the photos come from. Anywhoo, so we begin.
We were the very 1st wave and it was obvious the race folk did not have their shit together yet. The DJ was supposed to be giving out wristbands for costumes but didn't seem to be paying much attention, so no medals for us. We all get ready to start, and they start releasing us in waves as last time. Problem was, the guy didn't seem awake yet, not much pump, not much of anything really.
Whatever.
We start.
My friend Fatima paced me which was AWESOME and made me realize how much more fun it is when you have a friend with you instead of others (ahem, won't mention names, but they are not runners and always are only like 20 feet in front of me the whole damn race but for some reason feel the need to always be AHEAD of me.) I believe I mentioned this before, but from now on I'm only signing up for races if I have a friend who wants to have fun and we stay together. Fatima - you kick ass. (She's a real runner too!)
This was her 1st obstacle course, so she was stoked to be with me anyway as I prepped her for each obstacle, even though this particular obstacle race isn't necessarily that challenging.
1st up was the "concrete" wall things. Well, at Del Mar - they were concrete, and all in a line, and you could do the cool military like hop over them if you were strong. These were weird orange plastic things that you had to sort of climb over. I of course still tried to military hop them and totally bruised my butt! Whoops! Got a great shot of Fatima though!
Next was the Belly Flop Drop. This was way better here than Del Mar because we didn't run through any mud or dirt yet so the slide wasn't sandy and cut you like before. Belly Flop down we went.
Third was the Tarzan Swing. I'm hoping D got a good shot of me and I will post below whenever she sends it if so, but as usual - kicked ass. Thank you very much. Fatima did as well!
Fourth was up and over. This one is a challenge. You need a buddy to hoist you over. Roger the rad guy he is, waited for us and hoisted us over. I got a nice shot of him coming over as well.
Fifth was Cool Runnings. This is the Wild Rivers like thing. Grab an inter tube and slide down. Fun as per usual, but sadly we lost Roger at this obstacle. He dislocated his shoulder :(.
Sixth was Tire Mile. I was much more careful this time hopping through the tires and did pretty well! I snapped a shot of Fatima as well.
As we continued along, I realized the course was kind of boring. It was laid out kind of odd and I don't understand what is so great about this OC Great Park. There's like no green! There was also alot of construction going on and the very prominent smell of manure. I much prefer the Pomona Fairplex and the Del Mar Fairplex were we did this race before. I had to take a shot of the Ball though - I always see it off the freeway, but must admit, not really caring to explore this park as I had once thought.
Next was the tight rope one. Killed it. But the guy you see in the picture below kept shaking the rope when Fatima and I were crossing. Not sure if I appreciated the challenge and was proud of my core muscles or annoyed.
Next was the big slip & slide. They said run fast and you'll slide farther...well I stopped half way. So the kid that can't slide on a slip & slide. Sigh. Ha ha!
After this was the monkey bars. Again - got all the way across!!! This is the one that I always feel I can conquer and I'm so proud of myself because most people don't get across. I rule. And the Gorilla thought so too!
Now was the giant Moon Bounce. This one is always fun. We hopped across and I got to hop a little more than last time because my knee hadn't blown yet! We hopped like bunnies. And I didn't fall!
2nd to last was the Wrecking Ball. Now, I really really wanted to get across this time. I was trying to mentally prepare when I saw Shane make it across! I screamed my support and shot my favorite pic of the day! (This disposable camera was pretty rad and so old skool because I didn't know I had this shot until I developed it! Remember that? Waiting, and developing?)
Now one of the unfortunate things about this particular course was the manure smell I mentioned earlier. Well on this stretch right here - brutal. I almost vomited. I can't imagine how nasty that is going to get later in the hot hot day.
Last but not least was the giant inflatable slide. No explanation needed - fun as hell. Although I did take out the cameraman. Whoops. He was very nice and understanding. And got a great shot of Fatima as we ran up the back.
Here is a photo that the cameraperson I didn't take out caught:
As we walked out, a couple of our crew was heading into the Dr. Bronners Foam glass box thing. We forgot about that last time, so Fatima and I trotted up and joined our crew. I actually shot a couple of shots in there and was surprised they came out! The foam smelled like lavender and it was like a free shower. But if you get claustrophobic stay away. It was a little weird to be buried in foam and not able to breathe before they rinsed you off with freezing cold water. Fun, but wouldn't do it again. Got a free bottle of the yummy smelling stuff though!
After this, we changed into dryer clothes and headed out to explore. Unfortunately it sucked. There was like 2 vendors, no free shit, no free beer (you ALWAYS get a free beer) no nothing. The DJ wasn't even set up to do the after party yet, and there was alot of racers just sitting around looking bored. The beers were overpriced and there was a line of food trucks but that's it. I was really really disappointed in this compared to the Del Mar race. This was not a cheap entry fee and they should have had way more stuff. They were also 4 or 5 obstacles short of the Del Mar. The volunteers were not nearly as fun and much more scarce. So I do have to say - ROC for sure disappointed me this time around.
But as per our style, we made the best of it! Below are the remaining shots on my disposable camera. I'm now home with ice on my knee and my chest and sucking down some Advil but you know what - I can do this right now and I fucking love it!!!!!
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