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Nicole Mericle is four-time OCR World Champion. After a two-year recovery from injury, she won the first race in the 2023 Spartan North American Elite Series last month and 3rd Place at DEKA Anaheim a few weeks ago.

This past weekend Nicole finished 6th at the second race in the Spartan NAES, in Big Bear California. After making it through the two preliminary heats and qualifying for the finals, Nicole did not participate in the final 3k race.

There has been a lot of chatter online about why Nicole did not race in the Big Bear Finals. She joins The OCR Report Podcast to set the record straight. 

Nicole is sponsored by Sur PhytoPerformance, Pro-Tec Athletics, and Honey Stinger.

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Are you an OCR Report Member yet? For less than $5 a month you can support the sport we love. We are on the way to our first 2,000 members. Join us today!

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Veejay Jones is a two-time OCRWC World Champion in the 3k Division. He won the first race in the 2023 Spartan North American Elite Series and this past weekend he won the 4th race in the 2023 DEKA Series, at Socal.

Veejay joins the show to talk about those two big wins and his race plans for the rest of 2023. He also shares some surprising news about his race plans for 2024.

Veejay opens up about his competitive nature and how he wrestles with whether that hyper-competitiveness is a good or bad thing.

Veejay is sponsored by Venga CBD.

You can watch Veejay win DEKA Socal and Spartan Palm Beach on The OCR Report YouTube channel.

DEKA Socal Livestream only on The OCR Report   Spartan Palm Beach 3k Livestream only on The OCR Report

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Support the Sport we love! Become an OCR Report Member for less than $5!

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Spartan Games Season Two debuts on March 24th! Christine De La Rosa-Stotz is the Head of Media for Spartan and joins us for a behind-the-scenes look.

Christine tells us about how they made the decision to bring back Spartan Games, what we can expect from Season Two, and "What about Spartan Games Season Three?".

Episode One of Season Two of Spartan Games debuts on March 24th. You can watch on Outside TV, Spartan TV, and Spartan's YouTube Channel.

Be sure to follow The OCR Report on Instagram for Spartan Games results, recaps, and interviews.

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Rea Kolbl is the two-time defending Spartan Ultra World Champion. She also won World's Toughest Mudder twice and is tied for the women's record with most miles at a WTM with 90 miles.

Rea grew up in Slovenia. She moved away when she was 19 but still visits her family regularly. Last year Spartan held their first race in Slovenia and they will be back for a Trifecta weekend May 21-22, 2022 in Kranjska Gore, Slovenia. Rea is hosting a small group of Spartan runners for the week before the race on a guided tour of Rea's favorite spots in the country leading up to race weekend.

The cost of the trip is €2,000 euros, or about $2,200 US. That investment includes everything except airfare and daily lunches. If you would like to be a part of the trip, reach out to Rea on her Instagram page at @reakolbl

Rea and Will talk about Slovenia, Rea's Olympic dreams in SkiMo (Ski Mountaineering) and her thoughts on Russia's war against Ukraine.

Rea is sponsored by Spring Energy, Ascent Protein, onX Backcountry and Dynafit. You can follow her on Instagram at @reakolbl.

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Kevin Gregory is a podium-winning Spartan athlete, a gym owner, and a physical trainer. He also likes to run races while wearing a "Bubbles the Clowne" mask.

Kevin joins the show to talk about the new Age Group-focused Spartan US National Series. He talks about the venues and what racers can expect at each one. He also talks about training and how to know you are ready to make the leap from the Open Waves up to Age Group.

You can follow Kevin on Instagram at @bubblestheclowne. You can follow his gym at @underdog_fitnessct.

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Faye Morgan swept the opening weekend of the 2022 Spartan season with wins at the Spartan SoCal Super and Sprint.

We talked with Faye about her race in SoCal, her plans for 2022, and how to be a mother of four kids and how she makes time to win races on the weekend.

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Ryan Kent is the 2022 HYROX North American Champion. He won the title this weekend by beating Hunter McIntyre, Rich Ryan, and the rest of the field at the HYROX North American Championships in Chicago.

Ryan talks about his race, what he had to sacrifice to make the leap from contender to champion, and how having a wife and son has given him less time to train, but also given him focus in that training time.

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A quick message from Will: "Hey, shoot me a text at (619) 485-2726. Who do you think will win the last US National Series race of the year? Veejay Jones or Ryan Atkins? Call your shot before the race on Sunday.

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Rea Kolbl has never lost a race longer than eight hours. She won the 24-hour Spartan Ultra World Championship in Telluride this past weekend.

She ran 120 kilometers (75 miles) in 23:59 to win her fourth 24-hour championship since 2017. 

She is one of only two women to win the Spartan Ultra Championship and World's Toughest Mudder. She is the only person to win them both wire-to-wire, and she holds the women's record for most miles at WTM (tied with Amelia Boone) and the Spartan Ultra Championship.

Rea Kolbl is the greatest women's endurance OCR athlete ever.

Rea joins us to talk about her race in Telluride, how she was able to pull off the win, and how to have a pre-race conversation with your loved ones when they volunteer to pit for you at a 24-hour race. "I'm not going to be at my best, but I want you to know I still love you."

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Follow The OCR Report on Instagram for:

• Course Maps
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• @theocrreport on Instagram

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Send Will a text anytime: (619) 485-2726

A quick message from Will: "Hey, shoot me a text at (619) 485-2726. Let me know what you think about this episode with Lindsay or anything else OCR-related. Also, I just finished Squid Game and need to talk about that also."

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Lindsay Webster is the 2021 OCR World Champion in both the 3k and 15k. She won both races last weekend at OCRWC in Stratton, Vermont. This is her fifth 15k World Championship and her second 3k World Championship. She is also the 2021 Spartan US Champion due to her dominating performance in the 2021 Spartan US National Series. Lindsay has won the Spartan US National Series every year since it began in 2016. She was also part of the first-place team that won World's Toughest Mudder in 2018.

Lindsay joins us to talk about her recent wins at the OCRWC, what it was like racing separate events from her husband for the first time ever, and she addresses the retirement rumors that popped up over the weekend in Vermont.

Is Lindsay Webster retiring? Skip to 31:20 to hear the answer straight from her.

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Follow The OCR Report on Instagram for:

• Course Maps
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• And much more.
• @theocrreport on Instagram

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Send Will a text anytime: (619) 485-2726

Follow The OCR Report on Instagram and text Will Hicks at (619) 995-9200 for the latest OCR News, Race Results, Course Maps, and more from the sport of Obstacle Course Racing.

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David Watson is the Head of Sport for Spartan. David joined The OCR Report for a wide-ranging exclusive conversation about OCR and the Olympics, Spartan Games 2.0, Spartan Cross League and much more. This conversation between David Watson and Will Hicks is only available on The OCR Report.

When will we see OCR athletes compete every four years on the world's biggest stage? The last 16 months have thrown a wrench in the plans, but "you'd be amazed how quickly things come back".

Along with OCR and the Olympics they also discussed:

• Spartan Games Season Two! Venue: The Beach!
• Spartan Cross League. This is early but sounds very promising
• Spartan Ultra World Championships. This is the first year this 24-hour race has been held in the US.
• Spartan North American Champs. Tahoe, but with some surprises for long-time runners.
• Spartan World Championships in Abu Dhabi. "Like nothing OCR has ever seen before."

After you listen, go to The OCR Report on Instagram to join the conversation. What do you think about OCR and the Olympics? Are you excited about Spartan Games 2.0? What are your first thoughts on the Spartan Cross League?

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Follow @theOCRreport on Instagram for the best podcasts, photography, race results, course maps, and writing in the sport of OCR.

Review today's show and we will read it on a future episode.

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Are you ready to race OCR in California? Bummed the big guys won't be in town until October? Check out Grit OCR on July 10-11 in Santa Clarita, CA. The BEST local race in the state and drivable from anywhere in Southern California.

 

Hildervat was the most anticipated race of the 2021 OCR season to date and it lived up to the hype.

We talked with the men's winner Veejay Jones, the women's winner Rebecca Hammond, Ryan Atkins, Alex Walker, and multiple other athletes for this week's episode.

For a full list of Hildervat standings and prize winnings, check out The OCR Report Instagram.

Guest Timestamps:

15:37 Faye Stenning 16:40 Alex Walker 17:27 Men's Winner Veejay Jones 22:01 Women's Winner Rebecca Hammond 25:53 Ryan Atkins 27:26 Matt B. Davis of ORM 35:48 Ryan Kempson 38:00 Annie Dube 39:31 Robert Killian 43:02 Rey Omar 45:33 Race Director Dan Woods

 

Follow @theOCRreport on Instagram for the best podcasts, photography, race results, course maps and writing in the sport of OCR.

 

Review today's show and we will read it on a future episode.

 

Want OCR Report Podcast T-Shirts? Visit the merch store at TheOCRreport.threadless.com. The more you buy, the more you GET! 

 

Listen here and then follow The OCR Report on Instagram for breaking news updates.

 

We are launching an OCR Deals Text Group. (Shh.) Text DEALS to (619) 485-2726 for more information.

 

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Don't forget to subscribe and listen for new episodes every week.