The European Championships where held in Denmark, the country I reside in. I qualified for that event in March during Strong Viking in Fürstenau (Germany). So you could say there was no reason not to go. So of course I fully intended to attend, I even submitted my application and received confirmation that I had indeed qualified.
However, when I did the math, I quickly found out that this be a very costly affair and, let's face it, there are cooler places to visit then Esbjerg in Denmark.
So after long deliberation I chose to sit this one out. And after watching the live streaming and reading on how others fared, it was probably not the worst idea to not go. The short course was so difficult that very few of even the greatest athletes I know managed to complete the course with their wristband.
Anyway, Nordic Race is one of my absolute favorite races, and since both Strandparken and Refshaløen are within bicycle range (no, I don't own a car) I always sign up for Nordic Race unless I absolutely can't attend.
So, the 1st of September I was in my spiffy elite vest standing in a dark container with butterflies in my stomach and a stupid grin on my face.
The wall fell 2 seconds before the countdown ended, I hesitated for a moment but after seeing everyone storming out I quickly ran out as well. We stormed through an enormous hall with large shipping-containers. One of them was in the middle of the course and needed to be climbed over. Close by a scaffold with a cargo net needed to be scaled. As I prepared to jump and grab it, the whole thing tipped towards us. Shocked and confused I hit the brakes and managed to yell STOP! Some of the other athletes helped the marshals pushing the thing back in place and after confirming that no one was injured I ran on after the others who had continued onward. The race had barely started, and things were not looking good... I figured I still could make up for lost time though and chased the athletes in front of me. We quickly approached legless (dipswalk), followed by a kettlebell hoist (powerpull), there was already quite a queue, but it moved along quick enough.
In the area ahead we were warned that we might run into people going about their business and that we needed to keep an eye out. This however didn't really seem to be much of an issue as I only encountered one guy who yelled a question I couldn't understand.
The next obstacle was rings, a classic in OCR, followed closely by commando rope traverse and a Nordic Race signature obstacle Rabbit Hole.
Next up was the Big Swing, THE biggest obstacle of Refshaleøen, and what this particular event has become famous for. You climb a scaffold, grab a trapeze, swing over the water, drop down at the highest/farthest point, and swim across. This is by no means a difficult obstacle, but if you're afraid of heights, it might cause you to freeze up.
Roller (crawling under some tires) came next, I was careful not to get my palms muddy knowing all the grip demanding obstacles still awaited. A rope climb followed and things were looking good. I had made up for some lost time in the beginning and caught quite a few competitors.
And then the next obstacle took me by surprise: Pipeline. I had seen this obstacle at Strandparken, where it was pretty easy and I had given it no real thought. It turned out though, that the large plastic pipe no longer had tape around it and was (for me at least) nearly impossible to hold on to with wet palms. When I slipped and fell off at my first attempt I assumed I had been sloppy and immediately tried again, and again... After a while the two female athletes started to show up and a more then a few male athletes had passed me as well. After numerous attempts I made it across and ran as if I had kicked a grizzly in the balls.
I quickly scaled a wall and approached the dreaded power push, this requires you to toss a 30 pound ball over a 3 meter high board. Some of the best runners struggle with this, but luckily this never gives me much grief. I tossed the ball over in one attempt and figured that this must've helped me make up for the pipeline disaster. A net pyramid was next en then the Big Rig. Again my wet palms made my life hell and made me slip off near the end.
At this point I knew that there was no way in hell that I would make top 20 and besides, I had already qualified for the World Championships. I had my band cut a decided to just finish the race and accept that some days just aren't your day and that I need to focus on training my grip in a major way.
The following obstacles were no problem, a barbwire crawl and another Nordic Race signature obstacle: Monkey Valley and dragging a concrete block. The following obstacle was Atlas Stones, this has always been one of my favorites and helped me get in a better mood. After some stone blocks and an Irish bench another one of my favorite obstacles came in sight: Edge (cliffhanger). After cruising past this obstacle I felt kinda good again and picked up the pace and passed some guys in some hilly terrain. The relative ease with which I passed athletes during this stretch made me think that my running training has been paying off. After a carry I could see the Staircase, this is usually Nordic Race's final obstacle but this time there was a surprise: a brand new obstacle, a high wall with an overhang.
I ran into the wall pushed off and grabbed the ledge and crawled over in one try.
Crossing the finish-line I had mixed feelings. I definitely enjoyed the race but there had been some unfortunate circumstances that lost me valuable time. I had for a much better result, but things could've been worse.
My plan for the time to come: finding large diameter pipes and doing pull-ups with baby-oil on my palms to avoid getting my ass kicked by an obstacle that should've been a piece of cake.
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