Obstacle course racing has seen explosive growth since 2010. Participation has soared by an estimated 4,000 percent since 2009, and race organizers have made millions on the events. But success doesnt mean the industry is one big group hug.
Theres a lot of infighting, says Adrian Bijanada, the 35-year-old owner of apparel company . Tough Mudders Will Dean and Spartan Races Joseph De Sena are notorious rivals, and directors of races large and small have resisted collaborating with each other, giving Bijanada something to think about. I took a step back and asked, What does the sport really need? he says.
Thats a good question, and there are two competing answers. Companies like Spartan Race want to continue to grow while carving out more market share for themselves. The model has been hugely successful for the individual brands, but its also similar to the way adventure races like once operatedgo it alone and become a largely forgotten niche.
Bijanada sees a different way forward: an independent world championship featuring elite athletes from each of the industrys major races. Its an idea hes energetically pursuing, even though the organizers of the biggest races arent cooperating.
This October, Bijanada will launch the two-day , to be held outside Cincinnati, Ohio. So far more than a dozen top racersincluding Americans Junyong Pak, Amelia Boone, and David Magida; Canadas Ryan Atkins; and Mexicos Alex de la Huertahave signed on to compete. Like the Boston Marathon, the main field will include several thousand racers who must qualify by notching top finishes at other events earlier in the year. And like Konas Ironman World Championship, they will start in heats organized by gender and age. There will even be drug testing for top finishers, a rarity in events of this sort.
Bijanada hopes the lack of affiliation will solve another big-picture problem: as races battle for market share, they miss opportunities to promote the sport. Theres too much attention put on brands and not enough on athletes, he says, while also pointing to minor irritations like charging spectators an admission fee. I cant imagine people paying to watch the New York City Marathon, Bijanada says.
Even the major companies want an organizing body, in large part because thats a requirement of becoming an Olympic event, a sport-wide goal. But there are currently three competing bodies, each supported by different factions. Which helps explain why not everyone is thrilled with the idea of an overall championship.
We dont recognize the race, says De Sena, who signed a multiyear contract with NBC this summer to air in November. (Tough Mudder is also hosting its own world championship this fall.) And because many of the sports elite have contracts with branded events, the big-name races could conceivably pressure their athletes to skip the event and prevent it from becoming OCRs Super Bowl.
However, many smaller races are on board with Bijanadas vision, which allows them to serve as qualifiers for a high-profile event and attract more participants (and their registration fees). Even which bills itself as a social event first and a competition secondhas all but endorsed OCRWC. We dont have any formal affiliation, but were certainly pleased to see a more globally recognized sport, says Tad Jenkins, VP of marketing for Warrior Dash. And sport is the key word. We think that helps the industry in general.