5 Tips To Conquer Your Next City Challenge Obstacle Race

The next City Challenge Obstacle Race takes place in Hoboken on October 1. Here are your top tips and advices to conquer your next challenge!

1. Mix Up Your Training

Roman Lukiw

City Challenge Obstacle Race involves crawling, jumping, climbing, and much more than just running. Mix up your training with a balance of cardio, weight lifting, and agility work out.

2. Dress For Success

Roman Lukiw

Try to avoid short-sleeve shirts and shorts to protect your elbows and knees. You will be expected to crawl, as well as get down and dirty, so be sure to wear the right gear.

3. Treat Practice as a Race Day

Roman Lukiw

People say practice makes perfect, and it’s absolutely true for obstacle races. Incorporate exercises that resemble what you will actually be doing on race day, so that when the big day comes, your mind and body are well prepared.

4. Stay Hydrated

Roman Lukiw

Be sure to drink plenty of water before and after the race. You will be losing a lot of sweat during the race, so it’s extremely important that your body is at its utmost condition. Luckily, there are several water stations throughout the course at the City Challenge Obstacle Race.

5. Have Fun!

Roman Lukiw

By far the most important tip is to HAVE FUN! While the City Challenge Obstacle Race is designed challenge your mind and body, its number one goal is to encourage athletes and fitness enthusiasts to form camaraderie and enjoy themselves.

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up for the City Challenge Obstacle Race in Hoboken on October 1 and let’s conquer these obstacles together!

Defending My Title At City Challenge Obstacle Race In Jersey City

A little drizzle of rain last Saturday didn’t discourage thousands of fitness aficionados from participating in the annual City Challenge Obstacle Race in Jersey City - and certainly not me, the defending champion. While I wanted to be the first female racer to cross the finish line again and defend my title, my main goal was just to have fun while crawling, scrambling, scaling, and propelling myself to reach new physical heights.

Roman Lukiw

I was a part of the “Elite Wave” of racers who were competing for time and prizes. As I stood at the start line to size up my competitors, I was a bit intimidated by cross-fit type athletes with bulky muscles, some of whom were probably twice as big as me.

“City Challenges! On your mark, get set, GO!”

Unlike a marathon where it’s important to save energy and pace yourself, City Challenge Obstacle Race is a relatively short, 5K race where I could sprint the whole distance. While some obstacles that involved pure strength, such as cinder block carry, definitely drained my energy, others like the wall climbs were an opportunity for me to catch my breath.

Roman Lukiw

Although I was 100% focused on the race, I also managed to soak in as much of the breathtaking view of the skylines as I was running the course. Soon enough, I was nearing the end of the race and found out I was the first female to cross the finish line. More so than the joy of winning the race for second year in a row, I was excited about the chance to challenge my athleticism and endurance by going out of the comfort zone. I am already counting down the days until the next City Challenge Race - New York City, here I come!

Top 7 Obstacles Races Guaranteed To Make You Fit, Healthy, And Happy

Test your endurance, speed, and agility, while soaking in the spirit of teamwork, collaboration, and fun at these top obstacle races in New York City and beyond!

1. City Challenge Obstacle Race

City Challenge Obstacle Race

As the fastest growing obstacle race in the Tri-State area, the City Challenge Obstacle Race , which hosts races in Jersey City, Hoboken, and New York City, features the most obstacles per mile of any obstacle races. Get ready to hurdle over the hoods of two police caravans, carry cinder blocks, and climb 8 feet walls.

2. Rugged Maniac

Rugged Maniac

Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty at Rugged Maniac, a 5K-obstacles race with feats like climbing over a wooden wall, crawling through the mud-filled tunnels, and rocketing down a 50-feet water slide. Be sure to wear clothes you would not mind getting ruined!

3. Spartan Race

Brenda Ahearn

Spartan Race is not just a one-time experience - it’s a way of life. Spartan hosts more than 130 races around the world in a range of distance - from the Sprint (3+ miles and 20+ obstacles) to the Super (8++ miles and 25+ obstacles) to the Beast (12+ miles and 30+ obstacles). Complete all three races and overcome gruesome obstacles like barbed wire, mud, rope, and fire, and you will earn yourself the ultimate bragging rights of the TRIFECTA tribe.

4. Tough Mudder

Tough Mudder

One of the most well-known obstacle races, Tough Mudder is a team-oriented course designed to test your physical strength and mental grit, while highlighting camaraderie, teamwork, and - of course - fun. Bring your friends, family, and co-workers to join in on this ultimate challenge of physical and mental feat.

5. Men’s Health URBANATHLON

Men’s Health URBANATHLON

Hosted by Men’s Health, URBANATHLON is one of the oldest, original obstacle races in the US. In addition to running a distance that ranges from 4 to 11 miles, you are challenged even further with obstacles that test your agility, power, and endurance. Since the first New York Urbanathlon in 2006, more than 250,000 racers have proclaimed themselves as Urbanathletes in 22 cities across 4 continents.

6. Urban RAID

Urban RAID

Urban RAID in New York City includes about 12 obstacles interspersed throughout the 5K course in Governors Island. These obstacles are designed to test your total fitness, such as strength, agility, balance, endurance, and core. Expect to hop over twenty or so consecutive hurdles, scale down a wooden wall, and flip over a heavy tractor tire.

7. Urban Mudder

Urban Mudder

Affectionately known as Tough Mudder’s “Cousin in the City,” Urban Mudder is a brand new, 5-mile obstacle course in which you will cross a spinning log, carry a long, heavy beam, and crawl under fences - all the while giving high fives and cheering on other participants. Urban Mudder is an untimed event, encouraging you to focus on teamwork and fun over competition.