Attracting close to three thousand athletes, and a couple of thousand onlookers, the 2018 season opener of the hugely popular obstacle course racing (OCR) series – the Toyota Warrior Series – was off to the perfect start this past weekend in Johannesburg.
The OCR Toyota Warrior series is designed for adventure seekers from all walks of life, and with no barrier to entry, makes OCR accessible to anyone with a pair of trainers, t-shirt and shorts.
Course designer Jono Hart said that Warrior 2018 will be the best year yet for OCR, “I build these courses to allow ordinary people to start somewhere and build themselves into who they want to be. None of the obstacles is easy. They are all manageable depending on your fitness level. Black Ops is an absolute monster. These men and women are at the top of their game.”
With three categories on offer, Rookie, Commando, and Black Ops, the Warrior races have something for everyone who wishes to have fun and challenge himself or herself across world-class obstacles.
The main event of the day was Black Ops Elite. This tough course incorporates 35 obstacles over roughly 15 kilometres of trail. These athletes are either climbing, traversing, carrying or gripping from start to finish. It is intense and only the super-fit and trained make it to the end.
Winner and ranked second in OCR South Africa, Thomas van Tonder won the men’s race. The women 2017 series winner and top-ranked female in OCR, Trish Eksteen, won the women’s race. Trish Eksteen came fourth overall, which is an indication of her strength and speed in this sport.
The men’s Black Ops Elite was initially a close fought race between South Africa’s top three OCR athletes, Bradley Claase, Thomas van Tonder, and 2017 series winner, Claude Eksteen.
The toughest obstacle in the race, Breaking Point, proved to be exactly this as it defeated Eksteen, who eventually finished 34th overall, and Van Tonder, a three-time top-ten finisher at the OCR World Champs, calmly pulled off a superb win ahead of Claase in second and Jason Friedman in third.
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