One of the most unique experiences in Obstacle Course Racing (OCR). I had the opportunity to run in the 2021 Bonefrog Talladega event. While not the largest OCR event on the market, Bonefrog has built a solid reputation for putting on quality events. And offering a wider variety of race distances and award options. It had been 5 years since Id’ run one of their events so I was excited to check it out. And have to say, I’m already excited for next year!
So Let’s get to the review!
2021 Bonefrog Talladega Race Report
Pre- Race Info
Bonefrog Challenge: Click Here
Date: 11/06/2021
Location:
3366 Speedway Blvd.
Talladega, Al 35096
Signing up for Bonefrog Talladega was easy online and the event was less expensive compared to some other OCR brands. Bonefrog provides a bunch of race distance options, so make sure to read those over. I chose to run the Endurance. These include:
Sprint – 3 Miles 20+ Obstacles
Challenge – 6 Miles 30+ Obstacles
Tier 1 – 9 Miles (1 challenge lap and 1 sprint lap)
Endurance – 1 Challenge Lap Unlimited Sprint Laps
Trident – 2 Challenge Laps & 2 Sprint Laps
Tadpole – Kids Course
Parking & Festival Area Layout
Parking was a breeze, they actually had you drive into the center of the Talladega race track. Very cool experience. Parking just a short walking distance from pit row and the covered seating and vending area where check in was held. It was cold to start, but once the sun came out and warmed up, people spread out throughout the festival area with plenty of viewing of the finishing obstacles. They had one food truck. I found plenty of restrooms. And overall the layout was awesome. Just a great overall venue for a race.
Course
The course itself started with us racing in the infield of the race way for the first 6+ obstacles. Followed by a long run around to the track, then running down pit road. This is where the Sprint and Challenge courses split.
From here the Challenge course takes runners up, around, and up and down the bleacher stairs. Popping you out just in time to run up and down one of the tracks steepest banking sections of the raceway. This was a racing experience I will never forget. We then hit another series of obstacles and a short run before joining back with the Sprint course.
Here all racers entered the final obstacle gauntlet. This included some easy, some hard, and 31 burpees which were a brutal finisher/every lap pain cave.
Obstacles
Overall the obstacles were a good mix of challenging grip, technical swings, and your standard mix of high walls and bars. The one twist I like is their calisthenics obstacles including a series of bar dips, burpees, and pullups. This was a great finisher right before a very high Irish table. Backing a lot of people up.
While I really enjoyed some of the more challenging grip obstacles. Bonefrog has said that next year they will be reducing the number of technical grip obstacles and adding more “leg strength” components. Here is a link to the announcement they provided click here. So we will have to wait and see what that means.
Overall Experience
If you’re looking for a mud run, this is not it. This is a fun obstacle course race that is run in a one of a kind setting. The setup of the venue was top notch. With easy parking, a quality food trick, and clean bathrooms. Overall course design was a blat, incorporating fun aspects of the venue itself. And I highly recommend doing the Challenge course to experience it all.
I’ve run a lot of OCR courses in my life. At venues all over the world. And I can say without a doubt that I will always remember running the Bonefrog Talladega 2021.
