Welcome back OCR! For many of us the Fall Savage Race held just outside of Atlanta would be our first and/or only OCR race of the year. With the majority of the season being canceled, Savage Race has been one of the few promoters to actually hold events in 2020. So how did they do it? How were the obstacles? And was it a success? Well for those answers and more check out my Savage Race Georgia Race Report – Fall 2020.
Savage Race Georgia Race Report Fall 2020
Pre-Race
From start to finish the race director and team have been great about communication. Through both email and social media. I highly recommend if you are planning on doing one of these races, join their Savage Syndicate Facebook group for frequent updates and a very supportive OCR community in general.
Make sure you read the emails. Especially during the time of Covid-19 & OCR. Their company emails kept hitting my “promo” box so make sure to search your inbox the week of the race for all of the details.
Covid-19 Protocols
Here is a link to the Savage Race’s complete Covid-19 protocols, click here. There are a lot, but I wanted to cover some of the things they are doing more in depth below.
The ones to note:
1. You will have your temperature checked and asked some screener questions.
2. Masks are required in the event area. Except when eating, drinking, or in the starting gates.
3. There are no pop up tents or chairs permitted.
4. Cash is not accepted on site.
5. Heats/Waves will be limited to 50 people or less.
6. Spartan Pros will be released in waves every 5 minutes from 8am -8:25. See note 5. And you will need to fill out a survey that will help determine which wave you should be in.
The Venue
The race was held in Dallas, GA. Which is just outside of Atlanta. Savage Race has used this venue many times and it makes for a great race. They even find a way to get a little elevation in the course considering the area is hilly at best. With limited attendance compared to a typical race, parking was easy. But again they have it figured out at this location.
There were plenty of bathrooms, hand sanitizer everywhere and for the most part people were sticking to masks and distancing themselves. There was a long line for bag check first thing in the morning but once they put more people on it the line moved quickly.
The Race & Course
I have to admit, this course was awesome! A great mix of trails, make your own, cut straight up the hill at it’s steepest point, and try to dodge the mud. I got 1,100+ in elevation gain and 5.25 miles for distance overall. And Save Race doesn’t get enough credit for their obstacles.
It’s been just over a year since I last ran this race and they have added 3+ notable new obstacles to the course since. All of them are innovative and challenging. The majority of racers won’t be able to complete all of them over the course of 5+ miles. That said, they are all fun to try and will motivate you to train a little harder for the next race!
As for this course, it featured all the classics with some tough new ones like Anchors Aweigh and Battering Bird. Even more exciting was placing a gauntlet of grip with Wheel World, Pedal for the Medal (not grip but sucks) Inversion Therapy, Battering Bird, Sawtooth, Anchors Aweigh, & Colossus all in the last 8 obstacles. Just a challenging but fun course overall.
One note for pro waves. I left at 8:15 and hit a long line at the Savage Rig. There was no retry line or let the first tries to the front. This cost me 3+ minutes and was the difference between one of the athletes in my wave making an Age Group podium. It’s an easy fix and will hopefully be implemented in the future.
Final Notes – Savage Race Georgia Race Report Fall 2020
If you haven’t run a Savage Race you should. It’s one of the most transparent companies I’ve come across in OCR and they really put their customer’s experience first. Awesome obstacles with an amazing community should be their motto and I’ve already signed up for my next race!
