1. COURSE- The two venues where I raced Bonefrog this year couldnt have been more opposite. MA was a killer mountain with nasty inclines, while northern NJ was as flat as can be besides the motocross dirt bike mounds that we went through a couple times. Englishtown has never been one of my favorite sites for an OCR for that very reason, but sometimes a race is able to find the varied outskirts of this property to mix things up. Several pond crossings were an interesting change from the flat fast trails, as long as you didn't swallow a gulp of the gross swamp water (yuck, I did). My biggest fear was how much pavement we'd hit, as other series have come here and added mileage to their course by running laps around the racecar speed track and areas of the parking lot, but for the most part it was kept to a minimum or there was the grassy edge to choose. But where Bonefrog really comes through is their sheer number and legit quality of obstacles, many that are heavy on grip strength and a flair of ninja abilities. And where the last half mile might have been the least exciting run section, they loaded up with the best obstacles- the spinning Chopper, always classic Dirty Name, Synergy's Sway Bar rig, and of course the Black Ops monkey bar finale. GRADE = A
2. FESTIVAL- Besides their own merch gent, which by the way had a great selection of really nice shirts (and relatively priced too), most of the vendor village was taken over by military branch booths. I might be too old to get recruited now at age 40, but it was a cool to see their presence and pick up some handouts at this Navy SEAL owned and operated event. The overcast weather didn't help today's afterparty scene, but didn't stop me from spending hours watching and helping other racers through the very spectator friendly last gauntlet of obstacles near the finish. GRADE = B
3. SWAG- Identical shirt as last month, which are now the exact same regardless of which race distance you run. This time running the Challenge, the finisher medal was similar but opposite colors from last month's Sprint, and each have a differentiated ribbon. I will say the Tier-1 and Endurance race distance medals are even more badass (rightfully so), but I'm not quite sure if I'll ever will myself one day to do either of those longer races. I did retain my mandatory completion Elite wristband and then came in second place overall, picking up another sweet Navy paddle, a little cash, and some other sweet podium swag. Not a bad trip to Jersey after all! GRADE = A
OVERALL GRADE = A
