XMAN Race – Sherbrooke – 2015 By Walter F Hendrick (Sandy)
When I originally planned my 2015 race season, I planned on doing just one XMAN race (back in June) in 2015, but after doing the June race and realizing how amazing both the race and overall XMAN experience is, I decided I had to do all three of the 2015 XMAN races and added the next two to my schedule.
Adding this August race to my schedule was not going to be easy, I already had the Wintergreen Spartan Super scheduled for Saturday and that also was a bucket list must do race for me. I decided it was worth driving over 1600 miles on the weekend and spending literally over 24 hours driving on the weekend.
Pre-race:
XMAN has a pre-race like no other obstacle course race I have taken part in; the DJ not only plays a killer playlist and fires up both the wave and festival area, but they also have an elevated stage setup next to the starting area and have several people standing on it that both dance and do calisthenics prior to the start of each wave. It was awesome to watch what appeared to be at least fifty plus racers all following along and dancing and doing calisthenics prior to start of each wave.
The Course:
I typically write my recaps with the actual breakdown and order of the obstacles, but for the XMAN races, I feel it is better to explain/write in detail only about the really cool obstacles, as this article would be way to long if I cover each and every obstacle. The course started out going up a ski mountain and actually had a longer trail run before coming to the first obstacle than I was expecting. I knew the course was somewhere in the neighborhood of 9K to 10K with an total of over 50 obstacles, so I really wasn’t expecting any part of the course to be a long sprint/walk before coming to an obstacle.
The course had almost every obstacle an experienced obstacle course racer has seen throughout various obstacle courses over a year/season. One of the first obstacles on the course was one of the few easy obstacles as it was a Christmas tree carry up and down a short mountain trail. The course had a total of three barbed wire crawls that were spread out evenly throughout the entire course and the last one specifically was more difficult than the first two, the crawl went through some very deep mud in sections and racers go covered head to toe in mud.
The course also included an 8 foot wall climb and inverted wall climb and with both it was a set of two obstacles to get over and not just one. The inverted wall also doesn’t have the typical foot notch sections to assist getting up and over them so it’s a much harder and challenging obstacle that requires using upper body strength. Three very cool Ninja Warrior TV show type obstacles were a very high and challenging warped wall, a series of small curved walls to run/hop across much like the first obstacle typically on the Ninja Warrior course, and a set of walls obstacle that racers had to spider through.
The course made its way to top of one of three ski mountains and parts of the course went up really steep portions of the mountain. Some of the other obstacles on the course included a “monkey bars to straight bars and then back to monkey bars” obstacle, which was very challenging and I witnessed a lot of the racers either skipping or unfortunately failing and having to do the penalty. The course also had a high wall climb with a rope and hand/feet notches which was also challenging. One obstacle unique to XMAN race was a chain-link fence climb which brought back childhood memories.
Another obstacle I like and have not seen often is a crossing under a chicken wire type fence in water and facing up, which being a big fan of water obstacles is one I always enjoy. At one point I came to what I thought was a standard rope climb obstacle and then realized not only did we have to climb up a rope, but we then had to traverse over to a rope net while at the top of the rope and then cross the rope net and climb down a second rope. I had figured this obstacle was a new version of a rope climb and I wouldn’t have to climb another rope, but I was wrong and later on near the end of the course, there was an actual normal rope climb with the option of using a rope with or without knots.
At one point, the course made its way over to a larger body of water and we had to do a wire rope traverse over the water and out a fairly long way and then jump off the rope into the water and swim back. This was cool, but when the racer in front of you jumped in the water, you had to hold on for dear life and you risked falling off the traverse and into the water. The course also included a Tyrolean traverse, while in a deep woods section. The course also included several balance beam type obstacles, with the hardest and most intimidating one being the last one and it was high up and over water. I opted to cross this one by sitting down on the beam and crossing it using my hands to inch me along. XMAN also took advantage of the land and had a challenging rope climb up a pretty large rock structure during of the deep wood sections of the course. The course also included several obstacles that had racers crawl through black drainage pipes with the most challenging one coming later in the course and requiring racers to crawl up the drainage pipes with assistance from a rope. One of the more fun than challenging obstacles is a paintball shooting obstacle, which I am happy to report I was able to hit the target on my second shot (you got three chances/shots). Another very unique obstacle is the Xtremcar which was a climb up a ladder onto a fuel/liquid carrying tank and then a traverse down a cargo net.
The course also included just about every obstacle carry I have seen at other races, which included a log carry, a sandbag carry that included climbing over two short walls and then crawling under one of the above mentioned barbed wire crawls, a concrete carry, a bucket carry, and a tire flip using a tire that was very heavy. The course also included a very challenging Tarzan swing over water that came later in the course when racers (at least me were tired and had less grip strength).
Other obstacles that I have to mention and saved for last are the PlatinumRig, which is pretty much a staple obstacle in Canada and been at almost every Canadian OCR I have done this year. A very cool and challenging hanging black monkey rings obstacle that requires racers to use their feet in each and make it across, which is harder than it looks. XMAN also has an obstacle that is made with hanging ropes with wooden blocks attached to the ends that racers have to traverse across. Another fun obstacle is one, that is trampolines and racers have to build up enough bounce/air to get up onto a ledge. All the obstacles mentioned are placed throughout the course that goes to the top of a large and challenging mountain and then comes almost all the way back down to only turn and go back up a section of the mountain (in the woods) that is a very technical and steep trail.
When you combine the mountain trails, the massive amount of well built and challenging obstacles and a penalty system that is typically a trail run, you end up with an amazing obstacle course that leaves racers both exhausted and disappointed that the course is finished after crossing the finish line and receiving the awesome finisher medal.
The Bling:
The medal is one of the sexist medals in OCR and also happens to be chrome! I also received a very nice dry-fit type finisher shirt that is a different color (blue) than the shirt I received for my first XMAN race back in June. In addition to the medal and shirt, I received an XMAN race sticker for my car window, a headband, and a rubber wrist bracelet. All of which are awesome. Males racers received the above mentioned blue finisher shirt and a headband that was male specific in colors, while female racers received a pink finisher shirt and a headband that was female specific in colors as well. All the bling is top of the line and very cool.
Overall Feelings and Event Rating:
When you combine the pre-race dancing and DJ/MC motivating racers, one of the best obstacle courses in North America, a great group of volunteers (many of the same people volunteer at all the XMAN races), and the awesome amount of bling, you end up with a OCR race/event that in my opinion is the best OCR product in North America and one both Americans and Canadians should make a bucket list/must do race. I went to XMAN race # 2 with massive high expectations and they didn’t let me down, I am rating this event a 5 out of 5 stars.
The last XMAN Race for 2015 is on September 26 th in the Quebec area and I suggest if you don’t already have something planned, adding this race to your schedule. I will be there.