As we move into off-season and prepare for the 2022 race season, we’ve had lots of questions about making the jump to age group so we thought we’d take the time to put some notes together to help inform your decision!

What’s the difference between age group and open?

The main difference in racing age group is that you are expected to adhere by the rules. In open you can choose to take part and try out as many obstacles as you want. It is good practice in open to do your burpees/penalty loop but at the end of the day no one will check that you have done it and you are only competing with yourself. You still get a time chip and there are overall times shown but as no-one polices the open wave these results should be taken with a pinch of salt and you can’t really use them to compare your time. Racing open is a great starting point to get familiar with OCR and for some people it is how they will always choose to race but if you are competitive then eventually you will be looking ahead to moving up to age group.

When you sign up to age group you tick a box that says you will read and play by the rules. That means that you must complete each obstacle to the standard in the rule book (here: https://d1lqw0hc39usuh.cloudfront.net/public/production/images/537121.pdf ) and if you don’t then you must complete the 30 burpee penalty/penalty loop. When you sign up you are added into a set age group depending on the age you will be at the end of the year. Then, for each age group race, they award a top 3. The top 3 get awarded an extra medal during the podium presentation after the race and the medals are great!

These official podiums and rankings are what make playing by the rules so important. It gives you the chance to see where your time puts you and also allows you to work towards one of those podium spots. It also allows you to compare your time to the elite times so that later down the line you will know when you’re ready to make the move - if that’s your goal. We’ve volunteered/staffed a lot of races and we've seen plenty of age group cheating which is so disappointing. It’s a lot quicker to cheat than it is to play by the rules and we know how hard our athletes work to be on those age group podiums so if you’re not prepared to do all your penalties, please stay in open!

You will see from the rule book that some obstacles (such as walls and carries) are mandatory competition. This means that you cannot take the penalty - you must complete it before you move on. There is always a lot of cheating at walls because of this but when you are choosing to race age group this is what you sign up to. There are plenty of OCR facilities across the country that you can head to to practice and build your confidence before race day!

When Jessie first started racing age group she fell of the multi-rig at nearly every race! It’s all part of racing and elites still make plenty of mistakes!

These are the official age groups for Spartan - you enter the age group you will be in at the end of the year.

So when am I ready to move?
We’d say you’re ready whenever you feel like you are - and sometimes when you don’t feel like it too! If you are ready to play by the rules and you’ve been considering it then why not give it a go! Try one race then assess from there, you don’t have to continue in age group if you don’t enjoy the experience but you just might surprise yourself and you’ll never know unless you try!
Too often people are nervous about making the jump and we often hear similar concerns so we just want to remind you that:
- You do NOT need to be able to complete a race penalty-free to move to age group. Even the elites still make mistakes during races - it’s all part of OCR!
- No one is judging you in that start pen. Sometimes it feels like everyone is questioning why oyu’re there when you make the move and imposter syndrome kicks in hard. If you feel that way it’s worth checking out our blog on Imposter Syndrome here: https://www.teamgritocr.com/blog/imposter-syndrome but we promise, no one is thinking anything negative of you for being there.
- Even if you come dead last - you’re still not being judged. Everyone has to start somewhere and making the move is brave. Even if you come totally last, people are still going to be impressed that you turned up. If you've got that nagging voice in your head, try to think about what you’d say to your friend. Would you tell them they weren’t good enough or they shouldn’t move to age group if they came last? We don’t think so - so be kind to yourself too!
- You don’t have to do it for every race. There are races that have more competition than others, for example - you will always have more competition during a series race. If you are lacking in confidence, why not try a quieter race for your first one? If there is another age group race on the weekend of a series race these are often quieter and might be a good choice for your first one.

Benefits of age group races:
- You get to see an honest time of where you compare to other athletes.
- You get the chance to play for a podium and that bling is pretty cool!
- You get the chance to get out earlier when the course isn’t as churned up.
- You will get to know the people in your age group so you get the chance to meet fellow age group racers and build your OCR community.
- By racing age group you get to take part in the series in which different races are included to give you overall points in the series, this isn’t something that you can do racing open.
- Putting yourself out of your comfort zone really is when you grow and making the jump will do just that!

Our athlete Jen smashed the age group series and came away with her very own trophy for doing so!

By racing age group you get to hang out with other awesome OCR athletes.

John took 3rd in his first age group race.

Hopefully, this has been helpful for someone out there! We’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve already moved up… Or if you’re thinking about it but you still have questions - drop a comment below or send us a message! We’re always happy to chat!

If you’re looking for a training plan to help you build confidence and fitness to prepare you for moving to age group you might want to check out our group training plan here: https://www.teamgritocr.com/ocrgroupplan

We also have lots of athletes racing age groups in different age categories so if you’d like to have a friendly face on the start line then we can put you in touch with them - they’re a great bunch!