Alspaugh Places 1st Overall at Battlegrounds Race

Alspaugh after completing his short course race at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in Ontario

A morning spent sloshing through mud and scaling 12 foot walls isn’t what most people would willingly sign up for, but for Brock Alspaugh there was no better way to spend his Saturday.

On May 20th, the Cape Girardeau business owner competed in The Battlegrounds, a 3-mile mud run obstacle course in Wright City, MO often called the “Best Mud Run in the Midwest.”

Beating out 2158 other participants, Alspaugh placed 1st in his age group and 1st in the race overall with a time of 38:42. “Going into the race, I felt the best I’ve felt in months,” he said. “I knew my time was going to be near the top after I got done due to the wait times people could have at the obstacles after me.”

He conquered over 30 obstacles and trudged through a course covered with 80,000 gallons of mud, climbing over multiple 17-foot-tall cargo nets and testing his upper body strength on The Gauntlet: an obstacle with 6 separate choose-your-own-torture lanes. “The Gauntlet requires a good grip and that was a challenge considering all that mud on your hands.”

Among the other obstacles included in the race were a floating pontoon sprint across a lake, an inverted wall climb, as well as a 10-foot-tall quarter pipe.

But it wasn’t all about pushing yourself to the max. “My favorite obstacle was the slide. Who doesn't like a long, steep slide into 10 feet of water?”

Of course, Alspaugh is no stranger to these types of races.

In May 2016 he competed in The Battlegrounds for the first time, placing 7th overall and earning himself entry into the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in Blue Mountain, Ontario. After months of rigorous training, he raced at the OCRs in October, placing 20th overall and ranking 15th out of 43 in the Men’s Short Course Division with a time of 1:01:09.

“To me, life is a competition and competing keeps you sharp. Finding something you enjoy and want to be good at, and in turn, seeing results of your hard work is the ultimate satisfaction. I treat every aspect of my life that way,” said Alspaugh. “I want to be the best husband, the best father, the best Retirement Planner, the best coach...Running these races is just another outlet for me to test and prove my work ethic and mental toughness to myself.”

His 1st overall finish in this latest race has once again earned him a spot in the World Championships, but as of now Alspaugh is on the fence about his participation due to a persistent knee injury.

Will he retire his obstacle course racing days on top, or will he go for a redemption run in Canada? Only time and injury rehab will tell…

Either way, this former Southeast Missouri State athlete has accomplished quite the feat.