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Everything to Know About the 2023 Obstacle Racing Series and Championship Schedule

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Everything to Know About the 2023 Obstacle Racing Series and Championship Schedule
Presented by Spartan Training®

After a few years of event postponements and low morale, 2022 spawned an explosion of global excitement, expansion, and developments in the sport of obstacle course racing. The new Spartan North American Elite Series — where OCR legends and spouses Lindsay Webster and Ryan Atkins took home first-place titles — brought fierce competition to taxing courses across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and the U.S. National Series adopted an Age Group focus for the first time ever, allowing hometown heroes to shine and climb the ranks across America all season long.

As the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) approved obstacle course racing to replace equestrian in the Olympic Modern Pentathlon in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, we began testing a shorter, faster, 3,000-meter race format — designed to push a racer's speed and obstacle efficiency to the limit — at select races throughout the year, including the 2022 Spartan World Championship in Abu Dhabi, where the Team World Championship saw co-ed teams of three racers tackle the 3K course in 1,000-meter, 10-12 obstacle loops.  (The new course format even includes revolutionary new obstacles such as the Laser Pistol, a feature part of the Olympic Modern Pentathlon event, as well as a new and more challenging version of the classic Z Wall.)

Beginning in 2023, Elites will compete on 3K courses at all Series and Championship races, save for the Trifecta World Championship and Honor Series races. And, since signing a historic Memorandum of Understanding with World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO), to include the sanctioning and hosting of elite-level races, cooperation on competition rules, officiating and training, anti-doping rules, and broadcast planning, obstacle course racing is set to have an incredible year of growth and athletic opportunity in 2023.

Related: These 3 Major Changes Are Coming to Spartan Racing in 2023

With more worldwide obstacle course events than ever before, here's everything you need to know about the series and championship events on our 2023 schedule.

NOTE: Prize money details for these series and championships will be released in 2023.

2023 Obstacle Course Racing Series

No qualification will be required for ANY 2023 series (including Elite), and there will also be no burpee penalties for Elite and Age Group series races. However, the North American Elite Series is invite-only.

Elite Series

The Spartan North American Elite Series - 3K Course Format (Invite Only)

The Spartan European Elite Series - 3K Course Format

  • London West (April 29, 2023)
  • Zandvoort - Netherlands (May 19, 2023)
  • Šamorín - Slovakia (June 4, 2023)
  • Zell Am See - Austria (Sept. 9, 2023)
  • Madrid - Spain (Oct. 7, 2023)

Age Group Series

The United States National Series (Age Group), Presented by USANA

Canada National Series

Mexico National Series

France National Series

UK Regional Series

Spain National Series

Italy National Series

Germany-Austria Regional Series

CEU Regional Series

Philippines National Series

Japan National Championship

China National Series

Australia National Championship

The Honor Series

The Honor Series is a U.S.-only series of races that commemorate and honor all who serve and protect their country and communities. This series is not connected to the Elite and Age Group competitive series in any way, participation is open to all, and racers earn a specially-designed, commemorative medal.

2023 Obstacle Course Racing Championships

Races will earn points at races — regular, Series, and Regional Championship races — throughout the 2023 season. Four points will qualify a racer for a Regional Championship, and five points results in a World Championship qualification. To race at the Trifecta World Championship, a racer must have completed a Trifecta in 2022 (or complete it in 2023), as long as it was earned in full before Oct. 31, 2023. 

For full rules, qualification terms, and regulations, consult the official Series and Championships handbook.

Worldwide Championships

***Competing in all three of these Championship races will make a racer eligible to earn the newest worldwide trophy in obstacle course racing, the OCR Triple Crown.

Spartan Kids World Championship - Paradise Island, Bahamas, Aug. 26-27, 2023

This championship pits the world's toughest kids against one another to face off over 25 obstacles along a roughly 3-mile course.

***FISO OCR World Championships - Belgium, Germany, Sept. 14-17, 2023

This race is a 100-meter, 10-obstacle format.

Spartan Trifecta World Championship - Sparta, Greece, Nov. 3-5, 2023

This weekend-long event is a three-race championship in which racers must complete a Sprint 5K, a Super 10K, and a Beast 21K to earn a Trifecta. 

***Spartan World Championship - Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, Dec. 8-10, 2023

Hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, this World Championship event will feature 3K and 21K Elite World Championship races, 21K Age Group World Championship races, and 3K Team World Championship races. 

***World's Toughest Mudder - Granbury, Texas, Nov. 4-5, 2023

This is a 24-hour, ultra-endurance obstacle course race.

Regional Championships

Spartan North American Championship - Killington, VT, Sept. 16, 2023

This Age Group-focused championship event will be a Beast 21K race.

Pan American Championships - Heroico Colegio Militar, Mexico, Aug 4-6, 2023

This championship event will feature Elite 3K and 21K races.

European Championship - Andorra, June 9-11, 2023

This championship event will feature Elite 3K and 21K races, along with Age Group 21K races.

Editorial x All 2023 Passes