First Person: How to conquer the most difficult obstacle race in Russia?

First Person: How to conquer the most difficult obstacle race in Russia?

The prize fund of 3 million, 30 degrees of heat and lezginka at the start. “Race of Heroes” in Grozny: we tell you how it was.

This summer the correspondents of “Championship” arranged a real test of their strength. Nikita Kuzin ir Daniil Borozdin went to Grozny to take part in the most difficult and unpredictable stage of the extreme obstacle race.

The most difficult course

There is nothing surprising in the fact that the most difficult route of the “Race of Heroes” is called Grozny. This is the opinion of both organizers and participants. It consists of 39 stages spread over nine long kilometers with a height difference of more than 200 meters. However, between the stages you can not only think about the prize fund of the stage, which is more than 3 million rubles, but also admire the beautiful views of the Caucasus: here the participants can see the mountains, rivers, and dense forest, saving from the scorching sun.

By the way, there was plenty to be saved from: on the day of the race it was about thirty degrees Celsius in Chechnya. However, this factor did not discourage either the professional competitors who came specially for the race, or the locals who decided to test their strength on this obstacle course.

Start at the site of the University of Special Forces

The organizers of the “Race of Heroes” gathered all of them on the territory of the Russian University of Special Forces. The hosts welcomed the participants with demonstration performances of special forces and a beautiful flight of airplanes. The airplane feast ended with parachutists landing with the flags of Russia, the Chechen Republic and the Race of Heroes. Later they were ceremoniously hoisted onto flagpoles and the competition began.

Fighting for medals

While waiting for the mass start, most amateurs watched a concert with local bands performing lezginka and Caucasian songs. Meanwhile, the individual races started. Sergey Perelygin, the winner of the last race, was the leader of the men’s race and almost immediately led the peloton this time too. By the last section of the distance the athlete “drove” the nearest pursuer a whole carload of time. However, Sergey was let down by a stage, which is only in the Grozny “Race of Heroes” – pistol shooting. Having missed the targets five times out of six, Perelygin went to the penalty laps and missed the victory to which he was so close.

Unfortunately, the author of these lines did not manage to follow the course of the races for women, teams and pairs, as he went to the warm-up.

Tests of strength: what does the course consist of?

Yes, yes, for the sake of good material it is worth to test yourself on the most difficult distance of the “Race of Heroes”! Finally, it was time for the mass start, and a couple of “Championship” employees disappeared into the crowd of local sports fans. The next nine kilometers we were puffing, climbing over logs, climbing ropes, running through mud, crawling under barbed wire, overcoming walls – in general, having a good time.

Finish line: medals and pilaf

The local instructors were attentive to make sure that none of the participants got injured, and sometimes they even gave me some flyhacks: I, for example, learned that you can roll sausage on tires lying on the water. Speaking of food: delicious pilaf was waiting for all participants at the finish line, which we tasted right after the shower.

“Race of Heroes” was held in an atmosphere of fair competition and open rivalry, uniting participants of different nationalities. This was also noted by Yulia Baranovskaya, who came to Chechnya especially for the Hero Race. This time she visited the Heroes’ Race in Grozny as a guest and promised to take part in the competition next year. We are waiting!

You can find out more about the next start and take part in team or individual competitions here.