Rise of the Sufferfest review

​My obsession with OCR has led me to start this blog and so whenever I hear of a documentary on this sport I have to take a look. The Rise of the Sufferfests is one such feature. 

​I don’t normally re-watch movies or shows so I decided to rent this from the iTunes store. Standard definition download for me as I was watching it on the train. Note for future is to make the purchase on the device you intend to watch it on as the system for transferring the rental from one device to the other is not at all intuitive. (I also seem to have unintentionally tricked the system into giving me a second viewing of the rental).

​Scott Keneally delves into the world of obstacle racing which he dubs ‘The Sufferfests.’ For me OCR has never been about “suffering.” Sure we have our moments that are out of our comfort zone, but I wouldn’t have say I was experiencing the pains of something like a famine! I suppose the marketing title grabs attention though.
 
After the introduction he goes to where it all started, Tough Guy. Right now I am a week away from participating in my first ever Tough Guy event so to hear race director Mr Mouse explain Tough Guy’s ethos “is to give people a taste of the worst of life, completely and utterly,” is hardly comforting. I’ve done plenty of races claiming to be the most extreme and challenging but this guy seem like the real deal. I think the current British winter chill with it’s frozen lakes is making this really hit home.
 
I enjoyed the documentary for the most part, particularly with the origins of the sport. Interviews are throughout with prevalent people in the industry, as well as the controversies and event rivalries. They go over why people partake which I can relate a lot to. Scott Keneally talks about his own experiences but at times it felt too personalised and irrelevant to the wider audience. It’s great that he’s become a father during the production but it felt like a far stretch to fit that into this OCR documentary. Keneally loves this sport, however the film portrays that OCR and pain go hand in hand and that simply is not true. I think this angle may put people off who are on the fence of attempting an OCR. One look at my Color Obstacle Rush video and you’ll see exactly what I mean!
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