Cushman takes home gold in world championship race
COSHOCTON – Hubie Cushman traveled to London, England last year to participate in the Obstacle Course Racing World Championship (OCRWC) but due to an injury, he was unable to participate. But this year, Cushman was able to return and not only ran the race but received gold in the 3K race.
“The short course is my strength and the thing I’m most proud of is I won over the second guy by 10 minutes and that’s five minutes faster per mile,” said Cushman.
Cushman first heard about the world championship race in 2011 when representatives of the first world championship came to Ohio looking for obstacle builders and volunteers to help set up the race. The race was held at Kelvedon Hatch which is a former nuclear bunker from the Cold War.
When he arrived for the Oct. 11 race, he was surrounded by about 3,000 other racers who hailed from 65 countries.
“With all the work that people put into this and hearing all the different accents and languages, just to know you’ve made it to the top is rewarding enough,” said Cushman. “I’ve met a lot of people and there’s a good chance that more European racers will be in the Indian Mud Run next year. They’re already making plans.”
Training for the OCRWC was not easy, especially since Cushman has suffered injuries the last two years.
“I’ve done really well in racing, but fought injuries the last two years,” said Cushman. “This year for the first time, I hired a personal trainer to work with once a week. I should give a shout out to Bryce Pepper from Kids America. I had injuries on my legs from running and he started me on some leg exercises, and I think that’s what helped me improve dramatically. My legs didn’t hurt this year.”
Cushman also ran the 15K race but was unable to finish when he suffered hypothermia.
“In the 15K, none of the people in my age group were able to complete it in time,” said Cushman. “I felt really comfortable and my training really paid off, but on the second day, I made a couple of major mistakes. I had a wet suit with me, and I didn’t wear it. I took a windbreaker with me in a Ziplock bag and it came opened and got wet. Wearing a wet jacket in 50-degree weather, I got hypothermia. A made my first mistake by not wearing my wet suit and then the wet jacket pulled all the body heat away from me.”
The same organization who organizes the OCRWC is the same one who has the North American Championship, which Cushman has participated in before, so most of the obstacles were familiar to him.
“A lot of the obstacles we have at the Indian Mud Run, so I was prepared for it,” said Cushman.
Cushman was one of four from the United States to receive a gold medal and the only male to receive a gold medal from the U.S.
“Every gold medal winner raced at the Indian Mud Run and we pride our race as being a race to get ready for the world championship,” said Cushman. “As much as you think you’re prepared, you never know what you’ll come against.”
Other than his medal, Cushman’s gold medal win also gains him a free entry to next year’s championship, but he will carry a lot of good memories from this year as well.
“As we were getting ready to start the race, my wife and I were sitting at the start line and a guy in my age group comes up to me and says, you’re Hubie Cushman, aren’t you? We knew each other from Facebook but we’d never met, and he mentioned my grandson by name who does an obstacle that most people have trouble with at the world championship. It was nice to see someone mention my grandson by name because of the obstacles that he has done. To be recognized over in Europe about that, it was heart-touching to me.”
Category: People & Places
