Gabe Ocasio competes in the Tougher Mudder Aug. 6, 2022 at Ceraland. The Tougher Mudder is a 12-hour endurance event where competitors try to complete as many laps around the Tough Mudder obstacle course before the course closes.
The Republic file photo
A couple hundred people will participate in Saturday’s Columbus Triathlon, and a couple thousand will compete in the Tough Mudder Saturday and Sunday.
Gabe Ocasio is planning to attempt both.
The Columbus East boys cross-country coach is looking to do the duathlon (run-bike-run) event at the triathlon Saturday morning in Tipton Lakes, then do the Tough Mudder Sunday morning at Ceraland.
“I’ve never been able to dabble into multiple races on the same weekend, but I’ve had some really solid training blocks out west when I would go to these running camps, and I’d do two different things, but no double races,” Ocasio said. “I’ve done the duathlon, and I’ve done the Tough Mudder before, but obviously not in that short amount of time. But with doing CrossFit for the last few months, plus my running background, I feel pretty confident about it.”
A standout runner at Columbus North, Ocasio spent time running on teams at IUPUI, Indiana State and Marian. He was an assistant coach at North, and when COVID wiped out spring sports in 2020, he decided to branch out into cross-training.
“I was just bored during COVID and wanted to do something outside other than run, so I picked up the bike and kind of went from there,” Ocasio said.
Ocasio also did a little swimming to train for sprint triathons, but has abandoned that discipline to focus on duathlons. He also began training in CrossFit.
While mainining a running base of about 20 miles a week, Ocasio lifts four times a week and usually does two CrossFit classes a week at CrossFit Ripcord.
“I’ve recently gotten into CrossFit, and CrossFit is kind of big in kind of being well-rounded with everything,” Ocasio said. “I already have the running background, so I’m feeling good about that, and I’ve been getting into the weightlifting and all the different types of CrossFit movements. There’s a ton of them, and that’s helped me just become more well-rounded as an athlete, which has helped me feel confident in being able to do both.”
Ocasio also has done a couple Hyrox events. Hyrox, a recent fitness trend, consists of five miles total of running, with eight stations such as rowing and other functional movements.
“It kind of mimics the Tough Mudder, minus the mud.”
This will be the sixth year Ceraland has hosted the Tough Mudder. Ocasio finished seventh in 2021 and won the event in 2022. He was the leader after the first lap in the 12-hour Tougher Mudder in 2023 and won a Tough Mudder in Tennessee that year.
“I’d probably have a better shot at the Tough Mudder, which is why I’m more confident that I’m doing it on the second day,” Ocasio said. “I’ve always been able to bike and run, but now I have the strength piece from CrossFit, so that will help me on Sunday with my grip on all the different obstacles.”
Ocasio did the Columbus Triathlon last year, but not the Tough Mudder. This will be his first Tough Mudder in two years.
“I’m pretty nervous,” Ocasio said. “I’ve just been training a lot. I haven’t really gotten to rev the engine in a little while in a race-type setting, so I’m looking forward to it. Of course, the fact that it’s in Columbus, I almost feel obligated to kind of show out for the city because it’s given me so much in my career. So I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also a little nervous because I haven’t gone full-gas in awhile.”
