<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The "Little Guys" Keep Impressing.</b></span><br /><br />Every so often you find a real gem in your chosen activity. We obstacle course athletes (yes, you are an athlete) in the Northeast happen to be spoiled with an abundance of them. Movements like #OCRUnited and events like the #RaceLocal Grand Prix can introduce us to and highlight some of the best Obstacle Racing events out there.<br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRktlWzA28c/VkjdMR6UC6I/AAAAAAAAin8/AFHNbqCjvYY/s1600/_20151115_135452.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRktlWzA28c/VkjdMR6UC6I/AAAAAAAAin8/AFHNbqCjvYY/s320/_20151115_135452.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A couple of weeks ago I returned to Cumberland, RI for the fifth installment of F.I.T. Challenge - EPIC Fifth. The short version... I am once again thoroughly pleased and am left more than satisfied. There was something...<i>special</i>...about this race.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><b>Race Rating:</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Pre-Race:</b><br /><b>Race Day:<br />The Course:<br />Support/Swag:<br />Post-Race:</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Overall:</b><br /><br />Somehow the F.I.T. Challenge team continues to improve their event every time. There's something about this, and many other local races, that keeps me coming back for more. And I'll tell you <i>exactly </i>what it is...<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The race is just so damn FUN!</b></span><br /><br />Sometimes we OCR enthusiasts get a little caught up in the challenge. We find the most ridiculous, challenging, bone-crushing events...we go hard...we savor the victory...and we forget...<br /><br /><b>This is supposed to be <i>fun.</i></b><br /><b><br /></b>Yes, OCR is SUPPOSED to be about "ripping people off the couch" <i>(there's a slogan we haven't heard in a while) </i>and having <b>fun.</b>&nbsp;Somewhere along the way to 9+ mile / 50+ obstacle suffer-fests I think we forgot that key fact.<br /><br />F.I.T. Challenge, along with other local Obstacle Course Races (BoldrDash and Blizzard Blast come to mind) are finding the happy place. The Fun-Zone, if you will. Step-by-step, here's how F.I.T. put on a solid OCR event...that didn't forget it's a RECREATIONAL activity:<br /><br /><b>1. Clear pre-race communication. And lots of it.</b><br /><br />Kept it simple,<br /><br />