Actions speak louder than words

Race to Honor!

The world we know today was not always the same. We are at Peace thanks to the sacrifices of many others before us.

For some, the deeds of all those brave women and men are just part of history. For some, it’s impossible to forget, they linger in their memory forever. But for us, it is our MISSION to make sure the feeling will be kept alive.

War-Race is not just another obstacle course race, it’s so much more than that! Our approach is to combine sports with culture. Our obstacles will not only push you physically but even more mentally and culturally. We break the rules of creating just a sport for sports but go beyond by allowing you to RACE TO HONOR!

Run, Experience, Push, Learn…

Race on the same ground they did and in the footsteps of those heroes
Truly experience a unique way to commemorate
Push past your mental and physical limits, away from any comfort zone
Acquire knowledge along the way
Inspire yourself to take action
Be a symbol of peace
Pay tribute at the start and finish line!

Become an SOP (Soldier of Peace) as it does not get more real than this and because we truly believe that ACTIONS speak louder than words. Let’s HONOR battle after battle together because not one of them was less than the other. Let’s grow this community together and let yourself grow individually. See you at the starting line!

A brief history

After graduating in Sports & Science, a specialization in Nutrition and a career filled in a management position, MJ never could settle on the type of Sport that would fully fit in his life. And so he tried nearly every type of sport in the search of filling the void. A void that still lingered with him from his own personal war experience as a child. Years and years he try to manage it by pushing himself harder and harder in every sport he practiced.

It was not until he tried obstacle course racing back in 2010, that he found the spark he couldn’t with any other sport. So it became his sole focus for years. Travelling around the world alongside his wife, it became clear that this was something that could give him full satisfaction.

War-Race was born

The more he practiced OCR, the more he felt that there was a missing link. OCR has its root in the Military as it was the soldier’s training regimen. But none of the existing races truly paid tribute to the actual war heroes, battlefields and history. He always wanted to do something that would contribute to a better future but by keeping the memories of what shaped today’s world alive.

So War-Race was born! Each race takes place on the exact same location and in the same period as a specific battle of both World Wars. By racing on the once bruised ground on which all these heroes made the ultimate sacrifice, sport and culture collide or better said combine. By performing in the same period (exact dates of the battle), sport and commemoration merge to pay tribute.

The passion for obstacle course racing and the personal war experience SPARKED the idea for War-Race!

A race for everyone

First of all, there is a War-Race for everyone. No one should feel left out. Whether it is your first step in a physical activity, whether you are a regular at the gym or seasoned athlete. We have it all covered. You can walk, run, sprint and crawl the distance to reach the finish line. We guarantee a unique feeling when you get there.All soldiers wear a tactical vest (roughly 2KG) and a backpack to participate in the race. Inside the backpack there are two compartments.

All the necessary items for refueling (water, energy balls, fruits) are included inside the back according to the chosen distance. Yes, that’s right, you drink when you are thirsty, you eat when you are hungry!

Physical, Mental and Cultural obstacles

If you fail an obstacle, 1KG extra weight is added to your backpack. This burden has to be carried until the finish line. Don’t worry, on average a soldier carries 45 KG. So even if you would fail every single obstacle, the load to carry would not come anywhere near that number 🙂

Some obstacles are physical challenges and some more mental ones. We even test your knowledge with some culture obstacles.

Obstacles and racing path are never revealed before a race. You will have to find out yourself soldier! The only thing we can reveal is the last obstacle, which is “the commemoration wall”. It’s maybe the last obstacle but the most significant in our minds.

A symbol for Peace

From the ashes and rubble left by war in the fields of France and Belgium, beautiful poppies began to flower. A Canadian soldier and poet was inspired by this phenomenon and wrote the most famous poem “”In Flanders Field’s””. These red poppy flowers quickly became a symbol sign of remembrance for those who lost their lives during the war. Poppies are, without a doubt, one of the most famous flowers in history.

In accordance with our mission to honor and commemorate, we also seek to be a symbol for Peace by bringing people together during our events. At the finish line, all War-Race soldiers will receive a white poppy flower, the symbol of Pacifism. Our Peace program is called P4P as in “Poppy 4 Peace”. We ask all participants to take original pictures with their earned poppies and post them on social media using hashtag #racetohonor #war-race #poppy4peace

Your next race for FREE?

With every race 10 pictures will be chosen by our staff and the creators will race for FREE in the next battle. So by joining War-Race community, you not only push yourself out of your comfort zone but also contribute to keeping the commemorations alive and support Peace keeping with our unique approach.

Join us now soldier !

The unknown part of the World Wars

When we think of the war effort, we generally see men in action, fighting for our freedom. This nonetheless paints only one side of the story. Much effort is put into place in showing how the battles were fought and what sacrifices were needed in order to do so. On the other hand, a significant part of how this all came to be is left out, unfortunately.

We should acknowledge that women should not be associated with weeping, waiting wives, mothers and darlings. On the contrary, they gave their sons to the battlefields, went on serving as nurses, working in munition factories, building ships, maintaining farms, being airplane mechanics and any other job in any other industry you could imagine. And if that wasn’t enough, they even served in battle like men. So women played various pivotal roles and without them, history and our present-day would be completely different. This too completely changed the family structure and perception of women in society that finally led to giving birth to the right to vote and so much more.

Women and Men

The War-Race community makes it a priority to HONOR women AND men equally! We put the necessary effort to make War-Race a challenging experience for both young and less young, both women and men.

To us, the stories of women during these events are far too often denied and almost forgotten. So with every edition of every battle, we will obviously bring to light some of the less-known records of heroic women. This will always be shown on every Race page and easily found with the symbol

Check out our Race page to find out more and sign up to be a part of the War-Race community. See you on the Honor-field women! Come numerous!

Throughout history

In the 1800’s, cavalries where central during battle and battles were fought on horseback. When World War One began in 1914, both sides knew that it was impossible to use horses in the trenches to win the war. They did however still continue to use them for transportation as they did with elephants, camels, reindeers or donkeys. On the battlefields, tanks made their first appearance.

Throughout both World wars, dogs remained the most in service and were the utmost trusted workers. Their roles were numerous. Pest control, searching, hunting, guarding, rescuing, you named it.

Horses, cats and dogs may have been known to serve mankind throughout history, but the list of animals does not end there. We used pigeons for messaging, baboons for lookouts, pigs, bears and foxes as mascots, and so on.

War-Race Mascots

Many animals were left behind while families fled their homes. These animals were adopted by the soldiers during their time on the warfront. For the rescued animals, being in a soldier’s care meant comfort and survival. For the soldiers, these adopted pets, meant companionship and tenderness on the atrocious battlefields.

For the women and men in wars, animals were and will always will be fellow soldiers, comrades and companions on and off the battlefields. At War-Race we Honor all the living beings and therefore do not take for granted these amazing animals who live amongst and with us. We proudly present the two War-Race mascots “Lessi and Lona”. These labradors changed our lives as many other animals do for billions of people around the world. It is a privilege to have them around with us at all time when we prepare the next venues. They truly bring us joy, energy and calmness in our journeys.

Can’t wait to see them during the next race? Sign up now.

The right thing to do

What Else Should We Be Doing?

Do you have any ideas on how we could support even better? We’d love to hear them! Get in touch and we’ll chat!