After the OCR: Cleaning Yourself and Your Gear

The finish line is not always the final obstacle. Sometimes the last obstacle is figuring out how to get yourself clean enough to get into the car.

You may finish an obstacle course race wet, muddy, scratched, hungry and carrying shoes that now qualify as agricultural equipment.

Some OCR venues have changing areas, rows of rinse hoses and decent facilities. Others are farms, fields, campgrounds, ski areas or temporary event sites where post-race amenities are limited or nonexistent.

A little planning before you leave home can make the difference between changing comfortably after the race and trying to strip off muddy compression shorts while crouched behind an open car door.

Build a Post-Race Cleanup Bag Before You Leave Home

Your post-race kit does not need to be elaborate. It needs to solve the predictable problems: you are wet, dirty, possibly scratched up and probably do not want any of that transferred permanently to your vehicle.

• A complete dry change of clothes
• Dry underwear and socks
• Dry shoes, sandals or recovery footwear
• One or two large towels
• Contractor bags, plastic bags, waterproof gear bags or a storage tote for muddy equipment
• Basic wound-care supplies
• Clean drinking water and post-race food
• A changing robe, pop-up changing tent or tailgate privacy shelter if appropriate
• A portable rinse system or solar shower bag if the venue permits one
• An old towel, blanket or washable seat cover for the ride home

Those pop-up changing tents may look excessive when you load the car in the morning. They look considerably smarter when you finish the race and discover that the venue’s changing facility consists of a parking lot and optimism.

Do Not Assume the Venue Has Showers, Hoses or Changing Areas

Read the athlete guide or event FAQ before race day. If the organizer specifically lists rinse stations, showers or changing areas, great. If it does not, do not assume they will be there.

OCR events are frequently temporary operations built on property that was never designed to process hundreds of muddy people at once.

A small pop-up privacy tent or tailgate shelter can turn the area beside your vehicle into a perfectly functional changing room. A portable shower or solar water bag can provide enough water to remove the worst of the mud when no venue hose is available.

If you use a solar shower bag, check the water temperature before putting it on your skin. Water sitting in direct sun can become much hotter than expected. Also use portable rinse systems only where the venue allows them and where the runoff will not create another muddy problem for the property owner.

Get Out of Wet Clothing

One of the easiest post-race improvements is simply getting dry.

Bring everything you need to replace what you wore on course, including socks and footwear. Wet clothing becomes increasingly unpleasant on a long drive home and can become a bigger problem in cool or windy conditions.

Dry socks and shoes are particularly valuable. There is very little glory in sitting through a two-hour drive while your feet continue soaking in the same muddy shoes you raced in.

Wash Yourself Thoroughly Once You Can

OCR mud is not spa mud.

You may have crawled through soil, standing water, natural water, grass, sand and whatever else the course happened to cross that day. Once you have access to a proper shower, wash thoroughly with soap and clean water.

Pay attention to places where mud likes to remain after the obvious dirt is gone:

• Between your toes
• Around your ankles
• Under waistbands
• Skin folds
• Under fingernails
• Around scrapes and abrasions

Once the Mud Is Gone, Check Your Cuts and Scrapes

Abrasions can be difficult to evaluate when they are covered with mud.

Once you can properly see your skin, look at the cuts, rope burns, hand tears, blisters and scrapes you accumulated during the race.

Clean minor wounds with soap and clean water and protect them appropriately. Mud, soil and natural water can contain microorganisms you do not want remaining in broken skin.

Deep wounds, uncontrolled bleeding, embedded debris, significant punctures or wounds that become increasingly red, swollen, painful, warm or produce drainage deserve medical attention.

Do a Tick Check While You Are Checking Everything Else

If the course ran through grass, brush or woods, add a tick check to the post-race routine.

Check your clothing and gear as well as your body. Ticks can travel home on clothing or equipment and attach later.

Places worth checking carefully include:

• Under the arms
• In and around the ears
• Around the hair and scalp
• Around the waist
• Behind the knees
• Between the legs
• Inside the belly button

A shower soon after outdoor exposure also gives you a good opportunity to find ticks that were difficult to see while you were still covered in dirt.

If you find an attached tick, remove it promptly using appropriate tick-removal guidance rather than coating it with random substances and hoping it gives up.

Do Not Forget Your Ears After Dunk Walls and Water Obstacles

Dunk walls, swims and other water obstacles can leave water trapped in the outer ear. That is worth dealing with rather than driving home with race water sitting in your ear canal.

Water that remains in the outer ear canal can create the moist conditions associated with swimmer’s ear.

After water exposure, tilt your head so each ear faces downward and allow the water to drain. Gently pulling the earlobe in different directions while the ear faces downward can help. Dry the outside of the ear with a clean towel.

If water remains, CDC guidance says a hair dryer may be used on its lowest heat and fan setting while held several inches away from the ear.

Do not put Q-tips, fingers or other objects down the ear canal to try to clean or dry it. Cotton swabs can irritate the canal, push material farther inward and remove protective earwax.

Some people use commercial ear-drying drops after swimming, but they are not appropriate for everyone. People with ear tubes, a perforated eardrum, current swimmer’s ear or drainage from an ear should not use drying drops without appropriate medical guidance.

Ear pain, increasing tenderness, redness, swelling, itching or drainage after a water obstacle deserves medical evaluation.

Contain the Mud Before It Gets Into Your Vehicle

Decide before the race where dirty equipment will go afterward.

Heavy contractor bags work. Waterproof gear bags work. A plastic storage tote works extremely well because you can put muddy shoes and clothing into it without worrying about puncturing a thin bag.

A towel or washable cover on the seat provides another layer of protection.

What does not work particularly well is throwing everything onto the floor of the car and promising yourself that you will deal with it later.

Clean Your OCR Shoes Before the Mud Becomes Concrete

Mud is usually easier to remove while it is still soft.

Rinse or brush away the heavy material from the outsole and upper. Deep OCR and trail-running lugs can hold surprising amounts of dirt, stones and vegetation.

Remove the insoles if appropriate, loosen the laces and open the shoes so water can drain and air can circulate.

Then follow the manufacturer’s care instructions. Do not automatically throw technical OCR or trail shoes into a hot clothes dryer. Excessive heat can damage some adhesives, foams and synthetic materials.

Let the shoes dry completely before putting them into a closed container or gear bag.

If you are still figuring out footwear, see How to Choose OCR Shoes: Grip, Fit, Drainage and Terrain.

Deal With Muddy Laundry Before It Reaches the Washing Machine

If your clothes are carrying enough mud to change their weight, remove the loose material before mixing them with ordinary laundry.

Shake or rinse off heavy dirt where appropriate, then wash technical clothing according to its care label.

Check every pocket before washing anything. Race-day pockets have a way of collecting gel wrappers, timing-chip straps, keys, gloves and miscellaneous pieces of the course.

Hydration Packs Need to Be Cleaned Inside and Out

If you raced with a hydration pack, rinsing the mud from the outside is only half of the job.

Empty the reservoir after the race instead of leaving water or sports drink sitting inside it. Clean the bladder, hose and bite valve according to the manufacturer’s instructions and allow everything to dry thoroughly before storage.

Hydration-reservoir cleaning kits are available with brushes designed for the bladder, drinking tube and bite valve. Cleaning tablets and drying accessories are also available for many systems.

A proper cleaning kit is particularly useful for the drinking tube. It is difficult to accomplish much by staring down one end of a three-foot hose and wishing it were clean.

If you used anything other than plain water in the reservoir, cleaning it promptly becomes even more worthwhile.

Also open every zippered pocket in the pack. Muddy water hiding inside a forgotten compartment can produce an impressive smell after several warm days.

For deciding whether you need to carry one in the first place, see Do I Need a Hydration Pack for an OCR Race?.

Gloves, Gaiters, Headbands and Small Gear Get Forgotten

Small equipment has a habit of disappearing inside larger pieces of muddy equipment.

Separate everything before storage. Wash or clean it according to its care instructions and inspect it while you have it out.

• Check gloves for tears or worn grip surfaces.
• Check gaiter straps and attachment points.
• Check socks for holes or abrasive damage.
• Check hydration-pack buckles and zippers.
• Check clothing for tears that became much larger than you remember.

Finding damaged gear the day after the race is much better than discovering it while getting dressed for the next one.

Clean Your GoPro, Watch and Other Electronics Carefully

Action cameras and GPS watches are built for abuse to varying degrees. Charging ports filled with grit are still charging ports filled with grit.

Clean and dry electronics according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pay particular attention to charging contacts, doors, mounts, straps and areas where mud becomes packed into small openings.

Do not immediately connect a wet or dirty charging port to power simply because the outside of the device looks clean.

Eat, Drink and Then Reassess How You Actually Feel

Race-day adrenaline can hide problems surprisingly well.

Rehydrate and eat something appropriate for the effort and conditions, then reassess yourself after you have changed clothes and calmed down.

An ankle that felt acceptable at the finish may begin swelling. A blister may become obvious once the sock comes off. A hand tear may need more attention than you realized while racing.

A significant headache, dizziness, confusion, repeated vomiting, severe pain or other concerning symptoms should not simply be written off as the price of doing OCR.

Do Not Leave the Muddy Bags in the Car Until Next Weekend

This sounds obvious until you finish a race, drive home, eat, shower and decide that everything still in the trunk is tomorrow’s problem.

Empty the car. Open wet bags. Hang towels. Remove shoes from sealed containers. Drain hydration equipment and give everything that needs airflow a chance to dry.

A wet pair of OCR socks sealed inside a plastic bag for several summer days is capable of teaching this lesson permanently.

The Gear Waiting at the Finish Can Matter as Much as the Gear on the Course

New racers naturally spend time deciding which shoes, clothes, gloves or hydration gear to wear during the race.

Do not neglect the inexpensive equipment waiting at the car.

A towel, complete set of dry clothes, waterproof bag, basic cleanup supplies and some kind of changing plan can improve the hours after your race more than another specialized piece of obstacle equipment.

Sometimes the last obstacle really is getting clean.

For the complete beginner setup, continue to What Gear Do I Actually Need for My First OCR?.

Health Sources

For tick checks and post-outdoor-exposure guidance, see the CDC guidance on preventing tick bites.

For drying ears after water exposure and preventing swimmer’s ear, see the CDC swimmer’s ear prevention guidance.