“Basically I saw a lack of competition at the same level as on the male side. I saw a lot of my female friends backing away from competitive races and I thought it was a shame, so I decided I wanted to sponsor a women’s team,” says Nicole Mericle, 2019 Spartan World Champion.    Spartan Up Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Nicole about women in OCR and how we as a collective can encourage more women to participate. In this episode you’ll learn...   -Nicole’s genesis story with OCR racing -Nicole’s initiative to bring women into the sport via her professional team -How to make OCR more welcoming for women -Why Alex Walker and Renee Metivier are women to watch in the OCR world -Resources for women looking to participate in OCR   Connect with Nicole on Social:  -Instagram: @nickeldm -Twitter: @Nickeldm -Facebook: Nicole Mericle -OCRDreamTeam.Com   About Nicole:  Nicole is a 5-time obstacle course racing world champion and the current Spartan Race World Champion. Nicole’s competitive background began as a Division 1 Cross Country and Track & Field athlete at Rice University where she held two school records and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 3,000m steeplechase. She raced post collegiately with Hudson Elite in Boulder, Colorado, and over time transitioned to trail running and garnered her passion for rock climbing. Her diverse athletic strengths led her to test her skills at her first obstacle course race in 2016. Nicole was immediately successful, and in 2017 she won the US OCR Championship in both the 3k and 15k, finished as the first American in the Spartan Championship Series, and won the OCR World 3k Championships and Tougher Mudder World Championships. In 2018, she repeated as the 3K OCR World Champion and in 2019 solidified her rise to the top of the sport winning both the Spartan Race World and Trifecta Championships.   SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up! is brought to you by BetterHelp. Save 10% on your first month by going to BetterHelp.com/Spartan.   SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt   FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod   CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Hosts: Johnny Waite Sr Producer: Marion Abrams   © 2021 Spartan