BattleFrog® Crowns “Dream Couple” 2015 Champions

Dec. 12, 2015 - PRLog -- BattleFrog, the nation’s fastest growing obstacle course race (OCR) series and the title sponsor of the 2016 BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl, crowned its “dream couple”, World No. 1 obstacle racers Ryan Atkins and Lindsay Webster, as the 2015 BattleFrog Open Champions today in Orlando. Atkins and Webster won both the Open Championship race and clinched their season Point Series victories, taking home a combined prize pool of nearly $40,000! The hotly contested Open Championship was held at Rock Springs Run State Reserve on the Wekiva River Shoreline which features dramatic landscapes and abundant Florida wildlife including sand cranes, wild turkeys, black bears as well as plenty of deer and boars.

A beaming Atkins, who is engaged to Ms. Webster, candidly said: “Coming across the finish line with Lindsay was one of the best experiences of my life. Today we defined our OCR identity as BattleFrog champions.”

For Atkins, the point series victory was never in doubt. He came into the Championship needing only to finish the race. But this field was particularly deep and the OCR world was abuzz with the last minute registration of John Yatsko, one of the only competitors to beat him in 2015. Yatsko was attempting his first BattleFrog but was not able to match Atkins' pace. In the end, Atkins finished the difficult course in less than ninety minutes, more than two and a half minutes ahead of the rest of the field. He commented on his win: “We were all running hard, pretty much at the same speed. I picked up a little time on the early obstacles. With so much at stake, it was a big confidence booster. I never looked back.”

In the women’s race all eyes were on the epic battle between Lindsay Webster and KK Stewart-Paul who entered the Championship tied for first place in the Point Series. Webster said: “It was my most strategic race yet. KK is so strong and opened such a big lead in the first half of the race, so I was trying to keep up on the running stretches, just trying to reel her in. I knew that by keeping it close, I could catch her in the last quarter of the race using my speed.” That is exactly what Webster did, catching Stewart-Paul at BattleFrog's "monster" Platinum Rig just 200 meters from the finish. Stewart-Paul had a short lead heading into the rig, but it was Webster who had the most fuel left in the tank. She traversed the rig on her first try, sprinting to the finish, taking the championship and the OCR world by storm.

Equally dramatic was the battle for second place. With Stewart-Paul stuck on BattleFrog’s “monster” 80-foot Platinum rig, an opportunity opened up for BattleFrog Pro Athletes Corinna Coffin and Claude Godbout to finish in the top three as the minutes ticked by. With the new arrivals at the rig, the three stars locked into an epic battle, with Coffin finishing second, Godbout third and Stewart-Paul fourth. For Coffin, it was a stunning comeback for a race in which she was as far as ten minutes behind the leaders at one point. Concerning her strong finish, an emotional Coffin proudly stated: “I just kept telling myself ‘stay in this race!’ Part of the BattleFrog ethos is overcoming obstacles and never giving up. Battling is Believing. I kept going. I believed in myself. All my training paid off.”

A disappointed Stewart-Paul said she gave it everything she had for 95% of the race, but over-confidence caused a fatal slip on the last Platinum Rig. “I had the lead heading into the rig, and my hand just slipped. After that, my arms were swollen and it was hard to get going again. That was it.” Stewart-Paul, who recently quit her corporate career to pursue her dream of being a professional racer, will use her fourth place finish as motivation heading into 2016. “BattleFrog was my favorite series this year. I am one of the top athletes and I know I can improve. I’m going to work on my grip strength and I’ll be back early next year.”

The other huge rivalry coming into the Open Championship was the Master’s Division Female category with Elvie Lapointe and Jolene Wilkinson also finishing tied in points during the regular season. However, it was LaPointe who came out on top, finishing first and taking her first season-long Master’s Title and Open Championship. In the male Master's Division, regular season points leader Joel Fox lost first place due to a bicep injury, allowing Mike Morgan an opening to take the Open Championship Title.

For a complete list of results, please visit BattleFrogSeries.com. Top Finishers included:

Elite Male:

1.     Ryan Atkins – 1:29:51

2.     Joshua Zwonitzer – 1:32:30

3.     “Air Force” Ken Corigliano – 1:42:39

Elite Female

1.     Lindsay Webster – 1:50:58

2.     Corinna Coffin – 2:03:08

3.     Claude Godbout – 2:04:09

The Open Championship featured a number of new obstacles in a preview of BattleFrog’s 44-races in thirty-three cities throughout North America in 2016. Amongst the most talked about was the Pur-Roast® “Iced Coffee Plunge”. The Ice Plunge allowed Battlers to cool off under the warm Orlando sun as they completed the 8 kilometer Open course. Battlers not only emerged refreshed, but smelling of the finest low acidity coffee in the world, Pur Roast. The race also featured the newest obstacle created by BattleFrog’s acclaimed design and construction duo, Chris “Beard” Acord and “Cajun” Carl Peltier. The wedge traverse is a series of slanted walls in which Battlers are challenged to cross horizontally using rock climbing grips and foot-holds. Obstacle designer Peltier savored the chance to challenge racers, saying: “Wedge traverse adds a new flavor to our lineup of obstacles; this change makes our race dynamic and enticing. The grips should inspire our Battlers to add a new dimension to their training as part of the BattleFrog lifestyle.”

In an exclusive for the Open Championship, BattleFrog also unveiled what is widely believed to be the largest Platinum Rig ever constructed. “Basically, we took what was already one of the largest platinum rigs in the world and created a monster rig,” said Chris Acord, explaining that BattleFrog combined all four of its platinum rigs to make a single one over eighty feet in length. To make the obstacle achievable, Acord added foot-ring resting places for Battler’s to regain grip strength. “If I can complete it, anyone can do it,” he concluded.

Elite racer Sara Watson agreed, stating that the Platinum Rig was a potential differentiator for elite athletes with over $60,000.00 of prize money at stake. “Any elite athlete wants the platinum rig to be as difficult as possible, because it is one of the ‘make or break’ obstacles. As a Battler, it really excites me to see something that’s intimidating but doable. It is not easy to get across: it eliminated some great Battlers today and that made the finish so much more exciting.”

As in every BattleFrog, elite division athletes are required to complete every obstacle in order to qualify for points and prizes. Elites lose their elite bands upon failing an obstacle. The most talked about memento of the BattleFrog 2015 season was the very first obstacle at the start line: the “Wall of Lost Souls”. The wall featured over 850 elite athlete bands taken from Battlers over the course of the year for non-completion of an obstacle by Acord. BattleFrog elite racer Cody Mussler was amused by the wall decoration, observing that “Beard (Acord) took four out of my ten entry bands this year. Every time he took one, he smiled as if he enjoyed it. It was a soul crushing experience, but it made me train harder and I am awfully pleased by my performance today at the Open Championship.”

The Top ten finishers in each racing category took home cash prizes totaling more than $60,000.00, with the next top twenty elite Battlers receiving season passes. Additionally, BattleFrog CEO Ramiro Ortiz presented a financial contribution to the US Navy SEAL Museum, stemming from BattleFrog’s 4^th of July “Virtual Run”. In presenting the check, Ortiz said: “We are pleased to continue our relationship with the Navy SEAL Museum and to honor these heroes.”

BattleFrog will return to Orlando in 2016 as part of its four Florida stops which also include Miami and Tampa races. Earlier this month, BattleFrog announced its biggest expansion ever, adding destinations throughout North America including the Pacific Coast and Canada.

ABOUT BATTLEFROG:

The BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series is the nation’s fastest growing OCR event. It is heralded as one of the top OCR companies by industry publications and is widely considered the most challenging Elite Points Series events in OCR. BattleFrog is more than a race, it is also about love of family, country, fitness and the great outdoors. At every event BattleFrog offers its namesake BattleFrog Open Course, the “BattleFrog Extreme,” challenging racers to achieve the longest overall distance, the “BullFrog Mile” and the 400-meter “Tadpole Dash” for families with young children. The BattleFrog College Championship on ESPN is the most-watched Obstacle Race show on television and will return in June of 2016 on ESPN. Follow our national advertising campaign on ESPN starring Rippit, the mascot who exclaims: “BattleFrog: Gotta Live It!™” at the conclusion of every commercial. To sign up for a BattleFrog event, visit www.BattleFrogSeries.com and we invite you to follow BattleFrog on Facebook. BattleFrog – Gotta Live It™.