Author - OCR Unlimited

Juan Carlos Obando was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in Ecuador until the age of 11, when he moved back to Toronto with his family. From a very young age his passion and love for athleticism grew. This passion was first ignited by Soccer. It didn’t matter if he was playing with friends or playing for amateur leagues in Toronto, as long as he was playing. After High School he played more competitively for both the Humber and Seneca College teams, and later played for the Toronto District Soccer League (TDSL), on the Toronto Celtics.In 2013, Juan Carlos got into bodybuilding. After seeing his dedication to working out, his best friend Tito invited him to an event called “O Course” held at the docks in Toronto. Unaware of what this event had in store, he shortly realized after starting that he was in trouble. Weighing 190-200Lbs at the time, doing warm ups and explosive high intensity exercises with short sprints from one exercise to another came at a huge shock, leaving him gasping for air and wondering what the hell just happened. But after the shock, he entertained the thought of returning.The following weekend Juan Carlos returned to face the O Course again. As everyone started to line up he stood beside someone who would not only inspire him, but also become a close friend. That persons name is Jesse Bruce.Jesse introduced Juan Carlos to the sport he loves dearly today, Obstacle Course Racing (OCR). It all started when Jesse approached Juan excitedly about an upcoming race, the Spartan 5K Race, that he was planning on doing. Juan remembers him saying, “It’s going to be a lot of fun” so Juan decided to give it a try as well. Though the race was difficult, Juan Carlos experienced many exciting moments that lead him to fall in love with OCR, starting his journey. His second race was a Tough Mudder, which he ran with a group of friends. Soon after meeting his wife, Cerys Cook who also has a passion for OCR, they began running races together. This is when he realized he was completely hooked.In 2018, Juan Carlos started making moves he never thought possible before. Here he began making a footprint in the OCR community and took a spot at the top of his Age Group Division.Getting to that point was not an easy feat. He worked hard on shedding weight, running, and building upper body and grip strength. Adjusting his training any way he could to progress.Outside of OCR, Juan Carlos has 15 years of experience in Logistics and Operations Management.Juan Carlos thanks Jesse Bruce and his gym, One Academy, and the One Army family for all the love and support throughout the years.Juan Carlos also thanks all of his OCR friends and loved ones, who know who they are, from the bottom of his heart. He always looks forward to seeing them at the starting line with smiles and cheers.