Areas containing an assortment of obstacles to be negotiated, used for sporting events, military training, or animal competitions. Obstacle courses typically include a series of challenging physical obstacles that an individual, team, or animal (often a horse or dog) must navigate while being timed. Obstacles may include water ditches, open ditches, walls, fences, hurdles, and other hazards encountered while the participant is running, jumping, crawling, climbing, or balancing, with the goal of winning a contest, testing endurance or tactical skills, physical training, team building, or problem solving. Runners of the standard obstacle course as a sporting event must negotiate seven water jumps and 28 hurdle jumps.
