Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Warrior Dash Race Recap

Over the weekend I completed the Warrior Dash for the 2nd year in a row. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the race, it is one of those obstacle course races. Kate S and I did it last year and had a blast.
Warrior Dash 2011

This year we decided to convince our husbands/fiancés to do it with us. We arrived early enough to pick up our packet and hang out a little before our wave time started. The race takes place over the course of 2 days and we chose the 2nd day (Sunday). It ended up raining all night on Saturday so I think the course was much muddier than usual. That's ok though, that is kind of the point. We made sure to get in a nice "before" photo.
L to R: Sam, Kate LF, Kate S, Matt, Mike Toph, me

We started right on time (9am). I wanted to just run this comfortably and have fun with it. I just ran a 5k on Thursday and I didn't want to overdo it. All of the obstacles get pretty crowded and if you're trying to go through the course quickly, you must choose your lanes carefully. This is a family friendly event full of lots of runners (and walkers) at all fitness levels, so you could easily get tied up at an obstacle if you are stuck behind someone who is struggling. Last year there seemed to be more obstacles that required upper body strength. This year there seemed to be more obstacles that required long legs (if you were tall, they were much easier).

After army crawling under barbed wire, walking across a rope net, sliding down a muddy slip n slide, climbing up a rock wall (and going down the other side on a firefighter pole), climbing up and down another net, jumping over fire, and swimming through a mud pit, I was done and wearing my medal. I quickly found my friends Kate S and her fiancé Matt as they finished before me.

I headed back towards the end of the race course to wait for Toph. When I saw him coming I got really excited because I know based on his time that the non-runner actually ran a majority of the race. He also said it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was going to be. Who knows--he just may become a runner some day! (Maybe...) The next ones to cross were Sam an Kate who did the entire race together. It was cute to see them cross the finish line together. After we were all done, we took our "after" photo and headed to the beer tent (crucial).
L to R: Mike, Toph, me, Sam, Kate LF, Matt, Kate S

L to R: Kate LF, Kate S, me

me and Toph

recreating the 2011 photo: Kate S and I

The swag for the race this year was a super soft unisex cotton tee. I don't like that it's unisex, but I love that it is super soft. We also got a "helmet." The folks from Monster and Bear Naked were also there handing out free samples (but the Monster drinks weren't cold enough so they weren't allowed to give them out...???)

All in all, this is a really fun race. It is kind of organized chaos once you're out there, and it is definitely a "run at your own risk" kind of thing. There is a greater risk of injury at these types of races so that is something to keep in mind before signing up.

10 comments:

  1. I think these look like so much fun! Well done to all and woo hoo that Toph might become a runner yet! :)

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  2. Thanks Morgan! This race really is a ton of fun!! :) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Toph, even though he still says he never plans on running another race ever again.

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  3. I still boast a scar from warrior dash 2011 :) I really like the tshirt this year! And, WD2011 made matt sign up for more races because he had so much fun - so who knows?? :D

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  4. The shirts this year are suuuuper soft. I've been wearing it to bed every night since Sunday (TMI?) If Matt was converted, maybe there is hope for Toph... Maybe... :)

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  5. Love the photos! Great job!

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  6. These races are a lot of fun, but I end up so bruised and banged up that I can't wear shorts or a skirt for weeks. LOL. Great pics!!!!

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  7. Haha yea. I have some scrapes on my knees and wedding this weekend. Oops!

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  8. More mud! Yes! Is this one of those mud runs where you donate your shoes at the end?

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  9. Yes! I found an old pair of Saucony's in my closet that I don't even remember buying. They were worn and donated at the end. :)

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