Warrior Dash - 5/18

Our Warrior Dash day finally arrived.  We signed up for this back in the fall as a group.  I am a technology specialist and a bunch of us signed up together.  We made shirts...we carpooled...we cheered each other on!  It was a phenomenal day!

First off, it was cool (around 60) and drizzling rain.  PERFECT for a muddy obstacle run!  We got checked in, geared up and checked our gear.  Funniest part of that - NONE of us had our devices so we had NO idea what time our heat started or what time it was really :)   We don't have any action pictures yet - the Warrior Dash folks took lots of photos but they aren't posted for another 3 days.  Here are our after shots.

The course was 3.16 miles of up and down through a motocross course.  We went on muddy trails through the woods, up and down steep hills and over 12 obstacles.  You can see the Warrior Dash official photos of the obstacles here.

• Barricade Breakdown - up over walls and under wires in the mud.. About 5 walls and 5 unders
• Chained Up - This one was REALLY hard.  It was like a cargo net of chain links.  It was so hard because the chains shook and shook.  I really had trouble with this one because the shaking was sooo bad and I couldn't stabilize my core! I went around this one.
• Teetering Traverse - up a 2x12 ramp, over and down the 2x12 
• Trenches - I honestly think they left this one out...instead they did this large wooden structure that we had to climb over.  made out of 2x4s.  There were spaces of about 4' in between the wood slats.   It was ok to climb up and to climb down, but the OVER the top was tough because the slats were so far apart and we were about 15-20 ft off the ground.  I climbed up to the top but didn't make it over - this wasn't a physical issue, it was all in my head.
• Pipeline - not anything really, running/walking through a big tube tunnel
• Petrifying Plunge - a HUGE hill turned into a mudslide! 
• Warrior Wall - tall wall with a rope to help you get up and over.  I got up a little bit, but didn't make it over this one. I went around this one after trying it.
• Storming Normandy - crawl in the mud through lots of low barbed wire. 
• Vicious Valleys - HUGE!  These were tall slanted walls, up and downs that we had to go over.  The problem was that there was such a backup at this point that there lines in between each valley to climb the next wall.  We went around this one.
• Cargo Climb - tall cargo net to climb up and over! 
• Warrior Roast - leap over rows of fire!
• Muddy Mayhem - climb under barbed wire in really thick clay-mud.  I lost my shoe on this one!

This is a video that someone who completed the race on the same day made with a helmet cam!  It's a good view of the entire race.

I went slowly through the trails.  It was a lot of slippery footing and I was not willing to risk my re-constructed ankles.   I went much more slowly then I probably needed to but I wanted to be safe.

It was a super fun, SUPER MUDDY experience.  I felt so strong afterward!

A few really cool parts of the Warrior Dash - when you finish you can donate your muddy shoes!

I wrapped my fitbit well in plastic before we started and tucked it in to be safe.  It was great!  It logged 109 flights of stairs for the race!  SOOO many hills and up and overs!

At the start, they shoot off fire when it is GO TIME!  Look at this start line photo!

There is live music, food, beverages and a huge festival atmosphere afterward!

And my favorite part - afterwards I got this HUGE smoke turkey leg! YUM!

The attitude at this race is great.  People help each other all the time.  it is a great event and I highly recommend it to challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone!