Warrior Dash

[Bike Chick]

Well DS and DDIL have talked us into doing the Warrior Dash (http://warriordash.com/) in September. I think we had a moment of weakness!

Has anyone ever run this race and how do you train to prepare for it? I'm a bit worried about climbing over junk autos and the cargo net. Especially since I'm running a HM three weeks later. I can see me breaking an ankle in the net and not being able to run for 2 months!

Any words of advice?

[Jen12]

I wanted to do this, but couldn't recruit anyone else to do it with me and it didn't seem like a fun race to do solo.

I'm sure you'll be okay. I think if you go slowly and carefully...maybe start at the back of the group because you know there are always the more aggressive "competitor" types up front...you'll do fine. If it was super dangerous it wouldn't be quite so popular.

Have fun!

[Jolt]

I'm signed up to do the New England one in a couple of weeks...I'll have to let you know how it goes! I haven't really done any specific training for the obstacles, aside from the fact that I run trails and find random obstacles on those runs :).

[Bike Chick]

Be sure to let me know how it goes, Jolt. It looks fun and you are right, Jen, it wouldn't be fun to do by yourself. That's the reason my DIL finally twisted my arm enough to get me to do it. There are 6 of us total and you make a good point that if it was really dangerous, it wouldn't be so popular.

[OakLeaf]

I blew off the one I was signed up for last weekend because I had a cold I couldn't shake, I relapsed every time I went for a little run, and I just wasn't emotionally invested in the Warrior Dash. (Finally got over it, so it was probably the right decision.)

Trying to decide now whether to sign up for one they're having in the fall, only a little bit farther from me.

[GLC1968]

I'm signed up for one this fall (6 weeks prior to my first HM!) but I'm not sure if I'll do it or not. I haven't been able to convince a single soul to do it with me, so I can't imagine it'll be much fun alone. I can't even convince my husband to come and watch, for pete's sake!

I think you'll probably be fine as long as you pay attention to what you are doing and you aren't out there for blood. ;)

[chosen1]

I did the Warrior Dash here in Louisiana a few months ago. It was A LOT of fun, in spite of the ensuing tornado that eventually shut down the afternoon heats of the race. There was a group of 6 of us, it was more of a "fun run 5K" than a race for us and we were all able to complete it under an hour. We're all pretty fit and just did it to have fun not really "compete" per se, I mean really, we were in kilts and all haha.

If your course is anything like ours was, I'd say run it in cleats instead of tennis shoes, we were slipping all over the place. Most of us just had on a pair of old running shoes that we left at the finish line. You'll see people there in different levels of physical fitness but the common theme is having fun. Bring a change of clothes, a towel, trash bag for your muddy/dirty clothes if you plan to keep them, duct tape for your shoes, again, it was muddy and people were losing their shoes in the mud.

The cargo net isn't as "challenging" as it sounds. Also, with the junk cars think Dukes of Hazard and slide across the hood ha ha that seemed to be the best course of action and took the least amount of energy at that point ha ha. I actually think/thought the hardest obstacle was the one that is built by 4 x 4s that you have to climb over, like walking the plank and balancing yourself in wet shoes :eek: I think you'll be fine if you pay attention to the course. Just go out there and have fun!

[Bike Chick]

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't even thought about the wet, muddy shoes issue. So you are suggesting I duct tape my shoes to my feet? Did I read that correctly? Any I hadn't thought about bringing a trash bag for my muddy clothes. It sounds fun.

[chosen1]

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't even thought about the wet, muddy shoes issue. So you are suggesting I duct tape my shoes to my feet? Did I read that correctly? Any I hadn't thought about bringing a trash bag for my muddy clothes. It sounds fun.


haha, yes, when you get your shoes on, go over your lace area and ankle area with duct tap to hold your shoes to your feet. The pic I attached is kinda what I mean, but it gives you the gist of it. It will be a BLAST! Here are few pics from our course and this was pre-tornado and the race being shut down because of said tornado. We were lucky enough to be in the morning heat and got to finish.

[chosen1]

haha, yes, when you get your shoes on, go over your lace area and ankle area with duct tap to hold your shoes to your feet. The pic I attached is kinda what I mean, but it gives you the gist of it. It will be a BLAST! Here are few pics from our course and this was pre-tornado and the race being shut down because of said tornado. We were lucky enough to be in the morning heat and got to finish.


These are a few more pics from the course...if you're afraid of heights the big rope tower may scare you a little bit and also, the fire jump at the end was higher than I expected, but you're soaking wet from head to to so unless you just fall into it, you'll be fine. :D

ETA: You'll see some CREATIVE costumes out there too! but I would suggest not doing anything too "heavy" (ie. full on bunny suit) because you're going to be soaking wet which means added weight to your clothes while you run..

[Bike Chick]

Oh my goodness! Those pictures are awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. And a dang tornado had to come along and ruin the fun for everyone. Bummer.

Here's something I noticed. I don't see anyone in your pictures or the website that looks over 35---I'm in my 50's! Do they have an old people ramp for really tough climbs :-)

[chosen1]

Oh my goodness! Those pictures are awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. And a dang tornado had to come along and ruin the fun for everyone. Bummer.

Here's something I noticed. I don't see anyone in your pictures or the website that looks over 35---I'm in my 50's! Do they have an old people ramp for really tough climbs :-)

It's both funny and disturbing about the tornado, once the race was cancelled transportation back to the parking area was basically non-existent so there were literally thousands of folks on top of the levee walking/running about 2mi or so back to where they had us park, which was basically swampland so HUNDREDS of cars/SUVS were stuck in the mud for hours, all while the tornado is coming. I had a moment of clarity where I hear the sirens going off, I'm stuck in the mud and theres no where for me to go. Not exactly how i thought my last minutes would be haha.

Old is a state of mind :-) I vividly remember a lady that was out there and she had to be in her 60s, she had her shoes in her hand and was just moseying along having a good time, covered in mud..LOL

[Jolt]

OK...so I knew the course was supposed to be muddy, but I wasn't expecting most of it to be ankle-deep mud!! Talk about slippery. I actually did better than I thought considering the conditions...52:38:85. The first part was frankly really scary because of how crowded it was...each wave can be up to 600 people and that first section was through the woods with lots of hills, twists, turns and logs/trees/rocks to maneuver around, in very slippery mud with a gazillion people really close. Running through the woods is fun; doing so in what feels like a stampede where you're all sliding around is frightening. I thought for sure I was going to wipe out and then get stepped on or have somebody land on top of me; a couple of minor wipeouts and collisions did happen but that was the worst of it. Fortunately after that section we spread out some. I walked more than I ran (as did a lot of people, probably most)--a lot of the mud was just too slippery to run in, and there were some pretty steep hills. In the places that were runnable, I tried to run fast. I'd say the easiest obstacles for me were the wall we had to climb over with the rope and the one where we had to go up a ramp, go across a narrow beam and go down the ramp on the other end. The hardest one by far was the horizontal cargo net (the vertical one wasn't bad) right before the finish--it just felt really awkward because I ended up with too much of my weight on my arms and the thing kept shifting because other people were on it. I'm sure there was probably a better technique for getting across that than what I did. The funniest thing was that after the regular cargo net, there was a steep downhill that most of us slid down on our butts! One more thing...I don't know if this is the case for the other Warrior Dash races but at this one the traffic/parking situation was horrendous!! It took me an hour to cover the last mile to the parking area.

[Tri Girl]

congrats on your dash!! While that looks like a lot of fun, I'm far too clumsy to be running around on an accident-laden course. ;)
Great job out there!!!!

[OakLeaf]

Woot! Good job! :D

[Crankin]

Jolt, one of my 20 something co-workers did the same dash you did. She knows I ride, as we went to school together, but she was impressed I knew about the mud, etc.
TE helps in so many ways.

[Bike Chick]

Congrats on your Dash, Jolt, and thanks for the report! This is filling me with confidence for September! Did you have trouble keeping your shoes on?

[Jolt]

In answer to Bike Chick's question, no, I didn't have trouble keeping my shoes on (but I wear VFFs, which are a lot easier to keep on than sneakers would be)--just had trouble staying upright because I was sliding everywhere! It's easier to run on ice than to run in mud like that. Crankin, I hope your friend wasn't one of the people around me at the beginning that had to hear me yell "stay the h*ll away from me" because I was so scared that they would end up on top of me in a collision...not my best moment!

[chosen1]

Awesome Jolt! Yea that running on mud is both dangerous and "fun" at the same time. Glad you made it through unscathed...and I will agree that our parking situtuation was a MESS as well!! Very poorly organized and it only got worse once the afternoon wave was cancelled since folks had gotten there only to be turned around, it was really a mess..

[chosen1]

In answer to Bike Chick's question, no, I didn't have trouble keeping my shoes on (but I wear VFFs, which are a lot easier to keep on than sneakers would be)--just had trouble staying upright because I was sliding everywhere! It's easier to run on ice than to run in mud like that. Crankin, I hope your friend wasn't one of the people around me at the beginning that had to hear me yell "stay the h*ll away from me" because I was so scared that they would end up on top of me in a collision...not my best moment!

What are VFFs?

[colby]

What are VFFs?

Vibram FiveFingers - minimalist shoes :)

Speaking of mud, running, and FiveFingers....
I am thinking about running the Dirty Dash in a pair of Trek Sports instead of my KSOs, but I'm not sure the traction really matters at that point. They are just so slippery when worn, and, well, in general. I've been on ice/snow with the Flows (basically the same sole) and I am not sure mud would be much better. I'm mostly afraid of hyperextending or falling on my face ;)

[Crankin]

My friend was supposed to start at 12:00, but because of the parking fiasco, she went off in the wave at 1:00.
She wouldn't have minded, ah, she's kind of tough.

[GLC1968]

Great job, Jolt!

Can I ask which VFF style you were wearing? I was going to do the same, but I was afraid of losing one in the mud!

[Jolt]

I was wearing KSOs...not likely to come off in the mud!!

[chosen1]

Vibram FiveFingers - minimalist shoes :)

Speaking of mud, running, and FiveFingers....
I am thinking about running the Dirty Dash in a pair of Trek Sports instead of my KSOs, but I'm not sure the traction really matters at that point. They are just so slippery when worn, and, well, in general. I've been on ice/snow with the Flows (basically the same sole) and I am not sure mud would be much better. I'm mostly afraid of hyperextending or falling on my face ;)


Ahhh makes sense haha