So this past weekend, myself and 2 crazy friends, Courtney & Steve, ran in the 2010 Warrior Dash up in Windham, NY. Such a crazy and hilarious day! What's the Warrior Dash, you ask? According to their site: Warrior Dash is the ultimate event for thrill-seeking athletes. This running series is held on some of the nation's most demanding and unique terrain. Participants will conquer extreme obstacles and celebrate their feat with music, beer, warrior helmets and muddy shorts.
Beer, Warrior Helmets, and Mud? Sign me up!
Our race time was scheduled for 3:30pm. The whole race started at 9am-ish, and there was a new wave every half hour until around 5pm. About 500 people in each wave...do the math...that's a LOT of muddy people! We got up there around 1:30 and the place was already CHAOS!
We quickly picked up our race packets, our awesome fuzzy warrior helmets and t-shits. Changed into our grubby clothes and checked our bags at bag check.
Since we were STARVING we headed over to the main area to grab some food. Even more chaos! First, everyone kept telling us we had to have tickets to buy food and beer. So we head over there and buy tickets. Then we realize the line for food is easily an hour long. Hmmm... this isn't looking good. Steve and I stumble on a Caribbean food stand selling jerk chicken and curry chicken. Plus it had no line. Grabbed some of the food, which was actually pretty decent, and found a seat to quickly eat. Alex & Courtney stayed on the long line for burgers. They didn't get back until 20 mins before we had to race!! In the meantime, we kept people watching and commenting on all the muddy runners, the awesome costumes wandering around, and the waves kicking off every 30 minutes...
Courtney decided last minute to join us in the run. She originally registered but then didn't feel great the whole week leading up to the race. After seeing all the mud and fun, she quickly decided to do it and just take her time going through.
The three of us said bye to Alex and headed to the start line about 3:15. The mood was great, everyone laughing and joking, not knowing what to expect. Then at 3:30 the gun went off, fire cannons blew, and we were off!Now did I mention that Windham is actually a ski mountain? And the start and finish line were at the bottom of the mountain by the lodge? But the race course went up the ski mountain and then back down. Yeah...we were NOT fans of the trek up that mountain! It's SO much easier coming down on a snowboard! There were girls crying because it was so hard! Luckily there were no tears shed from the 3 of us and we just kept trudging along, granted at a nice brisk walk and not a run.
On the way up we encountered our first few obstacles, the Knee High Hell - aka - the tires. Got through that pretty easily and then ran into the Warrior Wall - 4 or 5 slightly higher than waist high walls that you had to climb over. The Tunnels of Terror were next and other than scuffing up my knees pretty bad, it wasn't horrible.
After all that fun we stumbled upon the frigid muddy lake or according to them, the Slithering Swamp. Not gonna lie...after hiking up that mountain, the water felt fabulous. It was FREEZING!!
A little longer and a few more obstacles, we finally get to moment we've all been waiting for! The slip n' slide, fire and mud pit! :)
Just a warning... lol
First up? The slip n' slide...
Then? The fire pit!!! (Thanks to Alex for the photos lol)
And the mud pit...
And we did it! We're done!
After congratulating each other and grabbing a few beers, we headed into the lodge to dry off and change into some warm dry clothes! There was also a place you can toss your gross sneakers and a company will clean and donate them to a good cause....
All in all it was a fabulous day!! We all had a great time, the only thing we would change is that we'd get there earlier to enjoy all of the festivities. They already posted the dates for next year and we're all ready to sign up! Bring on 2011!!! Warriors!!! :)
That's freakin awesome! We are doing the Spartan Race here in Texas on Sunday. It's a lot like the Warrior Dash. Any advice????
ReplyDelete@Pamela.... I hear the Spartan Race is fabulous! I tried to register for the one by me but it's during a weekend that I won't be around.
ReplyDeleteNo crazy advice really from my viewpoint...just go out and have a great time. The only part I wish I did better on was the looooong hike up the hill in the beginning. Not sure if your race will have that. Next year I'll try to go on some hilly hikes/runs prior to the race.
We didn't go for any time goals either, just took our time and enjoyed the whole course. I feel like all these type races are just for the experience, I'll worry about my time in other races! Enjoy!
Just found your blog through Disboards. I've enjoyed reading about your disney adventures. Good luck with the Wine&Dine Half. I'll be running my first Disney race in January. I'm really looking forward to it! Any tips for a first time disney runner?
ReplyDelete(PS I was also at the Warrior Dash in Windham. My first dash, what a great time!)
- Patrick
@Patrick... Thanks! Keep an eye out for more updates after this weekend! I'm planning a thorough trip report/food report/race report for the whole weekend. :) Awesome that you'll be running in January...the full or the half? Disney was my first big race and it was the best experience.
ReplyDeleteHmm...advice? Take it all in and enjoy it! Everyone is so supportive of everyone else, it's just a great atmosphere the whole weekend. As the race gets closer, or at least after the Wine & Dine.... I'll be writing a post about 'Things to Know for Disney Races', or something similar. It'll include some Disney race specific stuff (getting the buses, etc) and general big race info.
A great source of Disney running info is the awesome gang over at RunningoftheEars.com I've learned so much from them, and they're such an amazing support group at the races. Stop on by if you can and say hi :)
Funny that you did Warrior too! I can't wait for next year! If you register now, it's only $40 :)
Thanks for reading!
I'll be running the half and the 5K in January. My sister just started running so I'll be running in the 5K with her. From what I hear, the Disney races are alot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope that the weather isn't like last year!
ReplyDeleteI'll be waiting for your Wine & Dine trip report. I wanted to go visit this year's Wine & Dine, but couldn't make it due to work and school :( Maybe next year. I expect to hear about all the great food you'll be eating!
I'll definitely check out RunningoftheEars.com. Was looking for some good info on running in general and about Disney.
Good luck this weekend! Don't eat too much! (Who am I kidding, eat as much as you can! I think the food would be the best part of the weekend for me.)
- Patrick
Oh that's awesome! I signed up for next year's Warrior Dash - Southeast! Loved all your pictures! How did you do that without ruining your camera??
ReplyDelete@Niffercoo - it was SO much fun! The camera I used was a waterproof digital camera. It's been through a lot and still keeps on going. Just ran it under some running water after the race and it's back to normal.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose you have a link to that camera would you? I would love to find a waterproof digital! Right now, my plans are just a waterproof disposable, but the pics will be poor quality!
ReplyDelete@Niffercoo - I have the Pentax W60...although I might not recommend it anymore. I'm not a fan of how it takes photos at night. There's also a few other annoyances about it. I've heard a lot of great things about Olympus' line of waterproof cameras.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital.asp?section=stylustough
Try that link, it shows you the most recent models. But I know you can find just as good ones for much cheaper on Amazon, etc. One of the Olympus ones will be my next digital waterproof, I just have to sit and research a bit.