Warrior Dash -- for real?

These 'mud runs' seem to be the trend in the last few years, with every kind of obstacle you can think of. There's a whole host of them and while I've not made a great effort to run one of them, I did embark on my first one this summer.

Friends of mine rallied together and decided that they would be doing the Warrior Dash, run at Windham Mountain, in Windham, NY.

While I was a bit skeptical at first, I decided that if I can do Hash Runs through major metros and in the back woods of NJ-PA-NY and rather sketchy areas of the NYC and Atlantic City, then I could certainly handle the Warrior Dash.

So here we were.
Feeling very much like an Arlo Guthrie lyric, we had a great night out the night before the event -- so we all looked and felt our best!



The course started with the first 10 minutes straight up the mountain to the first series of obstacles. We went through numerous wood structures before getting to the first water hazard about 20 minutes into the run. And man, the cold water was enough to the take your breath away!!

Overall, the waiting at obstacles was not too bad - or long - as you might hear about in other events. Feeling accomplished at the end and reflecting back, I don't think I need to run it again....especially given the broad assortment. However, given the option, I might consider the "elite heat" which starts early in the am (out of the direct sun) and of course means very little waiting at the hazards.

When you think about all the options out there -- it can be tough to choose;
Spartan Race
Warrior Dash
Tough Mudder
Bad Prom Run
Color Run
Foam Fest
Illuminate Run
Ridiculous Obstacles 
Zombie Apocolypse


but you gotta appreciate the timing chip, which also doubles as a beer token...
cheers!