After I finished with the Boulder Dash 5k, I raced home, did a quick change, and headed to Warrior Dash with my friends Sharon and Leia in tow.
Getting there was pretty simple…we found out a couple of months ago that the site of the race was changed, which ended up making it closer so we were happy about that! Parking was off-site and I had been forwarned by a friend that the line waiting to the bus was a little long. Little did we know that was the start of a less than stellar race experience.
When we got to the event site, we checked in, got our numbers, chip timers, shirts, and helmets and rushed to check our bags. We stood to the side for a couple of minutes and finally flagged down one of the volunteers working in the tent to let them know that we needed to check our bags. He looked at us and started helping other people! So we ended up tossing our bags behind the table into the tent as our heat was starting!
The course itself was fun. We went about a mile before we got to the first obstacle – the Barricade Breakdown. We did a lot of wading through small ponds, and the obstacles were a lot of fun. The one that gave me the most trouble was the Giant Cliffhanger - 
(photo taken from Warrior Dash website)
I got to the top but for the life of me could not throw my foot over the edge. A similar obstacle like this at the Biggest Loser Run/Walk Challenge got me, too. I ended up having to come back down and go around, which I was not happy about.
Some of the other obstacles we went through included the Deadweight Drifter, a floating barricade that we had to climb over – Storming Normandy, which was a belly crawl through mud under barbed wire – and some that they ‘invented’ with the land, such as a free repel down a rock faced incline (one of my favorites)
Probably the most well known obstacle of Warrior Dash is the Warrior Roast – you jump over a couple of rows of fires.
And the final obstacle was a long, knee deep sludgey mud pit. It was like quicksand trying to make your way through it! I saw one guy “swimming” on his back. He was covered from head to toe…even his face!! After we made it through there we crossed the finish line! We were warriors!
We got our medals and a small cup of water. Here’s where the race went downhill for us.
Once we were done, we obviously needed to rinse off. The “Warrior Wash” was a lake that you had to walk outside of the event space to get to. So we did that, walked back to the gear check tent to get our bags, and then we needed to change. There were no changing tents, so we took turns holding up towels for each other to get the muddy clothes off, wipe down with baby wipes, and put clean clothes on. Once we finished, we stood in line for close to TWO HOURS to get on a bus to take us back to the car. I was absolutely miserable. Being that I had run two races and hadn’t had much time in between to eat, I was getting overheated, so Sharon and Leia stood in line for the bus (thank you sooo much ladies) while I sat in the shade near the bus loading zone.
Warrior Dash really dropped the ball on this race. With all the mud races that are out there nowadays, I seriously doubt I will run this one again. I loved the girl time, but the pre and post race experience just killed it for me. It was by far the worst organized race I have ever been to.
Have you run a race that just wasn’t up to par?
Until next time,
I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I love the Warrior Dash and have done 3 now and have never had anything but the best time. However, the shower arrangements were different in the ones I did than what you described and parking was on site so I didn't have that issue either.
ReplyDeleteWas that the georgia dash? I was supposed to go but had to transfer to north Carolina due to back problems. I saw posts about this all over Facebook, so glad i didn't end up going. I hope your next race is a better experience for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had to deal with a crappy organized race. I've been to some that really just dropped the ball with things. Whether it was mismarked course (first 20 or so people including myself went half mile long...in a 5k...which cost me the female win), or bad pre/post race amenities. Best thing is just realize you accomplished the race, met your goal, and you DONT have to do it again (unless you wanted to).
ReplyDeleteSome of the bigger races like Warrior dash and some other big named branded races have high fees, and don't always deliver. I have heard horror stories about a lot of races with big brand names (warrior dash, RnR, etc)
We were so looking forward to this race and were so disappointed with the logistics. The 50% off next year's registration is nice, but until other logistics are finalized we do not know if we will be Warriors again next year. Very sloppy!
ReplyDeleteI did a Spartan Race in 2012 and didn't have a good experience. Husband's was worse, he broke his tailbone on one of the obstacles. We both look at it as a bucket list thing because we won't do it again.
ReplyDeleteUgh, that sounds like a terrible ending to an otherwise fun day. Was this the Warrior Dash near Atlanta? I saw a friend post on Facebook about how she had to wait 2 hours for a bus to leave after her husband finished the race. I would have been furious!
ReplyDeleteThis was the Warrior Dash near Atlanta...I was excited about the race and was very disappointed in the execution and logistics. I'm glad I didn't bring my husband along for the misery :)
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