It’s been 2 years in the making, but I finally got to do a Warrior Dash!
I have read many fun reports of people participating in the obstacle course run that ends with mud and fire. Naturally, this is highly interesting to me. I love racing challenges and since I run trails more than road, mud happens. All that I knew about this was I would be expected to do some climbing and that concerned me a little.
In our CrossFit classes, we have a rope. I have never touched the thing. Even when we practice using it to just pull up and lower our weight, I skipped it altogether. I am so weak in my upper body, I have been too scared to attempt any kind of rope climb. So I knew that I might have some trouble with the climbing obstacles. However, I was shocked that I made each climb and made good time doing them. The first couple, I chalked up to adrenaline. The last big climb was tough because I was tired and it was a straight up wall climb.
Barricade Breakdown. Climb under barbed wire. Then climb up and over a wall. The walls get higher as you near the end. I think there were 3 under and 3 walls. It wasn’t bad at all.
Deadmans’ Drop: Climb up, steep drop down. 
Storming Normandy: Crawl under barbed wire for a while. I used the bear-crawl method and got through it pretty quick. Thanks, CrossFit! 
Cargo Climb: Climb up a cargo net. Not hard at all. 
Mud Mounds. This one I skipped. I waited over 5 minutes for this one. The mud walls were so steep, people could NOT get any kind of grip with hands or feet. People were on top trying to pull them up and people pushed them up from the bottom. But those same people were not making any progress. A few of us skipped it since we couldn’t see any progress at all. 
Diesel Dome: Wood cage type thing we were supposed to climb up and over. It was coated in mud and slippery as a greased pig. Fun times. 
Giant Cliffhanger: More rope climbing and steep drop on the other side. I was shocked I completed these. 
Hard Rain: Wade through waist-deep mud/water. Climb a wall with water pouring down on it. Get down the other side any way you can. I slid down and didn’t break anything. 
Great Warrior Wall: This was the highest climb. It’s a plain wall with ropes. Use the rope to climb up, over, climb down. I almost chickened out at the top but realized I would have to get down somehow, might as well go over the wall. 
Pipeline: Climb through these things. It’s easy if you’re on your back. But close your eyes or dried mud will fall in when you grip the ropes. 
Fire. Jump over it. 
Muddy Mahem: Crawl/swim through mud, under barbed wire. 
I would love to do this again. I want to finish all the obstacles next time, no matter how long I have to wait for muddy mounds. Now that I know what to expect, there was no need to rush or conserve energy.
What I will do differently:
1. Use the water hoses afterwards. This one was 30 minutes from my house, so I didn’t stand in line for the water hoses. I just cleaned off my hands, got my bag from bag check, and walked the mile back to my car. I had some baby wipes and a bottle of water that I used to load my gear and get a towel in my seat for the ride home. Next time, I will plan for a quick hose down and change clothes.
2. Wear trail shoes. I was wearing my oldest most worn out running shoes and they didn’t have good tread. I REALLY needed some grip on those wall climbs. I had a few moments of panic here and there when my feet would slip on the boards and rails.
3. Bring a friend. I’m a lone runner. But this wasn’t a race. It was a fun adventure and next time, I’ll join with a group.