How to do the 2011 Warrior Dash by Tarrador

"If you're bleeding, it means you're heart is still pumping."

How I did it: The Warrior Dash is a Hell-on-Earth obsticle course for those of us who eschewed military bootcamp.  A little over three miles, it's like highlights from a SEAL training camp, with running, swimming, climbing, crawling, barbed wire, fire, and shouting people.

I found out about the Dash via Meetup, and signed up for a Sunday morning wave.  About 150 of us took off under a "Start" banner wreathed in flames while crowds cheered.  45 minutes later I leaped over a pile of burning logs and staggered across the finish line, bruised, breathless and bloody.  Once I got my water replenished and had my complimentary banana, I folded in with the other observers and cheered on wave after wave of hearty warriors as they sloshed, slipped and tumbled their way over the course.

The Dash is a lot of fun and a lot of effort.  I spent some time getting ready but it was still pretty tough.  I did not dodge a single obsticle or evade a single muddy hole, but they took their toll on me in shredded skin, barked shins, pulled muscles and mud that will take a week to scrub out of every nook and cranny.

I am so doing this again next year.

Lessons & tips: 1. Go to warriordash.com and find out when they are coming to your area.  Figure out when you want to participate and at what time of day.  Buy tickets early because the choice slots fill up fast.

2.  Do some physical training, and plenty of stretching.  Think of things you did for fun as a kid and build a workout around them; you will be doing some of those same things on the Dash.

3.  Get some shoes that will be good for all terrain running, but don't spend a bundle.  They will probably be ruined by the end of the race.  Same for clothes/costumes.

4.  Get muddy.  Embrace it.  Love it.

5.  Don't push it.  Have fun.  It's no fun if you twist your knee on a slushy trail or fall from a 15 foot wall.  At the end, everyone gets a medal.

Resources: Internet and YouTube, the gym, Walmart, the great people at the Warrior Dash.


2 people found this helpful
 

May 16, 2011, 05:06PM PDT | 8 comments | 31 cheers


Comments:

buffalosnowangel is enjoying her last days of being 24

*cheer*

Congrats! That sounds awesome.
I think I would love it, provided it didn’t kill me lol

I admire the heck out of you for doing it :)

May 16, 2011, 05:33PM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer

dragonfly35 Time to shine!

You're crazy

and pretty badass. :) Good for you.

May 16, 2011, 05:48PM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer

AFrayedKnot Are you settling?

I would lOVE to do something

this macho! Awesome! Impressive!

May 16, 2011, 06:09PM PDT | Respond to this 2 cheers

Josh ...and life just rolls on like a river.

Thanks for posting.

A few months ago I signed up for the Warrior Dash in Indiana. It’s on August 13th. Looks like i need to up my training. lol So far I’ve just been training as if it was for a 5K run (which is basically is) since I’m new to running.

Jul 14, 2011, 07:36AM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 4 cheers

Tarrador is going to make May MARVELOUS!

Awesome...

that you are doing the Dash! I focused a lot on running, too. I felt afterward I should have done some basic exercises like burpees, lunge squats and trunk twists. I would have benefited as much from overall fitness routines as well as running.

Much luck and success to you. I promise it is a blast!

Jul 14, 2011, 06:45PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 3 cheers

Josh ...and life just rolls on like a river.

I will start...

...to add some dynamic power and strength exercises to my routine to prepare for it. We do some thing like that in my martial arts class, as well, so it’ll give me the opportunity to make some extra strides in that area, as well. Thanks for the advice! One month away.

Jul 17, 2011, 10:21AM PDT | Respond to this

john_swale is...sigh

lol silly no cheers

So no cheers…sorry.
Yea I was checking out the warrior dash as well a little bit ago – they have a few over here. Looked cool though.
Well done with the dash! Plus good man signing up for another round :)

Oct 09, 02:23AM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer

Spyrunner Thanks for 10,000 cheers

People at work

are talking about a 17 mile obstacle course in Ohio. I’m not up to that yet, but it does sound like it would be fun.

Oct 09, 03:46AM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer


Tarrador has gotten 31 cheers on this entry.

 

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