Race Review - Warrior Dash

The Warrior Dash prides itself on many things. Beer and beards, not least of all. They also tout themselves as "The world's largest obstacle race series", and from what I saw, that seems to be the case.  They typically have races in multiple locations every weekend all around the world, and this event was packed with people. We began our Warrior journey early on Saturday morning with an hour and a half long trek to the Copper Mountain ski resort, where the event was being held.

The $10 parking went smoothly, and they had just the right amount of people directing traffic. All too often I see too few (sometimes none) or too many people making event parking a real drag. From the lot it was about a quarter mile walk up to the start area, so no buses or shuttles to wait around for. Here there was a little bit of a choke point as you had to squeeze past the mob getting ready to run, so you could get to the festival area and registration building beyond.

Registration was well organized and went smoothly. At this point, looking at box upon box of racer's packets, is when I realized how large of an event this would be. We hiked back to the truck just in time to see a heat go off, and got bibbed up for our run.

Goofy headgear: Mandatory.

We filed in for our 0900 heat and made our way towards an empty spot near the front. The organizers announced that they would be splitting our heat and holding about half the people back for a 0930 start time to alleviate some pile ups. This is always a good idea, in my humble opinion, and newer race organizers could learn a lot from the "been there, done that" wisdom of the more established races. Two of us made the 0900 cut and our pals behind us said it looked like they just let as many people as could get through in the first 15 minutes, or so, then cut it off and let the rest go at 0930.

Wise to break up a heat this large.

Giant booming fireballs signaled our start and we began running downhill right away. Then we rounded a hairpin turn and started back up the same hill. This all worked out well to thin out the pack and soon we were off the road, through some brush, and onto the dirt trails would make up the majority of the race course.

Go time!

Now the important stuff: The obstacles. Warrior Dash had some really creative balance obstacles, a lot of walls and ropes, a cool cargo net traverse and the obligatory mud pit crawl. They also made good use of the hilly terrain. My partner, who had run at the same venue a few years prior, said this year's course wasn't nearly as steep, and made use of a wider path. This was all very good, as there were really no backed up sections where I couldn't get past slower people. Speaking of slower people, not a lot of walkers at Warrior Dash compared to some other races I've run. Most people seemed to "Warrior up" and push pretty hard.

Also of note, is Warrior Dash's superb timing system. They not only have the start and finish mats, but checkpoint maps scattered throughout the course to catch any cheaters along the way. An important consideration, especially for a race that gives out awards and free entries to top finishers. This system is not foolproof, however, as I will explain in a moment.

Cool balance obstacle.

The last mile of the course began to head back downhill and eventually wound back onto pavement and concrete through some of the resort's lodging, where people on the balconies were cheering us on. Coming around a sweeping corner, the fire jump came into view. I figured I was near the end, so I kicked it up a notch and went into my "finish strong" sprint. In a clear case of cunning, viking trickery, the final push began to seem rather long, and after a sharp turn I could see the end... at the top of a (relatively) steep hill. It took every once of willpower I had left to run up that hill to the finish line. I really wanted to slow to a walk. Well played, Warrior Dash, well played indeed.

This hill was a killer.

I had resolved to run the whole thing and my goal was to finish under 30 minutes. But, alas, there was one really steep hill (see above) that forced me into a walk and I came in at 32:25. Dave was just a few minutes behind me and we grabbed our free beer while we waited for the other half of our party to finish. They came across the line together, about a half hour later, suspiciously clean.

90 out of 7500. Not too shabby for an old dude.

Now the Warrior Dash isn't a particularly muddy race, but there is mud. And it's in a rather long and large pit you need to crawl through. Come to find out these acquaintances of ours (I cannot call such people friends at this point) made an "executive decision" to skip the mud pit. The lamest, lameness, since lame came to Lametown. Since there's no timing pad at the mud pit, so there was no penalty against their times. Now, they weren't in any danger of winning this event, but still: totally lame. Did I mention how lame this is? So Warrior Dash organizers, if you're reading this, take note!

You're not coming away from this clean.

This was the only obstacle that got a little backed up.

Anyway, off to the really important stuff: The festival grounds. Now Warrior Dash is certainly an above average race. Their festival area is top of the line. Multiple beer stands, food vendors everywhere (turkey legs FTW), some beer, games, beer, sponsor tents, more beer and I even spied a wet bar. All nestled in the beautiful clean air and views of the Rocky Mountains. This event pulled in over 7,500 people and we quickly became saddened that we had to leave early due to prior commitments. We immediately vowed to return next year and stay at a lodge to fully absorb the awesome after party.

Party time, fo sho.

The people we talked to throughout the day were almost all repeat racers and I can see why. Warrior Dash is a must do race, in my book, with fantastic organization, a well thought out course and a ripping festival area. We've already signed up for next year's race and we will make a full weekend out of it. Warrior Dash is quickly becoming my favorite race and I foresee many happy returns.

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