Tis the season to dash, whether dashing through the snow, dashing to the stores for holiday gifts, dashing to the airport for travels, or dashing just for fun. As I’m known to dash and often to far and away places, in this post, I highlight a local dash that was a little wet, hot (fiery), and dirty (muddy). Yes, earlier this year, like thousands of other adventure seekers across the country and globe, I took part in the latest craze of obstacle races with the Warrior Dash 2011 in Deerfield Beach, Florida.
Having already conquered the Spartan Race in Miami in the Spring. I had an idea of what I had signed up for; thus, I prepared with a well broken in pair of tennis shoes, pink, power bandana, leggings and top that would not show the dirt, and a fearless attitude. Well-equipped, I along with about 500 other warriors in my afternoon heat set out for a 3.1 mile course through the Quiet Waters State Park to conquer 12 obstacles. With a previous race under my belt, I knew that starting fast would not be the strategy as everyone would catch up to one another at the obstacles. Some would succeed at the running, others at the obstacles with some very fortunate ones that succeed at both. The obstacle line up was intense with:
- Rubber Ricochet (running through a maze of swinging tires)
- Road Rage (running and climbing over various abandoned, vandalized cars)
- Giant Cliffhanger (climbing a steep wall with a rope with slippery, muddy surface)
- Deadman’s Drop (climb over a laddered wall to throw yourself over to rope repel down)
- Chaotic Crossover (climbing across various tangled rope netted stages)
- Muddy Waters (crossing through a swamp-like river to other half of the race)
- Storming Normandy (crawling through tunnels and shimmying underneath a net to safety)
- Great Warrior Wall (another wall, yet taller with rope to top and jump down)
- Vertical Limit (climbing a muddy rock climbing wall and sliding down a fireman’s pole)
- Cargo Climb (climb up and over with cargo netting)
- Warrior Roast (jumping over fire and pictured above)
- Muddy Mayhem (belly first into a muddy pit to shimmy below barbed wire)
All of that in order to run across the finish line, where you ask yourself, “do I want to shower off first or grab my free beer for returning my timing chip in my shoe?” I chose to get hosed off by not one but two water trucks, which didn’t even scratch the surface of the muddy mess that was in my hair, socks, sports bra, and places you didn’t think you could get dirt. Regardless, after a couple rinses and a costume change, my other warriors and I put on our Viking-esque hats, saddled up for big beers, and gnawed turkey legs the size of a man’s arm.
As always, I hate to dash off, but I fear that there are more good times and good stories to be experienced and told.
Here’s to more good times and good stories in 2012 and beyond!
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