2012 Warrior Dash Missouri Recap

I’m so excited to share this post with you! It may be a long one, so pull up a seat and get comfy. After my Pretty Muddy Mud Run in Chicago a few weeks ago I was itching to run the Warrior Dash. I felt way more confident about the obstacles and Mud having already had a race under my belt. Thanks to the awesome FitFluential Team and Warrior Dash for making it possible for me to run this race!

I love love love that Reebok has gotten involved with this race. With their affiliation with CrossFit it just seems so fitting they would sponsor a race like this. They know how to #GetAfterIt

  We arrived about an hour before our 9:30 start time to check in and get situated. Check in was a breeze. You can tell these people have done a few races in their time. They had some music blaring and of course little Dreamer had to get in on the dancing action. There were quite a few people in the 9:30 wave so the start was kinda slow. We had just gotten some rain in the days before the race so the trail was pretty slippery- one part we had to wait in a gaggle of people to try to get up a steep portion of the trail. The first mile there were no real obstacles, lots of running. And let me just say – I have mad respect for you trail runners… that ain’t easy! We finally got to the first obstacle – Crawling through the muddy trench. I was laughing at some of the people freaking out about the mud- uh, it’s a mud run! Bring on the Mud!

The Next obstacle were huge piles of dirt, 4 of them I think? I didn’t go too fast on this one, I was careful with my foot placement since I saw a guy twist his ankle. Following this obstacle was the Over-Under obstacle. I literally put my leg up on the wall and threw myself over. It was kind of hilarious. Crawling under the obstacles wasn’t too bad though. Then came the big arch. It was the first of the “taller” obstacles. I feel like this would be easier if you had long legs – the wood slats were spaced pretty far apart. There was also a cargo net climb, that was pretty fun. One of my favorite part of the course were the signs they had out. The one at the bottom here says “We Won’t Tell anyone you cried” – so naturally I had to make my fake crying face.

The Army crawl was fun. I mentioned that people with a big butt have a harder time with this one. The people behind me then kept commenting on my behind as I crawled. After surviving the barbed wire we ran through the junkyard. It was super fun to climb over the cars and through the tires. I’d been pretty hardcore most of the race – but for some reason the balance beam things freaked me out. Like if you fell you were falling into a ditch. Thanks to the random runner dude who helped me walk down. Now here is the part that I am most proud of. You see that picture in the bottom right below? That is a wall. A super tall wall – like 10-12 feet. I’ve always been afraid of climbing one of these. Afraid I’m not going to be able to pull myself up. As I came up on the wall I noticed another girl freaking out about it. All of a sudden I got a huge dose of courage and told myself that I couldn’t be “that girl” so I just climbed it. Bam!!! I stood at the bottom of the other side – Stunned that I had done it so effortlessly. Thanks CrossFit! LOL

There was another tall cargo net climb, then the trademark fire. It was so thrilling to jump over 2 rows of flames! Then the final obstacle… a Mud pit with barbed wire above it. I started crawling but quickly realized it would be easier to swim, so swim I did! The finish was close to mud pit but it was SO slippery! My husband and sister in law were placing bets on when I’d fall. I didn’t! For some reason my time didn’t register – but I think I was round 50 minutes or so. I’ll take it! The hubs did it in 40, way to go! We waited in a super long line to get hosed off. They had the Old Monroe Fire Department out there spraying people down. After the clean up issues I had at Pretty Muddy- I felt like a pro this time. The key? Bring lots of towels. Also lose close to change into after that you don’t mind getting dirty (because you won’t be really clean). They had a huge pile of shoes being donated – love that!

All in all this race was awesome. It was very well organized, fun, and it made me feel like a Beast when I finished. I would recommend this race to anyone looking to switch up the normal 5k experience. Plus- They give you awesome fuzzy viking hats.

And of course the obligitory before and after…  

(I had a goPro on but have had some issues editing the video – I’ll try to update when I get my editing program fixed)

Thanks again to FitFluential and Warrior Dash for making this possible for me! Be sure to check out the Warrior Dash Website to find an event in your area and sign up!

Have you ever done a mud run? Did you feel all Beast Mode when you finished? If you haven’t, Would you?

Disclaimer: I received a free race entry in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.