Warrior Dash 2013

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  • RenfieldX
    RenfieldX Posts: 87 Member
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    My sister did the Warrior Dash last year outside of Toronto. The course that she did was very hilly, so if the course that you're doing is similar I'd definitely recommend incorporating some hill training and trail running in preparation.

    Some friends and I are doing Mud Hero in August http://www.mudhero.com/
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
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    Warrior dash 3 miles, tough mudder 10-12 miles.
  • denisedwrt
    denisedwrt Posts: 28 Member
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    I have done the Dash twice, and like Sammyneb said, you would have to be in the first wave to really do the course for time. I do know that when folks came through and said they were really competing, the other dashers would let them go to the front of the obstacle. It is more of really a fun, crazy time rather than a competition. :happy:

    Good luck!!
  • GBOGH_5
    GBOGH_5 Posts: 174 Member
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    Definitely do the first wave. I did one in October in 30.14. Would have been faster if I hadn't gotten stuck behind people in a few obstacles. People who are there to "have fun" also don't appreciate you going around them and stuff. I will admit, I had to be a little rude in a couple spots and elbow my way past people who were taking too long.

    Wear as little clothing as possible for the weather. I heard a lot of talk about people getting bogged down with muddy clothes and such.

    Double knot your shoe laces. I had to stop and tie one of mine because I was afraid it would come undone and I'd lose my timing chip.
  • sunnshhiine
    sunnshhiine Posts: 727 Member
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    My friend and i registered for the Detroit warrior dash for this upcoming summer (2013). I'm nervous and excited all at the same time!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    i did the warrior dash last year and have signed up again for 2013. I was not competitive, i was in it for the fun! But I also just got done running a half marathon a week prior :) But I would run a lot of trail runs. Run 5-6 miles on trails, rougher surfaces. I would also when you are running, drop down and do some arm crawls, anything to break up the pure running. It looks like by your pic you are probably in pretty good shape, so getting it done probably won't be a problem.. Good luck!

    thank you! I know I can handle it... and I love the prep ideas! I will be focusing on doing some hilly runs and may take my 10 year old with me and run through the woods behind the house. We have plenty of acres and a river that runs behind the house... love the input you and Dawn gave!

    i've done 2 (one was a zombie run - as if the obstacles were not enough). if you have rocks and trees and other things like this you can climb (high fences too) start. my all time fav obstacle was having to climb up and over round hay bales stacked 3 high. oh that and running on planks of wood floating in the water. ropes are also very common obstacles in mud runs.
  • nhradeuce
    nhradeuce Posts: 168 Member
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    In the past the Warrior Dash obstacles were not really that bad, more of an inconvenience than a serious obstacle. That and there is no penalty for going around. That said, the organizers have said that they were going to toughen up the obstacles to make it a little more challenging. I would highly recommend doing the Spartan Race workout of the day. They are designed to help with the upper body strength that you need for the obstacles.

    Trail running is also a good idea. Depending on the location the terrain can be pretty hard to navigate. Figure out what you are going to do for shoes well in advance. Good trail shoes are a big help, normal road shoes won't have much traction once they are covered in mud. Of course the first wave thing is important too. Warrior Dash races are more popular than ever and the biggest hold up is going to be waiting your turn to do the obstacles. If you are serious about running for time you have to be at the front of the first heat.

    Don't wait until 2014 to try the Tough Mudder/Spartan Race. I did the Carolina's Spartan Beast last year after 12 weeks or so of training. My time wasn't spectacular but I finished. You should be able to do the same. Just sign up and go for it.
  • MikeyD1280
    MikeyD1280 Posts: 5,257
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    In the past the Warrior Dash obstacles were not really that bad, more of an inconvenience than a serious obstacle. That and there is no penalty for going around. That said, the organizers have said that they were going to toughen up the obstacles to make it a little more challenging. I would highly recommend doing the Spartan Race workout of the day. They are designed to help with the upper body strength that you need for the obstacles.

    Trail running is also a good idea. Depending on the location the terrain can be pretty hard to navigate. Figure out what you are going to do for shoes well in advance. Good trail shoes are a big help, normal road shoes won't have much traction once they are covered in mud. Of course the first wave thing is important too. Warrior Dash races are more popular than ever and the biggest hold up is going to be waiting your turn to do the obstacles. If you are serious about running for time you have to be at the front of the first heat.

    Don't wait until 2014 to try the Tough Mudder/Spartan Race. I did the Carolina's Spartan Beast last year after 12 weeks or so of training. My time wasn't spectacular but I finished. You should be able to do the same. Just sign up and go for it.

    Thanks for your input deuce,

    I say waiting until 2014 because I plan on taking on a bunch of different events for 2013. Plus, the times that I have off from work, my girl would love to have some quality time with me and I think I am playing my cards right.. haha
  • mldoble
    mldoble Posts: 1
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    I did the Warrior Dash and the Spartan Race, both in Toronto, and the Warrior challenges are very easy in comparison. The hardest part for me were the heat and hills. It was on a ski resort and the ups and downs were so steep it was hard to 'run' them. You'll have no problem completing it. If you want more of a challenge, I suggest the Spartan (I'm doing both again in 2013), and I'm considering the Tough Mudder - though distance isn't really my thing.

    Either way you'll have a blast. Good Luck on reaching your goal!
  • fasttrack27
    fasttrack27 Posts: 324
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    Did my first one in September. I was ok on the obstacles, but not the run. I had cracked 2 ribs and couldnt run for 6 weeks leading up to the event. Plus I was in the 3pm time slot and it was quite hot. All things considered, I was pretty happy with 42 minutes. I saw a lot of people skipping obstacles which kind of ticked me off because I want a true picture of how I stack up to others. I say if your being timed you must complete everything. Already signed up for 2013. Barring injury i'll be better prepared, hoping for sub 35min which should be quite a ways up there for 40-45 age group.
  • rocket_ace
    rocket_ace Posts: 380 Member
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    I'm in (Kansas City and New York/New Jersey, whichever works out)!!
  • spacecase76
    spacecase76 Posts: 673 Member
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    I did WD 2012 in Louisiana, all I can say is REGISTER EARLY and get an EARLY wave! I had the last wave of the day, and the course was SLICK by the time afternoon rolled around. I ran the first half mile or so, and after that it was like ice-skating for the majority of the rest of the course (in Louisiana though, we went through LOTS of swamp and mud).

    All of the winners and placers were from early-morning waves!
  • kmjenkins
    kmjenkins Posts: 396 Member
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    They have a decent training plan on their webpage that would get you started at least--also get used to running on rough terrain--the one I did was alot rougher than I expected. It was alot of fun though!

    Good luck!
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
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    I've done four Warrior Dashes - all for fun. They're a blast. I'm signed up for two more this year and have decided to do one of them for time because I think I can compete very well in my division. 6 minute miles might be kind of tough though - the courses are generally really muddy and you can get held up by slower people on the obstacles. I have a friend who does half marathons at a 6:45 pace but was slowed to an 8+ minute pace during the Warrior Dash (it was also an extremely hilly course.)

    Good luck!!
  • Cappicorn
    Cappicorn Posts: 83 Member
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    I did OR's Warrior Dash for the first time last year which prompted my journey to lose weight. I don't know what city you are doing it in but what killed me was all the constant HILLS, the obstacles weren't even bad! The one thing I wished I had trained more was my endurance/stamina by running hills WAY more leading up to the event.

    I'm totally doing it again this year, hoping to shave off a good amount of time!
  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    OK...hoping these pictures don't come out HUGE. I resized and all...well let's see...

    PBWD10_zpse4089787.jpg

    PBWD11_zps80989d2a.jpg

    I just finished one this past Saturday and it was a blast! I was not going for a fastest time or anything and was just happy that I ended up in the top half for my age group. Since you are trying for a top 3, I have some suggestions...

    1. Be sure you are running in the first wave of the day. There were two obstacles that had long waits when I got to them and I was in the first wave, but in the back of that pack. There were people from the wave behind me who caught up on the second one with the long line and I really felt bad for them since they were trying to get fast times and ended up standing around for 5+ minutes.
    2. Tie your shoes REALLY REALLY tight. Our first obstacle was knee deep mud to walk through. I lost my shoe and had to waste time digging it out and trying to put it back on (it was the shoe with my timing chip to turn in for the free beer...I wasn't leaving that behind!).
    3. Wear gloves to help you get a grip on ropes and such.
    4. I wore surf shorts. I think this was helpful in that they didn't cling to my legs and dried very quickly. My race was in FL, yes, but it was February. It was 53 degrees when I started and the water (especially the part we had to swim in) was very cold. The less clothes sticking to you, the better.

    My course wasn't hilly (again...it's Florida...we don't have hills), but a lot of the running sections were sand which is very hard to run in.

    And have fun. I am bruised and have scrapes all over my legs. It was one of my best days. I am already signing up for next year.

    Good luck!
  • MikeyD1280
    MikeyD1280 Posts: 5,257
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    Thanks everyone!

    I am going to back off of the placing in the top bracket and just have fun with it, I signed up for the 5th or 6th wave and would only be aggrevated if I had to wait to get through. So I will just have fun with it! I am excited and I think we are all going to dress up like Joe Dirt or Larry the Cable guy.. It will be a blast!
  • weep1872
    weep1872 Posts: 15 Member
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    I did one last year. My suggestion would be to be in the first heat of the day so that you are in the front of the line, otherwise as the day goes on there tends to be a number of people that can hold up a line. You can do it! The biggest thing is that there are usually hills and rough terrain so trail running with hills will help a lot. Good Luck!
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
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    I attempted the NH one last year....had I not fallen down the mountain and not nearly break my hip, I would've finished it.

    I'm not competitive with anyoen but myself though...so my only goal was to finish... which I couldn't do.

    SOOOO I go and sign up for a SPARTAN instead!!! :laugh: (and I'll do the WD again after that)


    BUt yeah...I went off track...um..make sure your endurance is good, check out the track and see where any hills are compared to obstacles cuz that stuff will kill ya....and good luck!
  • jrue1985
    jrue1985 Posts: 191 Member
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    I am doing something similar to this this July. It is called the tough mountain challenge. I am psyched!

    http://www.toughmountain.com/

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