Warrior Dash Survival Guide

Getting in the Mood - the soft helmet on the right is what you get in your packet. I brought my own. Wear it with pride.

Conflictedracer’s 2011 Warrior Dash Survival Guide

I survived my first ever Warrior Dash and can’t wait to sign up for another one.  It was an absolute blast making a normal run into a sweat / mud fest.  Being as I love doing different things this has to be one of the more fun running races I’ve done.  Who needs running when you can’t play on an overgrown kids playground?

The Day Of

The morning started out humid in the 80’s as there was decent cloud cover all morning – which made the humidity a little bearable.  I decided not to eat as I don’t like having any food in my stomach before doing any running or biking.  I simply made a cup of black currant tea with a little fruity sangria herbal mix (love the smell of coffee – less the flavor and nerves afterwards).  We left our house about 2 hours before I was supposed to be there – we had a 45-50 drive to the site.  We got there in a lazy hour and I had plenty of time – I was in the 2nd wave at 9:30 am.  The parking cost $10 but there are plenty of shuttles to ferry you to the event place (no parking there).  Car Pool!

Arrival at WD

Me hitting on some hot chick.

Upon arrival it was easy to find the packet pickup.  It moves pretty quick so unless you want to hang out and drink (not recommended before the race) you can do that.  They have a band playing live music and a beer garten with food next to it.  The only drawback is the beer garten will not allow anyone under 21 inside.

With my number on and the running chip (your running chip doubles as your free beer marker so don’t lose it) on my shoe I was ready to hang out and people watch.

What to Bring

Here’s what I took along and things I’d do differently:

Start of the Race - Into the Unknown

• You need money (recommend at least $50), your ID to get a packet and a ID check for the beer garten (it’s German so not mispelled), and the wavier you print on their website.
• Bring your own towel or pay $15 for one of theirs.
• Bring a pair of flip flops to change into as having your feet get dry feels great – and mucky shoes are nasty!
• Post race there is a bathing area that would make any ancient Roman proud – so bring a loufa on a stick and you’ll definitely get a laugh…maybe a hotel bar of soap you’ll be very, very popular (the benefits of being the only one who doesn’t stink of fetid water)
• Pack a light bag – but note there is a bag check (part of your packet) where you can check it away
• Bring 2 plastic bags large enough to fit dirty or clean clothes / shoes in
• You can donate your old shoes (tied together) as they clean them and give to charity…mine were still in decent shape and I need them to mow the lawn – plus I’m poor spending all my money on racing.
• Hmm…Spend $20 for a Budweiser with the commemorative WD mug or simply buy2 mugs for $10 at the warrior store (that’s what I did)…you get a $5 off $25 purchase at the WD store.
• Next time I’m going to dress up – I don’t care about my time – just have a great time.

Almighty Thor was Here!

Strategies:

Hot! - though with my completely wet shoes and legs it wasn't.

• Find some trail running shoes as they may be heavier yet have significantly more traction
• Tie your shoes on very well and lace them all the way up b/c if you get in the bog and lose a shoe it’s not fun trying to find it.
• Be prepared after the first water events for your shoes to be 5x heavier making it much harder to run / climb
• Have fast foot falls (quick feet with small steps) when going up / down the muddy hills as I was able to go up / down quickly as my shoes had decent traction
• Drink up to make sure you are hydrated before (there are 2 watering stations along the way) – it was humid
• Wear light weight – easy to clean clothes if that is your plan or dress up in a hilarious costume (24 Hours of LeMons Style)
  

  That is some deep mud - almost got stuck a couple of times.

• Take it slow and steady as there is a lot of up / down hill sections that are muddy.
• I wound up walking some of the very steep parts and running faster down hill – made me less tired.
• When climbing a rope ladder or across the rope netting – make sure you are close to a joist for even footing / hand movements (the rope moves less there).
• Don’t do a belly flop in the mud pit as you can’t see afterwards and the mud tastes terrible (I didn’t do this mind you)
• You can hug a volunteer at the finish but they may not like it 😉
• Drink beer & be merry

 

Til next year…though there is another WD in St. Louis in September (too close to a race weekend for me).  I finally checked results and I ran a 14.27 minute pace with a total time of 43:38:65.  This placed me at 128 out of 677 in my age group.  Not bad I think as I really didn’t rest for too long (did walk up some of the more steep hills).

Smelly, Dirty, Wet, and Tired.

ZIGGY SAKI ZIGGY ZAKI OI OI OI!