The Warrior Dash came and went last Saturday August 6th, 2011 up at Whistler, marking the event's debut in BC. For those of you who missed it, well, start training for next year (I mentioned it took place up at Whistler, right? Which means get ready for REAL mountain climbing). And for those of us who participated, let's just say we're still picking mud out of our belly buttons. Nevertheless, it was marvelously messy, grueling and fun. And I can't wait to do it all again. Here are some highlights, insider info and pics:
Warrior Dash Whistler and Warrior Dash Colorado are the toughest courses out of ALL of 'em.
What do both locations have in common? Mountains. Steep, steep, mountains. I'm considering doing Bear Crawl up the mountain next time to help compensate for the incline. (This photo does not do the mountain justice. At all.)
The fire pits were cool.
But they were not intimidating at all. I'd feel fine sending a little kid to jump over them. But the picture sure does a good job of making it look more death-defying than it really is. Still, it was fun pretending I was leaping over burning buildings!
Stretching is not enough. A proper warm-up is key.
The triple-threat consisting of the heat, the beer and the mountain will have your legs burning within minutes. Because I wanted to secure my spot at the front of the line, I neglected a proper warm-up. Big mistake. I know better for next time.
Over 4,000 people competed.
The average time was 1 hour. I finished in half an hour. The best time for men overall was 21 minutes. The best time for women overall was 25 minutes. Many people bailed HALFWAY up the mountain before even reaching the first obstacle. The rest of the bailers were mostly women who didn't want to climb the cargo nets near the end of the obstacle course (they're not as high as they look. Honest).
Best Part: The Mud Pits.
I've been told by several people that I must have been a Marine Core Drill Sergeant in a past life. Well, maybe I was because while most people were trying their darndest to carefully walk through the mud, I dove in with gusto and belly-crawled through the trenches like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator. It was so much fun. I was still spitting dirt an hour later. (Check out the girl to the left, she's barely dirty!)
Worst Part: The Fire Hose.
After crossing the finish line at your muddiest best, you make your way over to the Fire Hose line where everyone takes turns getting hosed off by a guy equipped with a state-of-the-art, concord-jet-powered fire hose who enjoys his job waaaay too much. He'll not only wash off all the mud but he'll also take off a few layers of skin as well as articles of clothing. I had to double-check to make sure my nipples hadn't been singed off following the ICE COLD skin-searing.
The one thing that would make this event even better...
...having other CRAZY WARRIORS join me. I couldn't convince anyone to come along the course, but here's hoping that now that you've seen what you missed out on, it'll be easier to recruit next time. Sharing the pain and laughs with others makes it that much more fun. So next year I expect a number of you to join me in conquering the mountain!
