So I finally ran one of these things this past weekend. I got to say it was definitely NOT that bad. Especially considering we ran it in a BLAZING 51 minutes ...hah. Ok but seriously it was for fun and after I finished I legitimately wanted to run it again to see how well I could handle running a 3 mile obstacle course at a decent clip.
First off we couldn't have asked for a better day. 75 degrees and sunny. Sunny enough I got a bit of a tan line from it. Add to the fact that there were several water obstacles it ended up working out nicely. I will say it could not have been hot enough to handle how cold that water was they hit us with at the end to hose off. Damn that was like a ice shower from the 7th circle.
If you havn't ran one of these here's a few bits and pieces of advice for first timers.
Arrive early. It took us almost an hour to get our ID wrist band, gear checked, and kitted up. Not that it matters. I signed up for 12:30 while my friends were signed for 1pm. We just ran at 12:30 anyways. Fun fact; after you run if you're up for it just hose off and jump back in line. Not one person was checking us. Thought that was odd. But hey, why not?
Get plenty of hydration prior. That should be a given. Eat light. As I mentioned we had a few obstacles that involved some swimming and a lot of climbing. Having a belly full of food is no good for that.
Beer and food is expensive. Bring cash. They had ATMs but I didn't bother looking how much that service charge would've been. The beer steins were also 20 bucks. So if you're looking for a good souvenir then there ya have it.
Entry into the area was free. Which was good since parking was 10 $#&%ing bucks. In all honesty just with entries and parking they had to have grossed close to a mill on the event. Take away insurance and blah blah blah and they must be raking it in with these things. But I digress. This is the part where it's good to bring friends and split the gas and the parking. Or make them buy first round. Not everyone has to race either. There was mostly good music. Decent food and drink. And some different activities to mess with. So theres a bit of a party atmosphere surrounding the race.
Lastly, while I was doing a minute of research I did stumble on the risks involved. But after reading the story the injuries/deaths, yes deaths, were seemingly preventable. Especially after reading about the kid diving into the mud pool and becoming paralyzed. Listen, read the damn waiver you are signing. There's even a check box that says "DO NOT DIVE INTO THE WATER". Every entry point at ours was less than a few feet deep. And its muddy. Thats just dumb. Plus, if you are not at all familiar with running far (3+ miles) then don't try and kill yourself racing the course the first time in. I saw many people trying to do that who clearly never ran farther than to the kitchen from living room during a commercial break for a beer.
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