Trip/Event Location: Thompson, CTUS
Trip Leader(s): gsgraham
Max # People: 20
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Strenuous
This will be my fifth Warrior Dash. (See the Trip Reports from TWO 2016 Warrior Dashes).
A Warrior Dash is a 5k obstacle course race with 12+ obstacles. Run, walk, wade across lakes and
WHAT TO BRING:
I suggest you:
Bring a complete change of clothes and a towel or two. Snacks in the car is also a good idea but you can also buy stuff at the end of the race.
I will proably bring a polypro top to wear if I get cold and suggest you do the same.
Completely optional but I share this b/c I would hate for you to say, "Why didn't you tell me that?!" I bring a couple 5 gallon buckets that I fill with scaulding water at the hotel. By the end of the race they are still kind of warm. Which is better than cold IMHO.
I will have an outdoor camera and plan to take a lot of pics.
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I HAVE FOUR GOALS FOR THE DAY:
*** Note that I don't have get the fastest time or do every obstacle as goals for the day.
MEETING UP:
Let's meet in the parking lot of the
Post Office 366 Thompson Hill Rd, Thompson, CT 06277
That is easy to find on Google Maps.
We will meet at 10 am. We can either go in one car from there or each drive seperately. Parking is paid for as part of your registration. The last race I did they didn't even check times on our bibs - they did make sure we were wearing a bib and not crashing the race - but we started an hour earlier than our scheduled wave time.
Two of us will be spending the night near the race start - probably Comfort Inn & Suites, 16 Tracy Rd, Dayville, 06241, CT, US
You are welcome to join us.
The slogan of the Warrior Dash is Mud, Sweat, and Beer.
But today... today - judging from the rainbow tattoos, shirts and more that I saw over 3.1 miles it was certainly queer. (At times it felt like a gay pride event).
It was a hot day in Thompson Connecticut. HOT!
And the weather was warm to boot! Much warmer than last year's Warrior Dash which felt like a cold New England Spring day.
Thank goodness the organizers had lots of water elements to help keep you cool during the 3.1-mile route.
A route that we mostly walked.
One of our crew was diagnosed with Lyme Disease 5 weeks ago and was in no mood for extreme exertion. That's OK - we finished a few short minutes after those who were sprinting frantically ahead of us. Why? Throngs of people waiting in line for the obstacles. And lots of time to take int eh Hotness.
Did I say it was HOT? (Maybe it's me, but there is something really hot about two guys - one dressed as the groom and the other dressed as the bride running together through the mud. Or a crew of guys dressed like a ballerina and a super villain had a baby running through the mud?).
Warm weather + crazy male athletes = ?
OK.
Maybe surreal is a better description.
Or heat stroke.
Our "Run"
We met a little after 10 am and even though our start time wasn't until 12:30 pm, we took off with the 10:30 am wave. The sun was incredible and while standing around observing others was fun, waiting around for two hours on the black top would have cooked us.
Just like last year, we ended up going back and forth on the race track to eat up the miles. We actually cover 1.1 miles before we got to our first obstacle. Three more obstacles before mile 2. Then 8 more obstacles crammed together in the last mile!
A great time was had by all. Lots of fun. No injuries. Good beer and cider at the finish line. And...
... lots of half-naked men covered in mud.
Until next year!
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Comment: A fantastic day with a great group of guys. I've told a number of people about the event and have assured them that anyone can do it, especially at the noncompetitive, leisurely pace the group set. Thanks to Scott for hosting the event. I look forward to more events with you guys.
