I Am A Rugged Maniac!

It has been a few weeks since I completed the Rugged Maniac but I thought I'd take a moment to write about the experience. This was my second 5k obstacle course race, and more than likely, not my last. It was located in Lakewood, Colorado and was set up at a MX park. Not as nice scenery as the dash in Copper Mountain, but at least the day was beautiful. I went with two friends, one had done the Warrior Dash with me, and the other a fellow boot camper I charmingly convinced to come.

We got there feeling pumped (with a little help from Kriss Kross) and two of us dressed in 80's gear. I wore a bright pink shirt, which read "Let's Get Physical", while my dash buddy was in turquoise and florescent orange. Costumes are common at these events but we didn't see as many there. As we checked out the course I knew it would be a little different than the Warrior Dash. It was hilly, not to mention extremely rocky, and definitely involved more running.

Right before we started nervous energy resulted in my dancing, enter Kriss Kross and their song "Jump" again. Once we got going the jitters went away and the focus began.The first few hills weren't too bad, but as we went on I wondered when we'd actually hit an obstacle.The course was rough as expected. The downhill runs were tough since the gravel didn't help when you wanted to slow your momentum. They burned you out with running before you encountered any " hellish feats of strength". Without going into every detail of all fourteen obstacles the majority of them were similar to the Warrior Dash, such as the mud crawls, tires, and cargo nets. Though none were too difficult I have to say I'm thankful there was a guy in our group to help us out. He'd give us a lift over the 7ft walls and lend a hand to pull us over challenging inclines. He also helped others around us. His brawn, not to mention good company, were appreciated. I'm also glad my dash buddy and I shared another crazy experience. She's willing to partake in fitness adventures and we always have fun doing them.

My least favorite part? The water slide at the end. Sounds fun but we were deceived.A large slide dropped you into a pool of frigid muddy water where you had to climb over floating rolls then pull yourself out with a rope. My friend claims her life flashed before her eyes while I'd rather eat bugs then ever do that again.

My favorite part? I like the cargo nets and I don't mind the mud crawls. Can't be rugged without a little dirt. I also like the challenge in general. I enjoy testing my limits and in this race it was the running. I'm not the best runner and it only fuels me to become better.


With a few scrapes and wet clothes we completed the course triumphantly. We celebrated with our free beers and patted ourselves on the back. We were now maniacs of the rugged variety.



*Possibly Up Next: SnowDash Extreme 5K for info click here.