This morning I put on my “I survived the Warrior Dash” t-shirt, thinking about a morning spent with my kids and a throng of crazy people, all intent on conquering the 5k obstacle course and having a well deserved beer at the finish line. For us it was all in good fun, and has become the source of yet another quote my kids bring out at family gatherings to tease me….”I’m not a runner, I’m more of an interval person,” was my mantra as I slowed to a walk more than once between scaling walls and clambering across rope nets. We slogged through the mud pit to finish the course with respectable times before getting blasted with fire hoses in an attempt to dislodge the coating of invasive mud. Enough said. Although I wouldn’t call it the “craziest frickin’ day of my life”, it was an interesting experience.
I’ve since discovered that there are a growing number of athletes out there who take these events much more seriously than we did, putting themselves through races more grueling than the Warrior Dash.
I interviewed Chris Rutz and found out just how extreme the sport can be, especially when you consider he doesn’t even reward himself with a beer at the end of a race. Click on his picture to read about how real tough guys approach the most punishing obstacle races, and the ultimate test of toughness he faces in December.