Rugged Maniac obstacle races, mud run, and OCR information, distance, cost, dates, calendar, discounts, obstacles, reviews, and more

First time & loved it!

Check in was quick & efficient. I am a runner, have done a marathon, 1/2 marathons & other distance running events for 15 years but this was my first obstacle & mud race! Ran with a group of friends who have done mud races & had fun. Volunteers were great as were all the other runners....friendly & helpful! Will do it again next year!

This was our first obstacle course race and we all loved it! There were 3 parents and 3 teen boys in our group and everyone had a great time and plan to do it again next year!! The check-in was organized and efficient. The course was very well-done and well-supported by volunteers at each obstacle. There was a good mix of challenging and fun obstacles. Plenty of water and mud. The after-party was fun as well. Definitely plan to be back next year!

My 15 yr old son tore up the course and rocked it!
He had the biggest smile on his face and really enjoyed telling me all about his rugged adventure.
Thank you Rugged Maniac :)

Disappointed this year

overall, another great event; really liked the course change and new obstacles, BUT, #3 Mud Crawl wasn't very muddy, #5 Crawling Trenches were dry as a bone, #6 Mud Pit was still being filled at 9:15am, #23 Crawl Under/Pit was dry in places and the dirt so lumpy & hard several people got cut, and what where was the 2nd water slide, at the Finish, that was bragged about in the May 1st email? everything else was awesome and we'll be back in 2015. I hope next year the "staff" will be have the course ready by start time! and pizza with my beer would be a welcome addition too!

Favorite Brand of OCR

Rugged Maniac was my first race and I've done it every year since.
It's definitely not the hardest but it is a lot of fun
All mud running, no concrete. Plenty of obstacles and improve every year. This is a great beginner race and also a race to just have fun on, wear a costume have a good time.

Great Race, Poor Organization

The race itself was great. Lots of mud and plenty of obstacles. It had rained for about a day before the race and the course was totally drenched. If you were a competitive mudder this was not the race to get a PR in time. I brought a group of 8 with me and they all had a blast on the course except for one obstacle, a tire carry, that was over a fence and on a very unsafe platform. they had to through plywood on it to keep people from stepping through the wood planks. I was totally blown away by this, extremely unsafe. After the race my group was prepared to return to their vehicles and found out that we had to wait over and hour and half to get the shuttle back to our cars. Very disappointed in this, but also disappointed in the fact that none of the race organizers were there to talk to people and give out information. Very poor reflection that they avoided the upset people in line instead of communicating with them.

Hope the step it up.

This race promises mud, and there's that! Honestly almost too much. There are quite a few fun obstacles, but the excess mud almost takes the fun out of it. I think the rain made it worse than it would've been. Another major problem is the transportation to the venue. Waiting for a long time before the event is frustrating enough. Waiting for a bus after you've run the race, absolutely miserable. This race is early in the season, it almost always rains because it's April and it is always, always, always COLD! It would be in the best interests of the participants (in order to prevent hypothermia) if the wait for the bus was not hours. Not only do you have to wait for the bus, the bag check was a muddy cluster!! I'm super glad I used a trash bag to bag my backpack. It was pretty muddy last year too. I came prepared!

Overall, there are a lot of fun elements to this obstacle course race. Shuttles and the bag check are a must RE-DO!!

Major Disappointment

Major issues on planning the event and especially the transportation plan. Add our names to a growing list of dissatisfied and just plain pissed runners/consumers. The wait for shuttles on the front end should have been a clue. There were obviously fewer buses leaving than coming and major issues estimating the wait times and lines. Since the dressing and bag areas were so wet and muddy we had to leave partially wet which added to a horrific wait. Since we were in line for almost 2 hours tempers ran high and satisfaction with RM dropped to ZERO. Having two thousand bags in a tent that should hold 100 bags was another issue. We get that we were there to be wet muddy and miserable. When its over you don't expect your clean items in your bag to be thrown off the tables into the mud only to learn your dressing area was as muddy as one of the obstacles. We along with several hundred other runners will consider other races instead because of the extreme lack of consideration and absolutely no communication. Being wet, cold and shivering for that period of time without the benefit or even someone communicating with the waiting line and not planning for better shuttle service was a major faux pas and novice organizing mistake. It would be more understandable with an outfit that was doing it for the first time or that didn't plan races as a business. Rugged Maniac is absolutely off our list of potential future races. They certainly will not grow their brand in this competitive niche with this attitude. Instead of growing it they went in the opposite direction. Major miss on their part. Major disappointment on ours. It did not live up to their marketing, credo or hype.

Horribly Organized Run

First let me say the positives. Decent run, quite a few fun obstacles, and the other participants were very fun to run with.

Now for the negatives. This was one of the most poorly organized and executed races I have ever experienced. It took an hour of standing and waiting to get a bus from the parking area to the race. The bag storage area was basically a pile you threw your stuff into. The “band” that supposed to be playing was a dinky DJ stand, nothing live. The after party was non-existent.

Worst of all was the wait to get back to the vehicles. After being soaked and cold during the race (which I fully expected and actually enjoyed) the racers were forced to stand in the cold and the rain for a minimum of two hours waiting on the busses. People went from enjoying themselves, to miserable and regretting coming to the event. By the end there were multiple people that where borderline hypothermic. Many people were forced to go into the woods beside the line to relieve themselves. Children spectators in line were put in physical danger due to this situation. I will be encouraging all the people I know in the running community to avoid this run at all costs for their own safety and wellbeing.

I am willing to give the organization a slight benefit of the doubt. I talked to some of the other enraged patrons during our multiple hour wait in the rain and they said that last year was not nearly as bad. The event was much better organized and less cheaply done. If this was due to a cost saving initiative then STOP, you will be out of business within the next couple years. If it is a new event coordinator, replace them NOW. Until I hear about a change I will make it a personal mission to deter as many friends as I can from this race. There are many other charity races that people can participate in and not have to go through this kind of lack luster treatment. If it is a very nice day and you have a full day to burn, then by all means run this race. Otherwise I would avoid this run and find another organization in which to donate your hard earned money.

Doing my third one this June

I am doing my third one in a row this June in Brooklyn after doing the NJ one in '12 and '13. I have a real blast at this event. I'm almost 50 and in pretty good shape for someone my age, but I was definitely one of the older guys there which I sort of liked...gets you motivated.

But what is best about this race is that it is challenging, and at times you ( or well I) was exhausted....but the atmosphere is totally fun and mixed. You have people who take it very seriously, and you have those that just want a challenge...and then the occasional person racing in a banana suit lol

But it is challenging at times, your knees will get scraped up. If it is a rainy day it is that much harder because the course ..not just the mud pits...are heavy muddy.

If you are really into your time then that could be an issue because at some obstacles there are backups..frustrating ( or a welcome break depending how you look at it)

The shower area is pretty basic... not for the shy though..not that you are undressed or anything but you are in basically shorts taking a showering in front of a million people cleaning out mud from every crevice.

It is fun..there is beer and plenty of food and giveaway samples. I guarantee after you do it you will be glad you did.