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

Sad to see it decline....

I have ran Warrior Dash the last three years and I have never seen long lines such as this, horribly disappointing as I remember never waiting in line for no more than 5-7 mins. This time I sat in line for 30mins.

Also, after waiting in line, it was a huge disappointment to find out that there would be no times... it's a race and you have no times? It's great to see comparative times and mile times as you improve each time, but not anymore. Okay, so race time, right?

First mile and a half was normal as usual, I like to stay ahead to beat the crowds when they reach the obstacles so I can keep a good time.... except this time. I waited in line for 3 obstacles for about 20 mins. In a race that usually takes me 30 mins in the past, my time went out the window with this one.

I was truly disappointed and will refrain from attending the Warrior Dash again. I am thankful that it brought me into the "sport" but Tough Mudder or Spartan Race seems more competitive friendly.

Identity Crisis

This was my 4th NY Warrior Dash (I had participated in 3 of the 4 times it was offered at Windham Mtn) My last time at Windham was a bit of a let down and I didn't see myself returning. However, a new venue that was actually closer to home, getting a Black Friday deal and having no other OCR to do that day conspired to get me to sign up and take part in this year's local installment.

Upon arrival, getting in and parking was not too difficult. Parking cost $10, which I think was actually down from a high of $20 to park before. Unfortunately as far as the pre-race logistics, the parking was the only part that ran smoothly.

Packet pick up and bag check were not alphabetized or numbered at all. In both cases, you had one line and a small cadre of staff who would just attempt to wait on the next available person. I was there to run in the second wave, so I didn't face the excruciatingly long line I observed later in the morning but it was still a slower, less efficient process than just about anything I have encountered with the big players like Spartan or Tough Mudder. When I returned to collect my checked bag afterwards, chaos reigned supreme when I had three different volunteers come up and ask me what my bag looked like and they still could not locate it.

The course itself was a lot of fun and I felt like it thoroughly challenged me as much as I could expect it to. The new location eschewed the up one steep ascent and fly back down format of Windham and was more of a hilly up and down, up and down run. About half the obstacles were within the first 2 to 2.5 miles and the remaining obstacles, including the signature "Goliath," were together in the last half mile. Apart from Goliath, the course and obstacles seemed akin to a decent local charity OCR, a wall here, a cargo net there, a relatively basic fire jump, mud pits (which to their credit were deeper and more extensive than any previous WD, it was more of a surprise if you were accustomed to prior WD's, it was something to think you were just going to wade or crawl through the muddy water to the finish only to drop in over your head and find yourself swimming then caught in mud that was almost like quicksand, especially when I only had a minute left to make my goal time for the course)

I signed up for the second wave as I did not see any incentive to pay to be in the competitive or "elite" wave (the only thing it would do is give you a chance to qualify for the "World Championships" on October, which are being held on the other end of the country) Being fairly seasoned in OCR, I figured that the second wave would still remain fairly free of bottlenecking and allow me to run the course for time. My gamble paid off but after I finished and watched the waves immediately after, I saw long lines forming behind most of the obstacles in the last half mile of the course. There was no way you could run the course hard or for time if you didn't' show up early. The course was clearly not designed to accommodate a high volume of people going fast, whereas I have gone to Spartan Races in the afternoon and have only found my time limited by my own abilities, which is what I shoot for. Having said that, I encounter the same thing at Tough Mudder but I have a good time when I do those, because that's the one time I don't go with the expectation of racing.

Overall, I think Warrior Dash is showing signs of a company in crisis trying to define itself but not sure how to do it. On one hand, they have eliminated chip timing, but on the other hand they have an elite heat and a "World Championships." Also, they keep a time clock at the start and finish, yet the course is not designed to accommodate a high volume of people without bottlenecking. What you end up with is a schizophrenic
event that is trying to be a noncompetitive "fun challenge" but still trying to be relevant as a competitive athletic event. And it doesn't end up being the best it can be in either instance.

I want Warrior Dash to succeed as a company and an event. It is where I cut my teeth as an OCR athlete. It was one of the first to the playing field, at least in my area. But if they continue to cut corners and flip flop between the competing visions of what they want to be and cannot find a niche and run with it, the nostalgia I have may be limited to mere memories in the wake of other big players who have something specific to offer that appeals to different people for different reasons.

Anyone else feeling sick?

Loved the event. We got super lucky with the bus/parking situation, but saw the chaos. Curious if anyone else is feeling sick after the event. We all seem to have the same symptoms of dizziness and nausea. I know I swallowed a lot of muddy/dirty water coming down the slide at the end. Have not been able to eat a full meal since Sunday.

amazing no one drowned

Amazing no fatalities!! Why is there no limit to the # of people who can register???? Putting aside the nightmare of the traffic, shuttle bus, disorganized lines for checkin, bag check, free beer line but I personally watched two people on two different obstacles almost drown and the life guards did nothing!!! The one I understand the lifeguard missed her fall and go under and the 2 more people trampling her ... but when I went down the slide I got grabbed and after kicking her away and yelling to the lifeguard he did nothing until one of my team members then trying to save me from being pulled under (again) grabbed the lifeguards flotation. Absolutely dangerous situation. I don't know any other event company that does not limit registrations to a race event.

This is my first year doing Warrior Dash and it was a complete let down. It was shocking how unorganized the entire event was from start to finish. It's unbelievable that they had parking over 2 miles away from the location and the bus line was ridiculously long! We ended up walking. I wish I would have known the parking/bus situation in advance so I could have walked from my house instead. Also, it seemed like the obstacles were too spread out. The lake was probably the dirtiest body of water I have ever been in. I've done other mud races and this was by far the biggest let down. Also, not much of a challenge either. Whomp Whomp....

I agree with everything that Jeff said. This was our second year attending and, adding to Jeff's comments, our wait time from 287 to the parking yard was over 1 hour. When we arrived at the parking lot, there were no buses, and a line of people waiting as far as the eye could see. This was the point, i believe, where participants decided to make the 2-1/2 mile walk to the event site. The organizers were simply not prepared to shuttle all the participants who had all pre-registered for the race, and a race time. How is that possible, other than very poor planning. We will not be returning next year.

Did they have their budget cut?

I've been to several Warrior Dashes in the past few years in several states. This is the second time doing the WD in Morristown and the majority of it was frustrating, if not a complete let-down. The parking situation was terrible. It took about 40 minutes sitting in stop-and-go traffic to get to the parking lot. After another 10 minute wait, we took a bus to the event site.

The check in lines were ridiculously long and there were constantly people cutting in to get ahead. All of the previous events I've attended had check-ins nicely organized with two separate areas for men/women and each line within the areas were separated by last name which made all the lines very quick and easy to identify where to go. This year, it was basically just a mob of people slowly shuffling their way to the check-in while people cut in from the corners and slowed everything down.

When you do check in, you get a shirt and hat. In previous years, you'd also get a tracking tag so that you can be timed. I still have no clue if/how we were timed this year. I know there were clocks at the start and finish lines so perhaps you were supposed to time yourself or the photographers at the end capture your tag and can then put a time on your run.
In any case, after you get your shirt and hat, you have to store them and other belongings in the baggage area. Again, no organization and people cutting to the front of the line/crowd. Something as simple as separate drop-off and pick-up areas would've been great since people picking up their bags tend to take a long time while the volunteers find them in the stacks of bags.

We got to the starting line and there was just a guy who counted down from 10 until we began. Usually, there's a lot of hyping and jumping around, but this time it was pathetic. They didn't even do the thing where you make the warrior sign with your hands and scream. The first part of the course was fine. A few simple obstacles and some nice wood and mud trails. About 20 minutes in we came to a large wall obstacle where we had to wait 20 minutes just to climb the wall. Some people from the previous group were still climbing when we arrived. The next obstacle had another 10 minute wait just to crawl under barbed wire. About half the remainder of the course was reused from last year which I'm fine with but many people were upset about. One of the last obstacles they had us wait so they could reinforce the climbing structure. I'm ok with that, too. I'd rather it be safe and have to wait a bit than have someone get hurt on it.

Overall, it seemed like it was thrown together at the last minute. I know it wasn't, and I applaud those who put it together, but it just wasn't fun this year and it was because there was poor organization and great frustration with many parts of the event. I also only remember seeing about 3 photographers for the whole race which was a bit upsetting. Most people I talked with feel like there wasn't much effort put into this race or other races that I've seen reviewed here. Because of having great experiences in the past few years at these events I'm sad to say that, unless there are signs of improvement, I won't be attending next year.

This was my 2nd Warrior Dash. 1st one last year at Wyndham Mtn was an awesome experience and l was looking forward to this years event. I was completely disappointed. Took us almost 3 hours to get to Gilboa, NY then parked in a field, as someone else mentioned we had to pay for it too, then had to walk a long way up to the main event so unable to run back and forth to car for items. Line to sign in was absurdly long. Port a pottys weren't such a problem, but lines for checking in bags and for getting washed off after race were ridiculously long!! At one point there was only 1 truck with 1 man and a hose to wash each person, really?? The course was poorly put together as well. There were a bunch of obstacles clumped at the end and a long wait to complete each one!! I even questioned whether 12 obstacles had been used! There were no photographers at 1/2 the obstacles and when the pics were available you needed to log into FB for them! Oh, and they were awful, very amauterish, not what I saw from last year or other events they posted pics of! In addition, I did well for my age group last year and was looking forward to seeing how I did this year and there are no results posted other than the competitive race. Possibly not participating next year and will look for something more professionally run. One man mentioned the Spartan Race as being well put together.

Sad but true

Jul 26 16:25

Today was my 3rd warrior dash and up until now it was always a very positive , challenging experience. This year the event moved to GILBOA Ny. The obstacle course felt hodge podge put together by some kid on a back hoe who dug a few holes and called it an obstacle. The 3.2 miles was disappointing at best , with the first two miles gingerly jogging through a flat camp ground with 3 chinchy obstacles designed for the average 4th grader thrown down. For example a pallet on a side of an incline to go down . Really that\'s an obstacle? The next mile was a long boring run up a hill on a dirt road..... No water , no obstacles just running up a hill on a road for a mile.....again, that\'s what I do daily why am I paying you for that opportunity ?? Final was .2 and the rest of what you had to offer in obstacles which were 6 crammed together that were bottlenecked and you had to wait 20 minutes to even get on them. Had I not waited in line for \"over an hour\" to register ( even though I pre registered months ago) my 1:00 run on a Saturday might have been more tolerable. But after paying 10 bucks to park on a field donated to the event by a farmer, wAiting to register, waiting at each obstacle to participate, waiting again for a beer I was disappointed. To make matters worse there were 9 portapottys out of order and to wash up after your run a single man stood with a hose washing off one person at a time. Please . Give me back my money that was an absolute waste of a great day! I don\'t know how you managed to fail so miserably and I am absolutely disappointed .

Sad but true

Jul 26 16:25

Today was my 3rd warrior dash and up until now it was always a very positive , challenging experience. This year the event moved to GILBOA Ny. The obstacle course felt hodge podge put together by some kid on a back hoe who dug a few holes and called it an obstacle. The 3.2 miles was disappointing at best , with the first two miles gingerly jogging through a flat camp ground with 3 chinchy obstacles designed for the average 4th grader thrown down. For example a pallet on a side of an incline to go down . Really that\'s an obstacle? The next mile was a long boring run up a hill on a dirt road..... No water , no obstacles just running up a hill on a road for a mile.....again, that\'s what I do daily why am I paying you for that opportunity ?? Final was .2 and the rest of what you had to offer in obstacles which were 6 crammed together that were bottlenecked and you had to wait 20 minutes to even get on them. Had I not waited in line for \"over an hour\" to register ( even though I pre registered months ago) my 1:00 run on a Saturday might have been more tolerable. But after paying 10 bucks to park on a field donated to the event by a farmer, wAiting to register, waiting at each obstacle to participate, waiting again for a beer I was disappointed. To make matters worse there were 9 portapottys out of order and to wash up after your run a single man stood with a hose washing off one person at a time. Please . Give me back my money that was an absolute waste of a great day! I don\'t know how you managed to fail so miserably and I am absolutely disappointed .