For the second year in a row, I signed up for the Rugged
Maniac. My friend Jerri who also raced
with me last year was back for year two, along with Nikki, a friend of
hers. We had also convinced another boot
camp attendee, Venae, to race with us, so there were four of us. Nikki had never done an obstacle course and
Venae is scheduled for shoulder surgery in a few weeks, so we knew we wouldn’t
be fast, but we assured them it was all about fun and no one would get left
behind.
Last year’s weather wasn’t bad, but was a little on the
chilly side, especially in the water/mud obstacles, but this year’s weather was
perfect for me. I was able to wear
shorts, long socks to protect my legs, and a sports bra tank top. At 10:30 our wave started and we were off.
Jerri and I noticed right away that the trail we were
running on seemed more dusty and less muddy than last year, so I wondered if we
would get as muddy. The first obstacles
we encountered were the Quad Burners and Trenches. You had to run up and over a “muddy” hill and
then jump across the trench. Again, we
noticed that the hills were bigger this year and there were definitely more of
them. Already, we thought the course was
a little more challenging. But we were
having fun.
Next up was the Barricades – climbing over a wall with a
moving cylinder on top. Success for
everyone. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder was
also not a problem. But up next was one
where I thought we might get wet for the first time – the Frog Hop. This is one that got me last year because I
tried to be conservative on my approach.
Last year I thought if I could jump to the middle of one pad, regain my
balance and then jump to the next, I could make it. Wrong.
When I jumped to the second one I slid in. Not this year. As I approached, the volunteer said “middle
and fast”. So I went to one I the middle
and I just ran across. I didn’t even
really think about what I was doing and the next thing I knew, I was
across. I had mad it.
After climbing up a ladder to cross a bridge and climb a
ladder back down we came upon Jump Start.
This was basically crawling up and over a wall, but the bottom rungs had
been taken away so that you had to use arm strength to initially get up. We figured it out and were on our way. As we came to Fenced In, it was the first
real mud we encountered. It looked like
everyone was going head first backside down and pulling themselves through, so
that’s what we did. Backsides were
officially muddy. It wouldn’t be long
until the front side matched as the Commando Crawl was next. You always have to be careful in this one as
hair or clothes can get caught in the barbed wire. Jerri’s hair did and some guy had to “unhook”
her. We had a good laugh at that.
Tipping Point was next and was definitely more challenging
than last year. Last year it was one of
the first, so the boards were not really slippery and you could just run or
walk up and over. Being right after
Commando Crawl this year, they were VERY slippery. Working slowly and together we got down and
moved on.
We climbed the cargo net at Let’s Cargo and then went
through another mud pit at Head Scratcher.
Then it was time to really get muddy and wet. As you Bang The Gong, the only place to land
is in a pit of muddy water. Because of
the warmer weather this year, it actually felt good. Then we went head first into Pipe Dream. Down the pipe into muddy water, under the
barb wire, and up through the pipe to the other side. This one is trickier than it looks because
you do have to use your strength to pull yourself up the pipe since you are wet
and muddy.
The next obstacle was a new one and I was excited about it
because it’s similar to a Spartan obstacle, but with less weight. We had to pull a heavy chain (about 30-40
lbs) up off the ground several feet.
Mission accomplished.
Earlier in the race as we had been running between obstacles
we had heard some loud pops. The race
was held on a huge ranch, so we figured there might be a gun range close by or
maybe some hunters (it is hunting season in Texas afterall). We thought it was
a little weird it sounded so close, but we didn’t think they would put us in
harms way, so we just went with it.
Well, we soon realized where that noise had come from – The Guillotine. This was another new one. You had to lift a heavy board, crawl
underneath it and then let it go. As you
let it go, it made a loud pop.
Pack Mule (carrying a heavy weight) and the ladder cross
were no problem. The Gauntlet was
next. This was one that I crossed last
year, but almost got knocked in. Not
this year. As with Frog Hop, I just ran
and as I ran, I threw the heavy hanging cylinders out of my way.
I was a little disappointed as we approached the Pyromaniac
as there were no photographers anywhere in site. Jumping over fire is the classic picture
everyone loves from these obstacle course races and I love my picture from last
year (although it was Joel who took it and not the race photographers). Guess I wouldn’t get one this year.
Through some more mud and then to the obstacle that I have
yet to master – The Ringer. I’m working
on it, but upper body strength in the pull-up position is still not where it
needs to be for this. Add water and mud to
the rings and, well, I just didn’t get far.
The Crag was next and this one was a fun one. Think of bouncy houses. I have always loved those things and
trampolines, so I jumped up one side, went over the top and bounced my way
down.
When I got to Antigravity, I knew
I wanted to wait until my lane was clear to go since I was going to jump
high. When the girl in front of me was
at the top of the wall, I decided I would be ok and went.
Well, when I went to take my final bounce on
the trampoline to propel myself onto the wall, I realized she was still there
and had to jump sideways. I almost
landed on top of her. I think I freaked
her out. Oops.
After that it was up the Warped Wall, across Mount Maniac
and down the Accelerator to the finish line.
As we lined up for the Warped Wall, I looked for the biggest guys to
help me get up. I made eye contact and
took off. I grabbed their hands, but am
not really sure I needed them as I ran high enough up the wall that my foot
planted on the top and over I went. One
lady after me was able to grab their hands, but couldn’t get her feet up and
over. She had to slide back down and try
again. I was still waiting on the rest
of my group, so when she tried again, I grabbed one of her legs and the three
of us helped her get over. Loud cheers
and claps erupted from the crowd. This
is what I love about these kinds of races.
Most people do it for fun and really encourage and help each other.
When the rest of my group got up, we crossed the cargo net
and got in line for the new, higher Accelerator. We made it where all four of us would go down
together. Oh my gosh, what fun!
We were all laughing at the bottom and then I
was like, “Guys, we aren’t done. We
still have to cross the finish.” We got
out of the landing pit and headed toward the finish line.
Once again, we had a blast and I’ll be doing this race
again.
