Yesterday morning I ran in one of the coolest races on the planet!
Ryan and I signed up for the Hero Rush obstacle course race with a team of his coworkers knowing that the race promised a series of firefighter-themed obstacles though a 5k+ course. The announcer said the course was closer to four or five miles than three miles on race day.
The race itself had a very laid back atmosphere when it came to completing obstacles (you were highly encouraged to try, but not disqualified if you passed one up – I’m not sure if that rule applied for the competitive wave though) and race participants arrived in hilarious costumes, matching t-shirts and fun socks. We even saw two participants dressed as Batman and Robin!
Ryan and I wore the blue shirts provided by his company to support our team.
Having matching shirts with teammates made running a lot of fun because we could see our fellow baby blue runners speckled throughout the course and it gave us something to work for when we saw someone we knew ahead of us and wanted to catch up to run with them.
I wasn’t really sure what to wear to this race and texted my sister about it the night before since she did a similar race a few months ago. She highly encouraged me to wear old shoes that I didn’t care about and spandex capris because of all of the crawling on the ground.
I took her advice and wore an old pair of running shoes and a pair of Reebok capris that were perfect for this event. They stayed up without any issues when I ran through pools of water and didn’t feel heavy when they were soaked. If I didn’t have to wear the t-shirt for our team, I definitely would’ve worn something with a dri-fit material on top because a sopping wet t-shirt wasn’t too fun to run in!
As for the race itself, it started off with a bang!
Participants ran up the steps of one side of a wall and used poles to get down to the other side before taking off running toward the first obstacle.
The obstacles were harder than I anticipated but a lot of fun. The one that was the most physically challenging for me was a rope climb (I am sore today!) where I had to climb a 20-foot rope and then do this crazy balance thing to get back down the other side. There were knots in the rope to help, but it was hard!
(Picture from the Hero Rush Facebook page)
Other obstacles included climbing over a mountain of hay, worming your way through tunnels lined with bungee cords, navigating your way through foam tunnels (I had a minor freak out in that one because I’m so claustrophobic), pulling two tires over and under obstacles, etc. Many of the obstacles were physically demanding, but really fun and not impossible.
I did every obstacle but one. I decided to wait for Ryan on the other side of the pitch black tunnel maze. When the obstacle was explained to me and I heard I had to crawl through a dark tunnel maze, I freaked out. The sheer thought of being caught in a dark tunnel and not being able to see or find my way out really scared me since I am claustrophobic. Ryan and other racers said it was really creepy, so another woman who was racing near me and I decided to pass. I think it was a good decision!
There were other obstacles that involved jumping over fire, running through a muddy pond, climbing up a tunnel lined with only a few wooden boards and more.
I told Ryan I felt like the race was adult recess. It really was so much fun!
Ryan and I finished in 55:41 which landed me seventh place in my age group in the open category (out of 238) and 13th woman overall out of 1047.
Can you tell it was an intense race? Red face!!
Once we crossed the finish line, we were given medals and race t-shirts.
I love the t-shirts! They had feminine-cut shirts available, so I selected one that was nice and long and a lot less boxy than typical race t-shirts.
In the bags with our t-shirts we received “5 dinero” to spend on food and drinks.
I got the pulled pork sandwich and inhaled it.
I’m usually not all that hungry after races, but this race was completely different and I was thankful for a yummy sandwich!
The Hero Rush was so much fun and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun challenge. Signing up with a team is definitely the way to go because it’s a blast running with others and having a little help through some of the obstacles comes in handy!
I hope to be back soon with a recap of our Friendsgiving feast!
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Wow totally sounds like Tough Mudder style, just not as long! Which might be a good intro if you are wanting to do Tough Mudder (not that I have, it scares me haha).
I don’t know if I could have crawled through the tunnel either…that’s super creepy! Congrats on the great work!!!
Looks really fun! After doing a Tough Mudder, I am looking for less intense races to try. I wish they had one close to me!
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.blogspot.com
wow what a race!! congrats girl
I did the Dirty 30 – Zombie Edition Race in October and loved it. We had obstacles and then also zombies to run around. It was a fun race, and you could pass up the obstacles. I passed a lot of them up due to bad knees. Other races – like The Warrior Dash – won’t let you pass up obstacles. For me, having fun and doing what you can is worth it more than just having to do every obstacle.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a fun race! I don’t even know if I’ve heard of one like this, but it sounds like a blast. And it sounds like you did awesome too! Way to go!
Looks like so much fun! Really hoping to try an obstacle race in the future.
That looks like so much fun!
Congrats on the race, 13th woman overall!?!? And that does sound like adult recess, I’m dying to do an obstacle course like that!
This looks like such a fun race! i’ve always wanted to try one of those races that aren’t purely running. Congrats on the finish!
Looks like a blast, Julie! Awesome job too. Impressive stats, girl! 🙂
I get creeped out just hearing you talk about that tunnel! Great job on the race!
Impressive finish! 😀
Much more adventurous than me!
Wow! I’m so impressed! You did so well; 13th out of over 1000 women is really amazing. Sounds like a lot of fun. Good call on not going through the dark tunnel.
Nice going, Julie..looks like a blast!
Wow great job! It sounds like soo much fun! And having team mates to cheer you on etc would be so fun. PLUS the pulled pork sandwich looks delish.
My husband is a volunteer firefighter and he got a kick out of me telling him about this race. Did the money go to a charity or the fire department?
That looks like a really fun race! Great job!
That looks like a really fun race! Awesome job!
Sounds like a blast!! You totally rocked it girl! Congrats!
Congratulations! You did awesome!
ommmggg omg omgg… those races are so awesome and so full of adrenaline. My heart was pumping FOR you, reading that re-cap, haha! How crazy! Well done.
Wow!! Nice finish, girl! Congrats!!! That race looks like TONS of fun! My colon cancer obstacle 5k wasn’t quite as exciting – the obstacles were basically tires, climbing through some rope that were tied in weird angles and then at the end, you were ‘farted through’ a giant inflatable colon. Definitely going to be googling for a Hero Rush race in Seattle!
I love this idea!!! I have never heard of it but now I will have to investigate. Great job killin’ the course!
Wow, well done on the 13th place!!! We had 2 people dressed as the oompa loompas on the hell and back run….they walked the whole thing and it took them 3 hours! They were last out of 1600 people that took part…Would have like some clean water to go through, I was covered in mud from head to toe at the end of mine! Looks like they had some good obstacles along the way!
Did you change the layout of your blog, or is something wrong with my computer?
i’m having issues with it this weekend! trying to get it figured out ASAP!
Hope you get it worked out soon. 🙂
Looks like a blast lady!! So glad you had fun – I LOVE obstacle races!
Aw, so cool! This looks like such a neat race! Competing a mud/obstacle race is on my fitness bucket list. 🙂
Thanks for the great review, we’ve shared it on the Hero Rush Facebook page and will post it on the web site soon.
If your readers are interested in joining us at one of our 2013 events, be sure to pass along the promo code Save10 and they can get $10 off. We’re announced quote a few 2013 events with a few more coming.
Thanks!
Dave Iannone
Co-Founder
Hero Rush
I have always wanted to do a mud race or an obstacle race …. just never had the courage to do it … running a normal race seems so much easier …
Looks very similar to the Stampede obstacle course run I did earlier this year- it’s such a different atmosphere I felt than normal fun runs and stuff. It’s more about the fun and enjoyment and less about making a time.
So fun! And congrats on finishing in great time!
I did this race in Charlotte, NC a few weeks ago and had an absolute blast there as well. This was my first race like this and I thought it was hard, but doable. I couldn’t make it up the knotted rope, but that obstacle was closer to our end and I was exhausted by then. One that we had to do was carry firehose (on our shoulders) up 80 steps and back down – twice. The men’s hose weighed 50 pounds, so I’m guessing the women’s was 30. The was one of the very last obstacles and my legs were like jello by then, but I did it. I would totally do this again!!!
Congrats on the race!! I just did a similar race in September, it was so much fun! The obstacles made the race a lot more difficult than just running 3 miles 😉
Great review of the event, Julie. It was nice meeting you and running with you even though I couldn’t keep up for long. Can’t wait to do this again! Just hope to do it minus the upper respiratory infection! I wasn’t letting that stop me from participating and finishing! You and Ryan did great! Way to represent Hale’s Heroes!
They cancelled the Hero Rush in MN this year. 🙁 I really hope they have it next year, looks like a blast!
Thanks for reviewing this race. It does sound fun! Maybe ill put it on my goal list for next year.
Love your blog!
Jessica
This looks a lot like the Warrior Dash I did this summer! Seriously SO much fun, I love obstacle course races!
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