Devil Dash

October 2012

Devil Dash - (according to website)

Distance:

3.1 devilish miles

Course Description:

Racers will ascend the "Purgatory" course and conquer obstacles themed after the 7 Deadly Sins, before entering the pearly gates and the "Beer Garden of Eden". Obstacles include climbing over cargo nets, running through the river, crawling through mud pits, darting through fire and trudging up steep terrain and much more.....

It says it was located at Camel back ranch but it was also through the white sox/dodgers spring training stadiums. I signed the hubster and I up for one of the later heats and when we arrived they did not have enough shirts and I was the only one to get one. We were also given finisher medals and head bands at the end and there was live music and food vendors. We started inside one of the stadiums and ran all around inside then we went outside the stadium were most of the obstacles/mud were. The music was loud enough that we could hear it while we were running around the stadium. The obstacles were fun and not too challenging. They had hoses at the end that we were able to spray ourselves off with and we brought a bag and extra clothes to change into and it was nice that we could use the bathrooms in the stadiums vs porta potties. Overall, we had a good but didn't think we would do this race again. It didn't seem that well organized.

Cahoots Duo Challenge

April 2012

Cahoots Duo Challenge (according to website)

The Cahoots Duo Challenge is a race series where you and a friend combine wits, strength, strategy and stamina to negotiate a barrage of nearly two dozen unique obstacles and challenges.

All Cahoots courses have been specifically and creatively designed to prove the resolve and test the limits of even the toughest of twosomes. You'll carry, push, pull and roll one another over and through a variety of perils and hazards. You'll swing over energy sapping bogs on the Siamese Trapese, build precarious bridges, and scale 10' walls.

You'll have to rely on each other, trust each other, and work together. If you can't hack it, don't worry about it. We'll have EMTs, mediation and divorce attorneys standing by.

Distance:

Since no two courses are the same, course length can vary between 3-4 miles, depending on the climate, terrain, and lay of the venue.

This is the first OCR that the hubster and I did together. It was out at Arizona Cycle park in Buckeye and it took us almost about an hour to get all the way out there. Our start time was around 11am and it was so hot outside! I think this was only the 2nd year of Cahoots Duo Challenge and it's first at the cycle park. You could see the whole layout of the race from the start line since it was down in the track. We thought the obstacles were pretty good (for our first race, and it was a lot better than the dirty 6). They had some good mud but could've used more water (to drink and to make more mud). The zipline was fun but I fell after jumping off and skinned up my palm pretty good and I ended up going around one of the wall obstacles. During this race I was wearing a heart monitor because of palpitations that I had been having (everything was cleared) so I didn't push myself too hard. We were given a really cool finisher medal at the end that can be 2 separate medals or one together. They had a vendor for food and they also sold shirts (we each bought one). Overall, we had a good time and would probably try it again if it wasn't so far.

Urban Dare

March 2012

Urban Dare (according to website)

Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. It’s part trivia, part photo hunt, part mental and physical challenges, and all fun. Think of it as a 1-day Amazing Race.

Teams of 2 solve a set of 12 clues to find checkpoints where they must take photos or perform dares in a race to the finish. You may call smart friends or use your smart phones for help solving clues. It is up to you to figure out the best order to complete your checkpoints.

You may walk, run or use public transportation to get to checkpoints. Sometimes the smart move is to run and other times a bus or the subway may be the way to go. You decide.

All races vary, but the winners usually finish under 2 hours and most people finish under 4 hours, while covering about 4 – 6 miles.

A portion of the proceeds, goes to feed the hungry through food banks.

Take the dare!

After doing the color run with our boys I wanted to find a fun race for myself and the hubster and I stumbled upon Urban Dare. This was labeled as an Amazing Race type run and that's all I needed to hear before signing up :)

This year it was on Mill Ave in Tempe. We weren't quite sure what to expect but there were almost 120 teams there. They gave a $50 gift card to the team with the best costume (only one team dress up up this year so they were the lucky winners). We were given a list of 12 clues and had to figure out the location to each clue, map it, go to each location and either take a picture there or perform an obstacle. We did a great job mapping it out and we were heading back to the finish when I noticed that I had overlooked the last clue/location and we ended up running 2 extra miles! We ended up finishing 22nd out of almost 120 teams even with that mess-up and it took us just under 2 hours to complete. We were given t-shirts to wear at the beginning and a few (smart) girls brought scissors to make theirs cute. Bringing a smart phone and pen is a must. Overall, we had a lot of fun and decided that this would be a fun race to do again. When we got home I mapped out the locations and if you did it efficiently it would have been 4 miles but we ended up going 6 miles.

The Color Run

January 2012

The Color Run.

I thought this race would be fun for our boys so I signed them up along with myself and the hubster. My boys were 7 and 10 at the time and we walked/ran the 3.1 miles. We were told to wear white so we got all decked out! The race was around tempe town lakes and the roads were blocked off for us. There was only one start time and a lot of people that year. We all had a lot of fun going through the color zones and there was even a motorcycle cop who was giving everyone high fives as we went over the bridge towards the end. At the end of the race we were given a white color run headband and a pack of color (we had our own color fight back at home). They had some good promo vendors at the finish and handed out free fruit and water and they also had a band playing. Overall we all had a great time but the prices went up so much the following year that I did not sign up again. If prices were more reasonable I would do this race again.

Dirty 6

September 2011
This was my very first 5k OCR. I was not super in shape at the time but was competitive enough that I kept running as long as the other girls I signed up with did...lol!

I was excited to try this race out but was a little disappointed in the difficulty of the obstacles and shortness of mud. It was mostly running and at the end of the race we were given a glass cup for participating :)
I have not signed up to do another dirty 6 race so I don't know if the obstacles improved or not.

Obstacle Course Races

I decided to create this blog after another race we did today. I thought it would be a good place to rate the races we've done over the past 2-3 years and give tips/tricks we've learned along the way. I hope it helps you out!