2015 Gladiator Rock N Run Recap

Saturday, September 26th I ran my second Gladiator Rock'N Run obstacle race. Like last year it was held in Export, Pa. at the Steel City Raceway.

Swag: T-shirt and finishers medal

The course: The course is a 5k course with roughly 16-20 obstacles. Some are designed to test your strength while some are designed to just get you a muddy mess.

Post Race: Beer, music, and food.... what else do you need!!! Oh ya, showers and a changing area.

My Race: I was registered for the competitive wave which started at 8:00 am. I arrived about twenty minutes early and did some stretching. Once in the shoot we were divided into 2 groups, this was done to make sure there would be no waiting at obstacles and your time would not be effected due to someone else. The first wave went and I stood waiting for Nitro (former American Gladiator) to send my wave.

From the start you headed down a hill made a turn and headed up the hill to the first obstacle. Burpees with a cinder block. The competitive wave had to do 30 while open waves did 10. My arms were already sore and the race had just begun. Once finished with the burpees you headed down the hill and back up and was handed a sand bag. You took your bag and continued up the hill and then turned back down the hill before handing it off. You then headed back up the hill to 2 huge inflatable
blobs is what I am going to call them. We were told it is possible to get over without help, but I didn't see anyone do it. Even in the video of them doing in online they are running down hill and jumping onto the 6 foot high blob. We were running up hill. What is nice about these types of races is most participants understand you may need help or may need to help someone. We took turns boosting each other over and then once up on the blob we would help pull others up. After helping a few people I headed across the top of the hill to the next obstacle, rope climb.  I had no worries about this obstacle and like last year I crushed it. After the rope climb you made your way across the field to a cargo net about a foot off the ground and had to climb under it on your back. It was a muddy mess and you really had to use your arms to pull you up the hill. I remember thinking I am not sure how much more my arms are going to be able to handle. There was a nice little break until the next obstacle except you still had to go up and down the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill you went over and under walls, and of course the under was in a muddy mess. Next you headed over to and empty dumpster and had to pull yourself up and in then up and out. You then head too 2 ten foot walls that you had to climb over. There was foot hills so it was pretty easy. Next you made it to the tire carry. You took a tire and had to do lunges up and down the hill. Not real hard but it killed your leg, and of course you had to run up the hill to the next obstacle, The slide. A huge water slide that was the length of hill and had you land in a pool of water. It was refreshing for me and I needed it for what was to come. The next obstacle was 50 squats with the cinder block and then carry the block up and back down the hill. This was the hardest thing I did. It took me so long and I had to take breaks going up the hill.

 Once finished with the blocks you ran back up the hill and had to crawl under a cargo net. Normally wouldn't be hard, but your legs were already beat. You then ran back down the hill and headed to 2 cargo nets.

After the nets you knew you were close to the finish. You just had to run up the hill toward the start. If you did the open waves and were on a team you had to lift a telephone pole and carry it, but since I was in competitive we skipped that and headed to barb wire mud crawl.

 

 If you were clean at this point you were a mess. My shirt kept getting snagged on the barb wire but I managed to make it through without any cuts. After the mud crawl you made your way to a slanted wall with a rope. This obstacle was very hard but could be done alone. However most of us once again were helping each other up and over. I took my turn helping others and then made my way to the final obstacle. Fire jump, A small fire you had to jump over before crossing the finish line.  After I finished I headed to the showers and then changed and watched some other runners make their way to the finish. I finished the course in 1 hour and 4 minutes. Not to shabby since it took me almost 2 hours last year.

If you ever want to try an obstacle race this is a good one to start out on. It's not to long and there isn't to many obstacles that will really beat you down. 

 



A Slice Of Humble Pie

Normally every Sunday I would break down my training for the past week, well this week there was very little training. I did not run once, and most of the training was just some light stretching done at the house. I had the Battle Frog race on Saturday August 8th and I wanted to make sure my body was completely rested fro the grueling course. So this post will act as my training for the week and also act as a review for what was the hardest course I have ever ran in my life....The BattleFrog!!!!

I arrived at race sight around 7:00 am to check in, and was informed that they had me registered for the wrong race. I originally was signed up for the BattleFrog Xtreme race, a race in which the participants must complete the course no less than 3 times. I however was registered for the first open wave. I decided to just run the open race and get a refund, instead of trying to find someone to switch everything. Xtreme runners had to be at a briefing at 8:00 am and I don't think I would of made it after finding the right person to take care of registration. I was a little upset but as you will see it was a blessing in disguise.
At 8:15 they called all Xtreme runners and 8:30 open wave runners to the starting line. Like that start of every heat Coach Pain came out and got us fired up and then we were off. The race started out by 3 mud mound in which you had to jump in water then climb over dirt mounds before entering into the woods. Once in the woods you started an uphill ascent. The hill was steep and every time you thought you got to the top you had another hill to go up. The last part was so steep you had to use a rope to climb up the 30 foot cliff. I was out of breathe and already gassed and we were less than a mile into the 8K course. Once at the top of the hill you picked up a wreck bag and threw it on your shoulders and headed up more hills. The bag probably weighed around 50 lbs. but it felt like a 100 at that point. At one point you had to climb over a 4 foot wall with your bag and the bag can not touch the ground. After you dropped your bag you headed down in the hills and made your way out of the woods were there was an inverted wall to climb followed by the dreaded platinum rig. This rig was the killer of the course. If you are an elite athlete you must complete the course twice and do every obstacle. If you aren't elite you can take a penalty and do 10 eight count body builders. The rig was responsible for disqualifying more than half of the elites that day. It had rings, bars and small poles to grab and make your way across without touching the ground. To make it worst right before you got to that obstacle you had just crawled through chest high mud and your hands were slippery.  I tried twice before taking the penalty. After the rig it was back into the woods for more hills and more walls to climb over. Pittsburgh is known for the mine shaft and this year the shaft didn't disappoint. Once in the shaft you were handed 2 noodles and told get in the water and follow the lights. The shaft itself is 50 something degrees, so the water is probably just above freezing. It was breathe taking, and people were having lots of problems. I have never been so happy to get out of the mine and see the hot sun. After the shaft you were back on the trails for more hills and more obstacles. Cargo nets, delta walls, and monkey bars were just some of the obstacles before you got to the Jerry Can carry. 2 cans filled that weighed probably 40 lbs. that you had to carry for about 200 yards up and down hills. Once done with the Jerry Cans you started to head down the trails and make your way to the finish. I met up with a runner from Florida who twisted his ankle at some point on the course while running through the creek bed on the uneven rocks. I stayed with him until we exited the trails and saw the finish. First though we had to climb the 16 foot rope and then make our way across 3 walls that had ropes, a small hand grip and more rope without letting our feet touch the ground before crossing the finish line.
It took me just over 2 hours to complete 1 lap. I don't think I could of made it 3 times to be honest. It was very humbling and I really underestimated the course.  My hat goes off to anyone that completed the Elite race and Xtreme race. I was a muddy mess when I finished and when I got home I was able to see all the bruises and scars that were left on my body. At one point in the race while climbing a hill me and a lady went off course in order to get up the one hill and it was the wrong move. We found ourselves in a thorn bush and I ended up being this girls ladder basically. I told her to step on me and use me to shoot herself to the top. I on the other hand was stuck in the thorns until one of the men got to the top and was able to reach over and pull me up.

The race was intense and I got to meet some awesome people on the course.  If you asked me would I do it all over again.  HELL YA!!!!!!

They have already released a promo code for next years race.....MINE50 will get you into any race for 50 percent off the cost. This code expires on Tuesday Aug. 11th at midnight.   MAN UP and run the course with me!!!!!!