Race Review: How We Fared at Rugged Maniac 2017

August 2, 2017

We came, we saw, we conquered the Warped Wall.

This year’s Rugged Maniac Vancouver aimed to please. A couple friends and I took pleasure joining in and this was our experience.

Saturday July 15

My team “All Business” arrived at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, mid-morning, dawning our suit cut-offs, complete with cuffs.

We got our gear together and quickly joined the hordes of costume-clad racers that were descending into the Rugged Maniac staging area. On our way in we were passed by a couple of ninjas and some luchadores who, naturally, high-fived us. I looked at my friends and smiled, “This is ought to be a good day!”

Inside, a DJ cranked tunes from the main stage. Racers milled about everywhere, getting ready for their heats to begin. A giant beer pong competition was underway and people were already riding the mechanical bull. We were soon asked to join a stein hoisting competition, which of course we obliged.

All this, of course, and the race hadn’t even started.

Our heat start time approached and we hopped over the wall to the starting line. We were pumped. There was such a positive atmosphere as everyone was waiting for the countdown to begin.

Finally: 5.4.3.2.1.
We’re off.

The course itself was a balance of running and obstacles, including fire jumping, crawling through mud and over trenches, and climbing the “Warped wall”, among many others.

As we approached the “Warped Wall”, a couple of other racers were at the top, ready to help pull us up. In turn, we helped the next round of racers over. It’s always great to see folks working together to tackle challenges, even if they are perfect strangers. These sort of races always seem to bring out the best in people.

We weaved our way up the rope netting to the top of a big waterslide and slid down.

We sprinted to the finish line and crossed it in just under an hour. We high-fived each other. Not too bad a time for us, we’ll take it.

We received our medals and headed over to the giant beer garden for a well deserved brew. Another medal for the shelf; another day in the books for this racer.