Contestants will line up at the starting line of the Warrior Dash, ready to take off toward the first obstacle, the Giant Cliffhanger. Using the rope, contestants will heave themselves over the inclined wall and run to the next obstacle, known as Alcatraz.
Before reaching the finish line, contestants will have scuttled under barbed wire, jumped over fire, climbed large mud mounds and struggled to crawl through thick mud.
This will not be an ordinary 5K; this is the Warrior Dash. The run is headed to Tuscaloosa Saturday. Munny Sokol Park will be hosting the 3.2-mile race with 12 obstacles spread throughout the course. More than 4,000 people will be running the Warrior Dash.
“I’ve always wanted to do an obstacle course race,” Jacob Morrison, a junior majoring in physics, said.
Morrison said he is excited to finally have an opportunity to run an obstacle race and is anticipating the course to be manageable and not too difficult for him.
“I’m not really doing much training for it,” he said. “I figured I would just go out and do it because I’m just doing it for fun.”
Morrison is running the course with a group of friends. He said there would be about 10 of them doing it together.
“It will be good encouragement to have help and push one another through the course,” he said.
Mary Lyle, a sophomore majoring in nursing, will run the race with Morrison. Lyle said she is excited to make the Warrior Dash her first 5K. Until last week, the farthest Lyle had run was 1.5 mi., but now she believes the distance should be manageable.
“I think I can do it, but I know there will be some swimming as well, and it will be pretty cold outside,” she said. “I am looking forward to the challenge of the whole thing though. I know I can run the distance now, so it will just be the obstacles that will slow me down.”
Lyle is most looking forward to the Leader’s Ledge, one of the 12 obstacles that will be a part of the course. For this obstacle, she will be required to climb along a narrow ledge to cross muddy water.
“I am pretty excited about that one,” she said. “Really I’m excited just to see if I can do all the different obstacles.”
The Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission and the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority are sponsoring the race. Brandt Garrison, manager of communications for TTSC, said they’ve been seeing Tuscaloosa recently embracing different events, such as the Color Run. He said TTSC felt the Warrior Dash would be a good, fun-spirited, athletic event for Tuscaloosa as well.
“We like to compete and win here,” Garrison said.
Registration for the Warrior Dash is still open. Participation in the race will cost $75 until Nov. 2. The race will begin at 9 a.m. and every half hour a new wave of participants will start. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes as there will be a prize for the best costume, in addition to prizes for the top three overall times in each age division for both male and female competitors.
As with many races, the event will culminate in a party. For those 21 and older, one free beer will be provided. Other food and drinks will be available for purchase. Run participants will get a T-shirt, custom medal and warrior helmet.
Garrison hopes the Warrior Dash will serve as a stepping stone for other events in the future.
“We are excited that Tuscaloosa is starting to embrace events like this,” he said. “We are hoping folks from all over the surrounding areas will come out and support this.”
