Warrior Dash And It’s Obstacles You’ll Have to Face!

The Warrior Dash is one of the most popular mud runs in the world and is a great introductory event for anyone who is new to obstacle course racing.

There’s a number of really fun obstacles that are part of the 5k course that you’ll get to test yourself.

Usually there’s over 10 obstacles on every Warrior Dash race but each event has it’s own mix and variety of them so sometimes if you do more than one of those events, you may see the same obstacles, but in a different order or even some that were in a previous event that will not show up in the next one.

Now personally, I haven’t done a Warrior Dash event yet, but I have done 7 other mud runs, and don’t really think I’ll ever get the chance to complete a Warrior Dash. I think it’s a fun OCR but I personally prefer other types of mud runs. Never the less, this is still a fun event if you’re new to mud runs in general.

The obstacles and tips to get through them:

Mud mounds: Usually this is the first challenge you see when you begin the race. It’s just 2 or 3 mounds that you climb up on, then go down into dirty water before climbing the next one. The water isn’t very deep, but it can be scary if you don’t know where you’re stepping. But at the bottom of the dirty water is nothing but more dirt so you don’t have to worry about stepping anything sharp.

Usually the mud mounds can be slippery too so if you lay on your back while going into the water and can’t control the speed, make sure to keep your feet out and legs a little bit bent when you land into the water.

Hard Rain: It’s about a 10 foot wall you climb, but first you have to get wet. Then while it’s slippery, you have to climb over it.

Chaotic Cargo: You scale up a wall, then have a net to climb through using your whole body, there are small areas in between the net where you can slip through with your hands and legs, but it’s not big enough for your whole body to fall through so it’s safe, but it is a tough challenge because the net can shake while you and other participants are going through it.

Alcatraz: It’s a long prop you climb onto but it’s on a river/lake where you can swim or walk through the water to reach it, but it’s above the water so when you reach it, you’ll have to climb over it.

Walk over it, then jump back into the water to cross to the other side where there’s land. Usually the height of the prop you climb on is about 1-2 feet and to get over it, what is recommended is to dive under water while your hands are holding onto the prop you have to climb on, then jump out of the water as quickly as you can and use the momentum to push yourself over and onto the obstacle.

Deadman’s drop: It looks a lot like the Hard Rain challenge, but without the puddle and it’s less slippery.

Diesel Dome: This is a semi octagon shaped obstacle in which you climb up wooden pillars, first going up, then diagonally up, then across horizontally, then diagonally down, then vertically down to finish it. It is about 15 feet high. It is important to maneuver slowly and make sure you hands and feet are firmly planted on each wooden block.

Chaotic Cargo: It is a net you climb up to then go down the other end. It can reach about 20 feet high. 

Pipeline: It’s like a tunnel, but made out of a net. Your body can’t really move around too much which makes Pipeline a lot more difficult to navigate through even though it’s short. 

Trenches: A crawl through dirt several feet deep. It’s about 30 feet long. 

Risky business: It is short challenge where you walk across a wooden pillar with water around you and get sprayed with more water. It is slippery and easy to fall into the water.

Under the Wire: Very similar course to the trenches but more difficult because it’s less deep, sometimes more muddy and there’s barb wire for a ceiling. 

Warrior Summit: A wall that is aiming sideways which you have to climb using a rope. Stand in a 45 degree angle when you catch the rope and pull your body back when holding the rope to avoid slipping and use your upper body to pull on the rope and reach the top. MudmanX also has this challenge!

The Goliath: This is the last main challenge you cross before the finish line. It is a long slide into dirty water but before you reach it, you usually have to climb up or across another obstacle to reach the top of the goliath before you begin the slide. After you get out of the water, you’re almost at the finish line!

Muddy Mayhem: If you don’t do this challenge in the mid part of the race, usually you’ll see it before the finish line (but typically, there’s another known as the Warrior Roast right after). You just go through

Warrior Roast: Usually this is the end of the race where runners jump through a fire. The height the flame reaches is about a foot off the ground so you don’t have to worry about getting burned.

You can find more challenges for this event and what they look like here.

When you complete this course, always take your time especially in the places where it’s most slippery to avoid injuries and wear gear that protects you.

Typically the Warrior Dash is more of a mud run that is very fun for beginners. If you are looking at something more challenging, something like the Spartan Race might be better.

A lot of people compare these 2 mud runs because they are the most popular so let’s see which is tougher:

Warrior Dash vs The Spartan Race:

We’re only comparing the 5k versions of each mud run (Warrior Dash only has a 5k). I like the Spartan Race more because it’s hard.

The Spartan Race has more uphill climbing than the Warrior Dash. It is also more challenging for most people and has obstacles that are generally higher, longer in distance and require more strength and time to get through.

That is why generally more people finish the Warrior Dash rather than the Spartan Race. Both courses are very fun, but can also have similar dangers!