BADASS Dash is a new player on the obstacle racing circuit, so of course, I had to show up and experience it for myself! According to the website, [quote]Each race consists of a 5-7 k course that will boast unconventional, but achievable obstacles that are truly BADASS. And although each race will have a minimum of 10-12 obstacles, not every race will have the same obstacles and you won’t know every obstacle that is on the course as the element of surprise is BADASS itself.[/quote]
While the Kitchener event seems to be the only one in the series for 2012 season, there are already at least 11 events scheduled for 2013, most taking place in United States.
Here’s the course map for the Kitchener event. Most of the course took place on trails. As this is a ski resort, hills were to be expected.
We drove out to Chicopee Ski Resort early on Saturday. No traffic resulted in a fast and uneventful drive, however, I realized that I was underdressed as soon as I got out of the car. Holy moly, this was a nippy morning. The race organizers were running shuttles from the parking lot to the race site. Lots of excitement in the air, as runners packed into a yellow school buses and lined up to pick up their registration kits.
The racing kit includes the bib as well as the timing chip. Here’s where I run into a problem… Can you figure out what it is?
Yep, Salomon trail shoes do not have laces (which is absolutely amazing!). This creates quite a problem for timing chips that are meant to be laced through the shoes. I was able to stuff the chip into the little pocket on the shoe, however.
Me few minutes before the start. Freezing my buttocks off.
Climbing over the cargo net. See me? Just look for the red shoes!
I finished in 37 minutes, 12 seconds, 4th in my age category, and 64th overall. Not bad for my weekend off. The fastest male runner finished in 22:38, and the fastest female in 29:10.
I think there were three water stations on course, so I did not carry any fuel. One of the stations also carried RockStar energy drink, which threw me off for a second, as I was not expecting a carbonated beverage in the usual plastic cup.
Although we got completely soaked, the race organizers were nice to us, putting the water obstacle at the very end, followed by a quick sprint downhill towards the finish line.
All in all, a fantastic event! Despite the cold weather, over 1,100 runners showed up and had loads of fun. We were able to chat with some teams, as well as Brian, the race director, who designed the entire course. I would definitely recommend this event to a beginner – the distance is very doable, and the obstacles are awesome. A more experienced runner would want to register for the Elite Trained division.
BADASS Dash is already scheduled to return to Chicopee Ski Resort next year on September 14th, 2013. As a total wimp, I am thrilled to see the race taking place a whopping month earlier!!! Maybe I won’t be looking quite as miserable in next year’s photos.
Here’s my first video race report for Get Out There magazine, covering the race.
Signing off, SOLO