News

State's First Warrior Dash Draws Thousands

Posted: 3:25 PM Jun 9, 2012
Reporter: Stephanie Morrissey

State's First Warrior Dash Brings Thousands to Louisville - Stephanie Morrissey Reports

For some, it's the thrill of climbing the giant cargo net or jumping over fire. For others it's an excuse to get a little dirty.

"I think just the obstacle courses, making it something different...it's not just running. It's the hardest three miles I know I've ever ran and it tests you to a point," said Michele May, Warrior runner.

It's 14 obstacles crammed into a 5K run...and it's known as the Warrior Dash.

"Warrior Dash launched in 2009 outside Chicago and then we took it on it's first tour in 2010. It totally went viral through Facebook and Twitter and we had this amazing response to the event so we were able to each year keep growing it," said Courtney Deimel, Race Director.

This year, it landed in Nebraska thanks to demand from experienced warrior runners.

"We got a lot of inquiries and phone calls. We definitely knew and heard the cry from Nebraska that they wanted an event out here. This year we were able to do so. We grew from about 30 events last year to 60 events this year," Deimel said.

"Red Frog Events, specifically the Warrior Dash, has a great relationship with St. Jude and we're really excited about it. This is the first year we've launched the partnership and we've already raised over $2 million for st. Jude. Our goal was $1 million and now our new goal is $4 million by the end of the year," Deimel added.

The 90 degree temperatures didn't stop runners as they charged through the toughest parts of the course.

"The hardest part was walking through the swamp water. It was very gushy, crawling under barbed wire was easy, the beginning with all the hilly running was hard, that was the worst," said a group of warriors.

And at the end of the day, it wasn't the finish time that mattered. Having fun in the mud was champion.