Since 2011 Dirt Runner, located in Marseilles, Illinois has hosted many memorably significant events in OCR. Many of us in the Midwest ran our first Spartan Race here. Many of us caught the “Spartan Rash” one year when the course had its barbed wire crawl through a poison ivy patch.
One of the very last Battlefrog races was held here, along with many smaller events that Dirt Runner put on throughout the years, but not anymore. Dirt Runner has now joined King’s Domain in Ohio and The Battlegrounds in Missouri as permanent OCR locations that have closed their doors. Warrior Rush, held on July 14, was the last event ever held at this iconic location and even though registration numbers were low I just had to go. This location was always my “home” course and I’m going to miss racing there, so I just couldn’t pass on climbing up that hill made up of logs jutting out of the ground one last time.
Known for having some of the most physically demanding obstacles in the area DR’s Warrior Rush didn’t disappoint. The 3.6-mile course stayed in large part around the festival area, avoiding all the nasty ravines and steep crawls on along the back half of the property, which was totally alright with me. I’ve spent enough time over the years carrying sandbags up and down those steep slopes! Ok enough with me reminiscing and onto the event! The Warrior Rush event featured four different levels of competition to choose from. Elite and Open class which required just a single lap to be completed, along with a 6-hour and 24-hour division for those who enjoy the multiple lap option.
DR started off their last event with a brief trail run through what was once the kiddie course. Although the kiddie part ended very abruptly as DR turned one of their old kid obstacles into a super challenging rig consisting of hanging ropes and rings suspended from above at varying heights. Failure on this obstacle in the Elite heat meant 100 burpees, and this obstacle proved to thin out the herd rather quickly. After completing this grip killing obstacle the next section of the course ran along a mowed path cut through the former parking area for larger events as this section of the property was now overgrown with prairie grass.
I’ll call this segment of the course “walls and carries” as many different sized walls were placed along this stretch separated by the different types of carries. These carries consisted of cement blocks, tires, logs, and buckets. High stepping through a set of car tires started athletes on their way out of the prairie grass and into the timber, but not before a series of incredibly tight low crawls through metal tubing. The rain from the previous night made this trek slick and I found getting up to speed to be very difficult. Racers got a small taste of the terrain change here as hills and cutbacks became the norm. A set of monkey bars were set up along this section of the course as were the rolling balance logs and a series of sternum checkers set at varying heights. A delta ladder and inverted wall were also nestled in along the trail as athletes now started to make their way back to the festival area.
A spear throw was the first obstacle that greeted athletes upon their return to the festival area. Following that up a short distance away was a rock climbing wall and a traverse across the very first Z wall, rumor has it that Spartan stole this twist on the wall traverse and used it as their own. At this point, DR played on a racers fears now as a combination of swimming and heights were required using the pond and cargo net on site.
Racers had to climb up a wooden ladder and then jump into the pond. Then a short swim over to a floating dock needed to be completed before climbing onto a floating dock. After crossing over the dock it was back into the water for another short swim to a vertical cargo net suspended 25 feet over the pond suspended by a wire. If you had an issue with heights then this was not the obstacle for you. Upon getting to the top I found that the net would wobble back and forth like crazy, and I found myself almost too frozen to continue as my fear of heights almost got the best of me. Once you negotiated the cargo net it was back into the drink for a short swim to the other side as a set of inverted walls and delta ladders awaited you upon getting back on dry land.
The last section of the course, located entirely inside the festival area, really took it out of you as all of the obstacles were virtually right next to one another. This obstacle gauntlet started off with a semi tire flip for distance. Once complete, an athlete then picked up that same tire for a farmers carry over the same distance. A stairway of tractor tires now needed to be climbed over as the first “stair” consisted of a single tire and the last consisted of four. A balance log over a moat could then be found immediately after dismounting the tires.
The weaver was presented to races next followed by another cargo net climb and a series of over-unders made out of timber. Another set of high knees was again required as rows of car tires were now laid down on the path to DR’s version of Tip of the Spear. The setup for this fan favorite consisted of three sections separated by a set of overhead pipe traverses.
The first section required an athlete to cross using only rock climbing holds, whiles the second and third consisted of suspended ropes. Atlas Stone carries took center stage as the next obstacle in the gauntlet followed up by a moat crossing and low crawl. No trip to DR would be complete without a climb up their slip wall. From there only a rope climb and barbed wire crawl separated a racer from their well-deserved bling!
Warrior Rush ended up being what you expected from an OCR held at Dirt Runner. The obstacles were tough as DR always likes to challenge you. The parking and pics were free as DR never liked to nickel and dime you to death, and the comradery afterward was outstanding as always. I for one am going to miss bringing the family here as every one of my family members have competed here at some point in time. While Dirt Runner has officially closed their doors fear not, as their popular functional OCR series The DRX Games will take their show on the road for events in Ohio and Wisconsin later on in 2018.
Scott Brackemyer
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