This past weekend, Mike and his buddy Jeff ran together in Omaha's Warrior Dash. The day was extremely windy and hot, leaving me to wonder how those who survived the Dust Bowl did it with their sanity intact. But nothing would deter these two - and 20,000 others - from embarking on this much-anticipated race.
Here we go!
Here they are, in line for a drink of water before heading to the start line...
Minutes after wishing them luck and watching them disappear into the crowd of contestants, they returned and told us that despite the fright it may cause, the heat had forced them to come to this critical decision: they needed to run shirtless.
You go, boys.
The race was supposed to take around an hour or so to complete, and involved 1.5 miles of running up and down steep hills, and then leading into another 2 miles of challenging obstacles, including climbing 15' walls, swimming through a lake, hurdling fire pits, and wading waste-high through thick mud. Just to name a few.
Once they took off, Soph and I desperately sought a shady place to sit, but there was none to be found. With dirt in our teeth, grit on our faces, and hot sun on our necks, we roamed the grounds, hoping the boys could break all records and complete the race in about 6 minutes tops.
Eventually, we found a place to purchase some lunch, and discovered that there was a shady place to have a picnic after all...
This was the view from where we lunched:
And these were my once-white tennis shoes:
After eating, we decided to head over to where the finish line was, hoping to catch Mike and Jeff cross in. We were there about 2 minutes before they came into view. (Thank goodness we got there when we did; it only took them about 44 minutes to complete the race!)
Soph wouldn't pose with her dad until he promised not to touch her...
After receiving their medals, they headed over to the Warrior Wash, which was an area where a truck stood, rigged with a huge water hose. Everyone massed together to be hosed off, and I imagine Mike probably did his best Charlton Heston imitation (in Planet of the Apes) when it happened. Just sayin'.
This was where one could leave their shoes if they didn't want to wear them back home...
But of course, the boys decided to keep their shoes on. And their wives had no idea why.
Btw, the above photo was taken after their shower.
Here they are with their race shirts back on, celebrating their victory over the course...
Jeff decided to check if the medals were real gold, and Mike just wanted to bite something.
Then, in true warrior fashion, they started chewing on their turkey legs...
And in true juvenile fashion, they started sparring with them...
They thought it would be good to show off their sponsor's tee shirts...
And since their sponsor was a martial arts school, they started making those "hy-YAH" noises and kicking the air...
Once they calmed down, we headed for home. And all the while, Mike insisted I would love running the race with him next year. But I'll leave that to these two hooligans.
Next goal: The Tough Mudder 2013!
ICK! OMG! Sophie is brave to even get close to her dad! lol! Great pics! What fun to see the warriors do their stuff. Love it!
Posted by: Margaret | June 12, 2012 at 06:01 PM
OMG! I cant stand to even get my hands dirty! So dont be begging me to enter this with you next year, dears! Great job, Mike..and your buddy!
Posted by: Littlebit | June 12, 2012 at 06:24 PM
Loved this post ~ how fun! Zack's preschool teacher and her daughter did a warrior dash recently and wow, those pics were some kind of messy. Didn't know it was a national event?! Great captions and pictures.
Sophie's picture is fabulous - think it's the best one of her yet and she takes a mighty lovey picture but this one is tops.
That porta potty view - hilarious!!
Tanya
Posted by: Tanya | June 12, 2012 at 08:22 PM
Congrats to Mike & his buddy! Your bio of the two had me in giggles. Love it!
Posted by: Sylvia | June 13, 2012 at 02:48 AM
What a fun race! But, I would leave it to the boys as well!
Posted by: Susan in SC | June 13, 2012 at 06:20 AM
LOL! ICK! The porta potty view kinda goes along with the post...LOL......great photos!!!!
Sophie is a beautiful young lady!
Marion
Posted by: Marion | June 13, 2012 at 06:23 AM
COOOOL !
Posted by: Lutz | June 13, 2012 at 01:16 PM
So much fun! I love it, we have nothing like it where I live (The Netherlands), great blogpost!
Posted by: Phyllis | June 13, 2012 at 03:33 PM
First, congrats to Mike and his buddy for doing the dash. Second, congrats to you and Sophie for being there for them! To even get close to that muddy mess...BRAVE!!!Love the view for your picnic...NOT!!
My niece and her friend also did this dash. They said it was awesome fun! Whadda think? You, me next year? We can be dirty girls....Meet me at Jones and we will discuss it over cupcakes and java.....LOL!!
Connie
Sophia..cute cute cute!!!
Posted by: connie adrian | June 13, 2012 at 06:25 PM
Way to go Mike and Jeff! Looks like you guys had a blast. Looks like the cleaned up pretty good for the ride home, too! You just gotta love those hats.
Posted by: Leslie | June 15, 2012 at 09:40 AM
So very jealous!!! I was signed up for the Warrior Dash here in South Carolina and it was cancelled! I was bummed but even more so now browsing your experience!
Well done and congrats! :)
Posted by: Daisy | June 21, 2012 at 08:06 AM
Looks like they had fun !!! My nephew jus ran the Tough Mudder two weeks ago and I plan on running it next year !!!!
Posted by: Natalia Canaday | June 21, 2012 at 11:46 PM
I think the title on the guys covered in "choclate" should read
I did not know it was that kind of PARTY!!!!!
Really great photos they were really having fun.
Bonnie
Posted by: Bonnie | July 23, 2012 at 04:29 PM