Dirt in your skirt blog

Badass Dash

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Ambassador Valerie

When my Ambassador profile was posted, it listed most of the races I am doing this year, which has since been added to. With about 28 races on my schedule, I am hoping to be able to provide my opinion on some races which you may not have run before. So far, I have completed 2 Dirty Spokes trail races and 2 Spartan Sprints but with so many blogs on the Spartan, I chose not to give you another. I just completed my 5th race and I figured I would give you the run down on it.

Georgia Obstacle Racers Alex Martin, Valerie Hinsley, Matt B.Davis & Peter McNairy at Badass Dash, Atlanta

Georgia Obstacle Racers Alex Martin, Valerie Hinsley, Matt B.Davis & Peter McNairy at Badass Dash, Atlanta

So my friends in Georgia Obstacle Racers were looking at this race called the Badass Dash at Stone Mountain State Park. Normally, I probably would have passed for a couple of reasons. First, it was the weekend right after for NC Spartan Sprint and the weekend before Tough Mudder. A weekend of rest is always nice between races. Second, it was at a state park which meant they would have to get creative to make the event more challenging since you can’t alter the grounds of the park. Third, they hadn’t put on a whole lot of races prior and I had pretty much sworn off doing the smaller, less know races. But, given the fact I friends doing it, I figured I could make it a “fun” run with them.

We get to the start line for the elite heat which was at 12. Odd for an elite heat but it worked.  The map had stated 20 obstacles and while I could not keep count as I was doing them, I would say this was pretty accurate and not bad for a 7k race. Some of them were as expected such as the low crawl, over–and-unders and running through tires. A little more challenging was an obstacle which floated in the water and you had to balance yourself to run across or you fell in the water. Not a totally new obstacle to me, but still fun. The most unique one was where you had a cargo net slightly above your face and you had to pull yourself up a hill on your back with water sprinkling on you. They did a great job using the terrain with single path trails that gave it more of a challenge. Not a lot of mud but just enough water with a creek run to cool you off. Other obstacles included up and over fences, cargo net, a station for push-ups, pulling yourself up a hill with a rope and sandbag carry, to name a few. I should also point out that they altered the course a bit for the elite runners to make it a bit more challenging which I thought was kind of cool.

Finish line at Badass Dash

Finish line at Badass Dash

Overall, I would do this race again. It is coming back to GA later this year so if my schedule allows, I will sign up. With 839 racers on the results list, it was not a bad sized crowd and officially I finished as the 2nd place elite female. Not a Spartan or Warrior Dash but still enough to make it a fun day. There are 7 more races on their calendar for 2013 in various parts of the country and if one hits your area, give it a look. For the more experienced racer, it will be more of a fun race and if you are just starting out, it is a good one to get some experience with.