The Rugged Maniac 5K Obstacle Race sends runners into an obstacle-filled odyssey of muddy fun. The 5-kilometer course features more than epic 20 obstacles, with participants scaling towering walls, crawling through underground tunnels, and leaping over fire. Finish and call yourself a Rugged Maniac! It’s a fun time for everyone involved, both racers and volunteers.
Before and after racers tackle the course, you’ll get to party with thousands of other Maniacs in a day-long festival where you can ride mechanical bulls, challenge friends to pie-eating and stein-hoisting contests, and dance your glutes off to music on the main stage. All racers get a super soft t-shirt, an awesome finishers medal, free photos, and a beer, if old enough.
Here’s a snippet from last year’s event:
Each year offers new, fun and challenging obstacles. Some stay the same – like the quad burners – and there are always new obstacles, as well. My favorites this year were one called Full Tilt and one called Off the Rails. Full Tilt involved climbing monkey bars that tipped at the half way point, so a strong grip was necessary but challenging after crawling through mud. Off the Rails involved running full speed to grab a rope on a track that slanted upwards, at the end you rang a bell then dropped into a mud pit. The Warped Wall is always a challenge and The Ringer is super fun and challenging. I loved the challenge and I’m always excited to try the new obstacles.
The course was muddy, but not as muddy as I remember from last year. I loved seeing all the teams working together to support each other. There were so many people offering help up high walls and slippery, muddy hills. Running, jumping, swinging, climbing and crawling under obstacles is a great way to spend a warm summer day with friends. We can all use a little more of that and the Portland Rugged Maniac is the perfect venue.
The after party was fun with so much great food and music. They had a variety of beverage options, as well. The party lasted all day and included a mechanical bull, pie-eating, pull-up and stein-hoisting contest, beach volleyball, a great DJ and dance party. The finishers shirts and medals were well designed and are such a great reminder of a fun and memorable day. Free photos were posted on Wednesday after the race and we had some good laughs while browsing those.
I love that the Rugged Maniac supports the American Cancer Society through Crowdrise. Teams can create a fundraising page for their run, or donate to the cause when purchasing their ticket. Rugged Maniac’s have raised over $80,000 for cancer research. I love running for a cause.
RUGGED MANIAC 5K – PORTLAND – Details:
Date: Saturday, June 29th, 2019
Time: 9:00AM (Elite Heat) – 2:00PM
Location: Portland International Raceway
Register: Here
