On September 20th we got extra messy at this year’s Warrior Dash in Madison, Connecticut! Immediately upon entering the shuttle bus, you can easily assume how muddy the run is going to be with the excess sludge caked into the seats from the previous waves. Anticipation and excitement kicks in as we see one of the 12 obstacles on our way to the registration site. With everything in mind, we all can’t help but wonder what will be our worst enemy; the 3 mile distance, the obstacles, the cold water, or even the mud.
Jose Imery (Jose) and Jose Albaladejo (AJ), both veterans of the run, were pumped to take on any challenge. On the other hand, Stephanie Barbagiovanni and I were newcomers and didn’t know what to expect. Stephanie surely knew how to dress as she suited up as Robin and blended in perfectly with many other superheroes seen throughout the run. In the office we represent two architects, one interior designer, and one marketing staff but at the starting line we were all Warriors that chanted “ONE STRONG!”
I asked AJ what his least favorite part of the course and he quickly said, “The Pipeline, it was too narrow for me to crawl through.” To get an idea, it was two tunnels made up of cargo nets suspended about five feet off the ground. Jose Imery exclaimed it was the funniest thing that happened because “AJ’s big butt got stuck!”
The Mud Mound obstacle was the most difficult to do individually. The first mound lead you into a pit waist deep in murky water. The challenge was getting out of the pit and over onto the second mound. AJ was in the front and eager to overcome the obstacle as “someone on top reached out and gave me their hand; I returned the favor and helped the rest of my team.” Stephanie saw some rocks that can be used as footing and I followed. She too reached her hand and helped me get out of the muddy madness.
With the whole team over the mound, we continued the race and waited for one another after each obstacle. We completed the race in about an hour and made sure to finish together. That way we were all able to witness Jose’s spontaneous head dunk into the mud at the very end!
So are we doing this again next year? All replied with an excited, YES!
By Michelle Huynh
Marketing Coordinator