Ruckus Kansas City 2013—It’s Almost Here!

The week is finally here!  Ruckus Kansas City is only a few days away, and hopefully you are as excited as we are.

Sign up! Wednesday night at midnight is the deadline to sign up for Ruckus Kansas City, so first and foremost, make sure you have your heat time set up.  Then you are all set for the big day Saturday! 

Arrive on time! The Ruckus KC mud obstacle course is located at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, MO.  Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to arrive well before your race, as there may be traffic.  Also, parking is $10 per vehicle, so we recommend carpooling. 

Check in!  Once you have arrived, check-in with a photo I.D. one hour before race time and receive your pre-race information.  There are three different levels of course difficulty (Challenge, Heater and Mini), along with divisions for Men’s Open, Men’s Master (45+), Women’s Open and Women’s Master (45+).  Be sure to show up for the correct one – we don’t want anyone accidentally competing in the 4-mile race instead of the 2-mile (yikes!). 

Dress appropriately!  You will be running, crawling and climbing through some challenging terrain, so we suggest wearing comfortable clothing you wouldn’t mind dirtying.  Previous participants have also suggested wearing pants, gloves and even costumes for some great photo-ops.

Celebrate! Stick around after the race for some great food and adult beverages (for those of age, of course).  Saturday is going to be a fun, challenging and memorable day for everyone involved.  Don’t miss out on the excitement and entertainment that is Ruckus Kansas City! 

See you soon, KC! 

Top 5 Reasons to Love Mud Obstacle Courses

Regardless of your personal relationship with running, you can toss it out the window when it comes to Ruckus.  Don’t get us wrong—we love running.  But why stop there?  As long as you don’t mind dirtying a t-shirt and a pair of Asics, come off the beaten path and join us.  Consider why mud obstacles courses take fitness and fun to the next level.  We’ll make it easy on you and give you the top 5 reasons everyone should love a fun mud obstacle course race:

1. Escape the monotony of an ordinary road race.  Sure, you can find a 5K-road race to run just about any weekend.  But how often can you find a two-to four-mile course littered with more than 20 large-scale obstacles?  Instead of a few right and left turns through residential neighborhoods, you are forced to pull yourself across Gorilla Bars, climb over Nose Bleed Nets and either sprint or swim through the Mud Garden (just to name a few of our Ruckus obstacles).
2. Compete as an individual, team or family.  Although every competitor is timed individually, we encourage you to participate with friends, family and co-workers.  As long as you are willing to sacrifice a few seconds more to your final time, you may even stop to enjoy watching a loved one struggle out of our deep, muddy craters, called “Down-n-Outs.”
3. Push your mind and body to the limit.  Naturally, the Ruckus course is loads of fun, but we also acknowledge the competitive aspect of any race.  That’s why Ruckus provides the best of both worlds.  For the die-hard competitor, we offer the Champion’s Heat, which features a second race consisting of the top 10% of men and women finishers from earlier in the day.  Those who qualify for the Champion’s Heat will cover a total of eight miles of terrain for the day.  Now that’s a challenge many runners may be looking for.
4. Enjoy courses designed for various fitness levels.  Our mud obstacle course allows almost anyone to compete.  We have events for ages 2 to 72.  For the kids, there is the Mini, which allows children of all ages to take on various obstacles all day long.  The Heater is a 2-mile race course of obstacle after obstacle.  And the Challenge race offers a four-mile course aimed at the more serious competitor.
5. Get out of your rut and into a rut!  Try something new and different.  Give your body a workout it’s never experienced before.  Come join the fun and see what the buzz is all about.  Ruckus isn’t your everyday-available workout, so take advantage of the opportunity while it’s in your area! 

We hope you’ll consider joining us on the road, or in the mud, less traveled.  Ruckus offers a little bit of everything for everyone.  So when it comes to fitness, do you just work hard?  Or do you play hard?