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?  

3 Tips for Getting into the Ruckus Champion’s Heat

So you’ve decided to participate in Ruckus – way to go! You’re joining the coolest mud running obstacle course in the world. We know you’ve done your training and you’re ready to compete.

Many of our participants go above and beyond the call of duty and shoot for making it into the Champion’s Heat. The Champion’s Heat consists of the top 10% of the men and women’s races from the morning runs.  The Champion’s Heat runs the same course in the afternoon, bringing their total Ruckus mileage to 8 miles for the day. The winners from each division bring home the coveted Golden Helmet!

Planning ahead for the Ruckus Champion’s Heat will be crucial to your success. Here are a few tips for achieving your Champion’s Heat goal:

• Train as if you are going to run the entire 8 miles. This will give you a lead in the regular Ruckus race, while also preparing your body for the Champion’s Heat later in the afternoon. If you are prepared to run 8 miles, the first course will go much smoother.
• Train on challenging terrain. Kansas City is full of steeps streets, lengthy tracks and outdoor stairs (the Plaza and UMKC to name a couple). Training on steep, challenging terrain will make the Kansas City mud run more approachable on race day.
• Pace yourself. It can be easy to overreach during the initial course if you’ve got the Champion’s Heat in mind. Remember, you need to be in the top 10% of your division to compete. Pacing is crucial to ensuring you don’t expend all your energy on the first course, leaving you empty for the Champion’s Heat.

We are so proud of all our participants. Your drive to be healthy and have fun in Kansas City’s great mud obstacle course reminds us of the difference we’re making through Ruckus. We can’t wait to see you out there...whether you’re in the Champion’s Heat or not!