Warrior Dash is not just a young man’s game
July 18, 2012
By Michele Mihalovich
Contributed by Sam Metzler
Dave Olson, of North Bend, competes in last year’s Warrior Dash at Meadowbrook Farm. He was 82 years old at the time.
At first glance, looking at Warrior Dash photos from last year, one might assume that this obstacle course is reserved for young adventurer-types, folks who enjoy dressing up in wacky costumes and racing through fire and mud pits.
But one 83-year-old North Bend man wasn’t about to let his age stand in the way of a sloppy good time.
Washington’s first Warrior Dash, attended by 23,000 warriors in 2011, was held at Meadowbrook Farms in North Bend, and returns July 21-22.
Dave Olson, a Meadowbrook board member, rode his bike from home to go and check out the scene, and make sure no one was tearing up the terrain at the historical farm.
He bumped into another board member, Sam Metzler, and the two walked around the 5-kilometer course, just kind of checking things out, he said.
Olson, 82 at the time, watched the youngsters participating in the military-style obstacles and recalled his paramilitary training days for the Central Intelligence Agency.
“I said, ‘Oh heck, this is like basic training.’ And then I made a fatal mistake by telling Sam, ‘Yeah, I could do this,” Olson said.
Metzler whisked Olsen off to race organizers who signed him up for the 3.55-mile race.
“I did everything, every obstacle—I just did it slow,” Olson said, who has had two hips replaced.
Adrenaline is what pushed him over rope ladders, under barbed-wire crawling exercises, and across fire and mud pits.
“It was just so silly,” he said, adding that he did win in his age category, “Because, of course, no one else in my age group competed.”
Olson said he’s going sit out this year, but he’ll be on the sidelines photographing his ol’ buddy Metzler, who has decided to give it a try.
Race organizers said in a press release that more than 500,000 people competed last year in Warrior Dashes across the U.S., and that this year’s race will debut more innovative and exciting obstacles than ever before.
Learn more and register at http://www.warriordash.com/register2012_washington.php#.
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