Gladiator Rock’n Run

Great and challenging run. I love the obstacles, but the only issue I have is that there is a couple of them that back the entire groups back. Kinda sucks when you are just standing around and waiting.
Don’t come here expecting to not walk away with some cuts or bruises.
I cannot wait for the next one in the Orange County area.

Great for your 1^st mud run. They usually are not too strict if you are too scared or not ready for an obstacle you just walk around it. They have an elite wave for prizes and they have regular waves after that all day. Go before 10am or you will have so many people and get bunched up at obstacles. However, some may like that bc it gives you a chance to rest. Love this mudrun !

I got $ 15 off this race through Unilocal,and with the $ 9 mandatory insurance, it brought my grand total to around $ 66. Is it worth that much? Probably not, but I’m glad I was able to participate. I was very nervous going into this race, because of the 14′ rope and the 8′ wall. In the end, the entire 5K race was a blast!
Now, I would consider myself a lot fitter than the average American, but I still trained for this race by going to Boot Camp more regularly and rock climbing at the Stronghold once a week. So needless to say, for a female, I would say that my upper body is pretty strong.
I thought the race was well organized and it wasn’t as crowded as I feared, which was great. In fact, I thought the crowd was pretty mellow. I picked up my bib, time chip, and t-​shirt on Friday, so didn’t have to pick up on race day. My wave was at 11, so it’s one of the later times, which means that most of the latter obstacles would have been sufficiently «muddified» making them very slippery.
We were sent out in groups of around 50, and the first obstacle is the «Quads of the Gods» which entails running up and down bleachers in the stadium. This was definitely one of the more challenging ones for me as the steps were long and there were many, many steps. I ran up the stairs and walked down. After that, there were a series of other obstacles on the trail. Most of the obstacles required some waiting for others to finish. The downside to this is that it affects our overall time. The wait at some were long. I think the longest wait was at the 2 wall climbs. We went through a series of about 7 obstacles before we head into the field, where spectators were allowed.
The first obstacle upon entering the field is for us to carry a sandbag around the restrooms. In the field is also where the muddy events take place. For one, we had to crawl through a mud field on our belly. There is no way to avoid getting all muddy here. A few other obstacles follow this one until we get to the fourth to the last obstacle, which was the 14′ rope… the one obstacle I couldn’t complete. The objective was to climb up the rope and ring the bell. The only problem is the rope was all muddy and so are you, so everything is slippery. Since I wasn’t able to complete it, I ended up having to do 10 burpees. We move onto the log carry, which required teamwork. The second to the last event, which also had a very long wait, was the other wall climb. This one is harder because, although the wall is slightly angled, it was muddy and completely smooth, making it impossible to grip anything. They did provide a rope to help us get to the top, where there are volunteers ready to help us up. Now, most people seem to have a lot of problems with this one. Many were taking a long time and some were slipping and sliding as they attempt to climb it. I, on the other hand, had no issues with this obstacle at all. I pretty much Batman up it. This is from my experiences with outdoor rock climbing. The last event is the cargo, We were required to get through two cargo nets. After that, it’s a short distance to the finish line.
Now, my goal was to complete all the obstacles, but I failed due to the rope. But overall, I felt challenged and I got a good workout from it. I ran from one obstacle to the other and tackled every obstacle. There were some participants who were walking from obstacle to obstacle and many chose to forgo a lot of them and instead, do burpees. I guess for some, attempting the obstacles isn’t as important. For me, that’s the reason why I registered for this race. I wanted to test my upper body strength and I’ve always been curious to see how I’d do in one of these. My one concern with this event is that there was only one water station. According to layout, there were to be several, but somehow there ended up being only one. Thank goodness there were a few scattered drinking fountains, or else it would have been a miserable experience for most of us. Overall though, I thought it was well run.
Would I do another obstacle course in the future? You betcha I would! Would I recommend the Gladiator Rock’n Run to others. Without a doubt, I would.

This was my second Gladiator Rock’n Run, first time at the Rose Bowl (last was a few years ago in Phoenix, AZ). I originally had planned to skip the event, however, received a 50% code in my email a few days prior for the last 12:30PM wave (making the cost $ 44 instead of $ 79 with the mandatory $ 9 insurance fee).
I went in with lower expectations, knowing this was the last wave of the race but was still pleasantly surprised with the experience. The course was not as crowded (in PHX we had to wait at obstacles which affected our time) and parking was much better (except for the $ 15 cost). It seemed that some people were able to park on the street and walk a little bit further for free. We easily walked up, checked our bags at the bag check, and prepared for our wave. Started a bit late since we waited for Dan «Nitro» Clark to do the intro but, again, the longer he took, the less waiting at obstacles.
The obstacles were not exactly as described on the website, but still seemed like there were quite a few. They tend to group most of the muddy obstacles toward the finish, so spectators can easily view or take pictures.
With registration you get a quality t-​shirt, finisher medal, and free beer at the end (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale — definitely not quality in my book). They had several food trucks and a shower station sponsored by Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. They crowd about 20 people into the makeshift shower area and proceed to spray you with water and soap. Best part of it all… It’s WARM water. It may not get you completely de-​muddified but when else will you get to take a clothed shower with 20 strangers?
Great event, but probably not worth full price. They seem to send out quite a few discounts prior to the event.

Awesome 10k today. Gladiator does a lot with all the rules and regulations of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl. The course started off with a stroll through the Rose Bowl itself, then, along the golf course to a trail that led to a bridge next to a highway. Along the way, you had plenty of obstacles to keep you on your toes. Monkey bars, Cinder block burpees, mud crawls, cargo net, rope and wall climbs. Even had to jump over a couple of beat up cars. The 10k and 5k option are perfect for novice and seasoned ocr participants.

My 200^th Unilocal review.
Where do I begin? Oh yeah. Scratches and bruises. Did I say ankle sprain? Yes. I sustained all these injuries. Thank God, I finished my competitive 10K!
It’s all worth it! I love obstacle races and I’m down to every challenge. In the beginning we were told to undergo 17 obstacles and few days before the big day, there were 5 more obstacles added. What a surprise!
This was such a very organized event, from parking to the wave timing including the water stations and overseers. It appeared to me that they worked very hard to make this happen for a good cause… SUPPORT FOR AUTISM RESEARCH.
There’s nothing sweeter than getting the gladiator medal and beer at the finish line.

Wear swimsuit. You will be bathing after, wear clothes you do not care about.
Do not jump into mud or you may lose a shoe.
I think that sums up the pointers, but overall its a great event to do with a group or team. Maybe even a couples thing if you guys are outdoor types?
Just be prepared to take a shower in cold water with a group of strangers. After the mud run it will not bother you, you will just want to be clean :)

Though I am battered and bruised from the event, and almost every part of me still hurts, this was an AMAZING obstacle run! It was flawless from my experience; everything from the smooth packet pickup, to organized wave times, clear instructions and maps, plenty of water stations, awesome shirts and medals, and plenty of on-​course volunteers to direct the flow. And beer, the beer was delicious!
There were lots of shapes and sizes competing in this event, and the teamwork from complete strangers was inspiring. The obstacles were truly challenging for most everyone and the butt-​kicking we received was exactly what we signed up for. Everyone was super friendly, especially the crew of The Beast (final obstacle) — those people are INCREDIBLE human beings!
Such a great time! Having done MANY organized events like this, I will definitely return next year because of the phenomenal organization and attention to detail this event put forth. Thank you for an awesome experience!