2013
Community Reviews – Fall / Spring
Featured Reviews – Fall / Spring
2014
Community Reviews – Fall / Spring
Featured Reviews – Fall / Spring
2015
10 thoughts on “Tuff Scramblers”
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NES Sports bra
by Hannah Hawley
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NES Sports bra
by Nicole Sibley
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Short-sleeved camouflage t-shirt - Buddy Carry Ready!
by Paul Jones
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Stainless Steel Bottle - 16oz
by Bari Boisvert
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Sweat bands
by Paul Jones
I like this race because of the laid back atmosphere and the challenging Technical trail running. The obstacles aren’t the hardest but they are fun. I like the boulder climbs and the High dirt mounds. The cargo net climb is probably one of the scariest I’ve seen. No other race has given me a meal after running which I thought was great. You get one free beer and then they are only $2 after that. The medal and tech shirt keep getting better. The RD is a great guy who obviously loves his race. I must have run into him half a dozen times on the course and he was always checking to see if we were enjoying ourselves. Multi-lapping is free even if you aren’t part of the Ultimate Scrambler event. If the weather had been nicer we definitely would have hung around the bonfire, had a couple of beers, and made smores. Definitely different than your big box races but a really good time.
Communication: okay I gave this an 8 because they gave a pretty good email a few days before the event…also throwing in to the communication I am putting the pre-race instructions….I guess to address past comments of “I got lost” we were explained very comically the 8 different types of markers along the course that if someone got lost then they weren’t pay attention “even the squirrel was able to follow the markers and get through the course”….also when I messaged regarding multilapping I very quickly got a response.
Venue and festival: okay here I went with a 7.1 because the the venue was nice….literally was parked maybe 300 feet from the festival area so it was nice….in regards to the festival area there was a DJ playing music and making announcements…the Air Force and Army had vendor tables….there was a meal after with American chop suey, salad and beer that runners got and spectators could purchase…the area did allow for spectators to see many obstacles but once one was done running there wasn’t much incentive to hang around….I did bump it up a bit because it was small changing areas but was nice that there were stand alone showers that one could truly stripe down in in privacy and wash up with soap and shampoo in the stalls….really nice
Course & Obstacles: I gave this an 8.1….now I will start this off saying I am a fan of the running for fun easier going courses….as I said in communication the course was amazing well marked….many of the obstacles would be considered to be “easy” but fun for some people they may have hit at fears….there were many times you were climbing up and over Sand mountains and over giant huge rocks….I honestly hated this portion of it just because climbing on rocks is a fear of mine….also it was pretty awesome that athletes were allowed to run multilaps for free after their first they just had to check in that they were going out again.
Swag & awards: I gave a 7.2…..there was an Ultimate stuff for prizes, I did not participate in this so with regards to the prizes I can’t speak….an average runner finished with a nice tech tee, a medal, a beer, and a meal….not to shabby….as far as merchandise it seemed as though the only real merchandise to purchase seemed to be previous years tee shirts.
Overall: I gave the race a total score of 7.8….if you are out for a fun run this would definitely be one I would recommend, great local race, proceed go to charities, innovative obstacles….if you are one that only races a race for “challenges” this may not be your cup of tea….i would definitely add this race in my to do next year…
Communication:
A verification email was received upon signing up, however nothing was received after that leading up to the race day.
Venue & Festival:
The fire was GREATLY appreciated considering it was sprinkling and yucky out. It was nice to go up to it after being in the water at the end of the race as well. There were different groups set up, good, and beer. It wa awesome that they gave out tickets for not only beer but food as well. Sadly, due to time constraints, I did not get to enjoy the festival area. However, from what I could see it looked great and had a great atmosphere for the racers and spectators.
Course & Obstacles:
Okay, this race has definitely fallen into a ‘Favorites’ for me. I loved the obstacles and use of the terrain. I loved the usage of the water and the sand/clay/sanddust/loom piles. Those were awesome. some of the terrain was technical, but it was an added challenge.
The first half was very well marked, the second half there were some confusing areas.
Being my first time at this course, I did feel like their use of certain objects was innovative. I have not seen anything like it at other races.
Swag & Awards:
A nice medal (it’s dated! – always a huge bonus for me) and a shirt. While the color of the shirt is rather bright, being neon yellow, I love the material. It’s soft and stretchy.
Over all, this race was technical, a bit tough, and chilly. But it has made it into my top three races. And bonus, it was #racelocal!
First year for the Ultimate Tuff Scrambler – I loved it. Loved how they started each wave at the same time and scored you on your finish place instead of it being time based.
Suggestion for 2017: I would love to see Ultimates get a different medal or something extra to call out that they were ultimate scramblers.
This race is becoming one of my favorite races. Was my second time back and while the course similar, it is still a batch of unique obstacles, technical terrain, loads of water, and lots of mud.
The communication was a little delayed this year, so that’s the only area where I think they could improve.
This was a great local race and was a blast! I am hoping I can make it next spring!
Communication (7): Communication was really the only area this race could improve, getting in touch with the race director/volunteer coordinator was a bit difficult prior to the event, but day of communication was awesome! Instructions for racers and volunteers once we arrived was clear and effective.
Venue & Festival (10): The fire was greatly appreciated!!!! The food was also greatly appreciated. We didn’t expect anything so we were pleasantly surprised to receive hot meatball sandwiches or pulled pork and salad on a rather chilly morning.
Course & Obstacles (9): This was one of the most unique courses I have run, those pvc pipes added an interesting twist to walls, which was fun. I am not normally a boldering fan, but the amount/style on the course was the perfect balance of challenging (at least for me) and fun.
Swag & Awards (10): I LOVED the shirts. Everyone does blue or black or white, the purple tech shirts stand out and double bonus points for having xs sizes!!! If you didn’t see the award for the ultimate scrambler, Jeff Wholen… go check it out, it is officially the most unique first place prize ever!
Overall (9): I am looking forward to going back next year and bringing my niece. This is a great family friendly local race. Thanks for sharing this on #RaceLocal!!
This is a great local race. Definitely a little different that other races. The race makes great use of the Rehoboth forest providing a lot of technical trail running. On the run alone you climb over rocks, run along trails, down a stream (dry this time), and across a pond. Then there are the obstacles, a lot of ‘natural’ type obstacles to scramble like large dirt mounds and boulder piles but also variations on wall climbs, cargo nets, and balance obstacles. Their signature obstacle is the Hay bale climb. Hay bales are wrapped and stacked 4 or 5 levels high.
Multi-lapping was easy, you checked in a registration when you wanted to go again. This time they added the Ultimate Scrambler event, where you could run three laps and earn points based on your finish position of each lap. The person with the best score got a great carved trophy of the race mascot. If you like multilapping, this could be for you
The team that runs the event is great. Always looking to help and looking for feedback. Pre-race communication came a few days early and had everything you needed to know. The swag was great, we got a nice t-shirt, a medal that was much better than the one in the spring. Then you got a free meal, pulled pork or meatballs, a beer from Naragansett, and a cupcake. All were very tasty.
The festival area was small with some military members setting up shop and volunteering on the cargo net and a couple of vendors but the highlight was the bonfire. They kept that blazing all day was a lot of fun to hang out around warm up and talk to other racers.
This race is small but is a lot of fun and definitely worth adding to your schedule.
I’ve been to Tuff Scramblers a few times and the race is the same every single time. I like it, but it’s an easy day. I did wear my IceBugs, which I’ll have to remember (for real this time) not to do again. The combination of rocky terrain and PVC obstacles makes regular trail shoes a better option for this race. I don’t recall any real lines for obstacles, and it’s a pleasure to be able to move freely throughout the course.
While it’s not a particularly difficult race in terms of terrain or obstacles, I do have to give points for originality. Their hay bales are stacked 3 high and covered in plastic, making them just that much more difficult to climb over. They have two spots where, rather than small stumps in the ground, you’re hopping from cement filled barrel to barrel, or from pillar to pillar.
My only two complaint from this event are these: 1) they only had one bus to and from the parking area, which made for a bit of a wait on either end; and 2) the registration line just took way too long. There were no signs about where people should line up and a bunch of people were told to move more than once. Then, the woman in charge chastised all of us from my bus for not arriving for our 9:00 wave at 8:00 – except that we were all in the parking lot at 8:00 waiting for the bus, then standing in line for 20 minutes.
I’m not sure I’d rush back to Tuff Scramblers, but only because there are so many other races that I’d like to change things up a bit. Overall, it’s a good starter OCR.
COMMUNICATION
Anything you needed to know was on the website or pre-race email. Easy.
VENUE & FESTIVAL
They had a salmon ladder set up to practice on, and someone coaching, if you dared. Awesome.
Bonus points for having the monster fire pit going. Even on a beautiful sunny day, it was still nice to have that right next to the finish line and final swim.
At the registration table, if you were over 5 feet tall, you had to duck under a large banner to move inside. Minor nitpick, but I suggest finding a different place for the sign.
COURSE & OBSTACLES
This course was great! As advertised, there was lots of scrambling up and down large mounds of sand, dirt, and boulders. The path twisted and turned a lot; there was essentially no mindless running. The mud factor picked up towards the end, but then you had a nice swim to clean off.
My only suggestion would be to put some marking tape on the one section where there’s barbed wire fencing. The wire blended in to the natural background fairly easily; it wouldn’t have been hard for someone to run into it.
SWAG & AWARDS
Finisher medal, tech t-shirt, beer, and good food at the end.
OVERALL
I had many fun interactions with the volunteers and staff, especially after being recognized on my extra laps. Outstanding people, every single one of them.
This was my first time doing one one of their events and I had a fantastic time. I know this year it competed with Ragnar, which was unfortunate. I would 100% come back.
I didn’t sign up in advance for this race, I just showed up on race day. But given how smoothly my registration went and how excited and friendly all the volunteers were, I assume if I had signed up earlier, they would have let me know everything I needed.
This was a fun race. It was more trail run focused especially at the beginning of the race. But the trails themselves were a challenge. A lot of very rugged single track making use of boulders, trees, and streams to climb over and through. The man made obstacles were grouped more towards the second half of the race with all the bigger ones, (cargo net, Hay Bale climb) near the end. A lot of the obstacles weren’t your typical either. In addition to multiple very high dirt climbs, there were multiple boulder piles to scramble over as well as may Balance based obstacles and the finish line came after a swim, which got most of the mud off.
The venue and festival were small but there were a few vendors and a raffle for a Bear carved from a log with a chainsaw on site. I thought one of the highlights was that in addition to a beer. You got lunch after the race too. Pulled pork or Sausage and pepper sandwiches. There were plenty of places to sit as well either under a tent or around the large bonfire. In addition teams of 10 or more could request a tent area.
Swag was standard, a medal and tech shirt.
One of the things that stood out to me was the number of times one of the organizers asked me how I liked the race and were looking for feedback. At least one came over specifically because a couple of us had finished and were still wearing drill shirts. She wanted the Spahten perspective.
Overall it was a fun run and I’d definitely do it again
I enjoy this race. The greatest challenge of it is the ankle-biter rocks that are literally everywhere. The rocks force you to watch every step which can lead you astray when the course takes a turn. You won’t get lost, just a few steps before you realize the yellow tape went over there. If you are a racer whose ankles roll or are weak, come prepared, and brace up.
I was disappointed to not have any new challenges on the course. The obstacles that were there are fun and many are different from what you see on other ocrs. A good many test racers’ fears of falling whether its because of lack of balance or simply a good level of trust in oneself that you can make the leap from one platform to the next.
This race does have many opportunities for bottlenecking. There are a good amount of single track runs in the woods where “on your left” is not really an option. You will need to find your opportunity to move ahead and leap when possible.
I wore my Icebugs with the carbide tips. I believe it was overkill here. There are simply too many rocks. Many of the hills were loose gravel/sand, so the grip was not necessary.
You will get wet at this race. There is a changing area. There was a wonderful fire to warm up by too. And BLING! They had bling this time!!! Thank you 🙂
I believe the elites came in around 30-35 minutes. I came in just under 1 hour. Multiple laps were allowed for a canned good which was donated to the Rehoboth Food Pantry.