Registration: We always arrive a little earlier than when registration opens, so we went along to set up the tent and they were ready for us when we returned. We were ready to go in 90 seconds!
Bling: Tuff is one of the few races that doesn’t offer a medal. They do offer a pint glass to pair with your tech shirt. The pint glass was the same we received in the Spring. The tech shirt was a lovely hunter orange (great for running visibility!), but I was a little sad to see the running mud man no longer a part of the design.
Vendors: Unleashed, Air National Guard, Below the Waist, and a log carver
Food: Included in registration was a free meal and a free beer. The food options were all tasty – pulled chicken, pulled pork, potato wedges, and a salad. The free beer was Naragansett and this time even offered Octoberfest in addition to Lager and Light.
If you’ve done a Tuff Scramblers before, then you know what to expect and what standards are met for each event. This stationary course never fails to challenge, and it is always fun to see what new obstacles Joe implements.
We brought about 25 people to this event, and with other events happening on this very same day in our back yard this was a great little group. We were large enough to once again be offered a tent area, and also be allowed to bring 2 tents along with us.
According to my GPS, the course checked in at just shy of 3 miles. Do not let this deter you from doing this in the future as these three miles are on technical and mostly flat terrain, offering a challenge even to a seasoned runner.
The course generally remains the same, see my previous review here.
True to form, Joe implemented a new obstacle. Out near the stair climbs and over unders there was placed a cement cylinder with perforations just large enough to be hand holds and foot holds! It was set on its side forcing you to climb the circumference of the tube and get yourself down the other side. This was a great addition to an already fun and technical course.
water and it was a diagonal approach to the finish line. There was muck. It was deep at points. I have to say this was a nice little change up and I’m glad they were able to put something in place to utilize the pond, even if it did mean a dirtier than usual finish!
Additionally, the Elites had to run 2 laps of the course rather than just one. Personally, I love this idea! However, the elite field was a small number. This was a little disheartening for the organizers, and I’m sad to see it wasn’t more well embraced.
Tuff Scramblers remains on my schedule for next year. It continues to be a great course and will be included in #racelocal. Another change was due to Mother Nature not giving the farm enough rainfall recently. The traditional end of the race brings you through the pond and to the finish line, but the pond was really quite low. As a result the course went further down the bank to a point where there was some
