Mudders rule at Florida Warrior Dash

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Organizers of this weekend's Warrior Dash in south Florida say about 8,500 tackled the 3-mile obstacle course with free beer at the other end.

The Warrior Dash is part of a nationwide series of races, which pit participants against a series of obstacles and plenty of mud all for the fun of competing and meeting the challenge.

"They give you a free beer afterward," said Jane Andrews, 48, of Delray Beach as she and a group of mates got ready for their group of 500 to start the race in Deerfield Beach.

You had to be there, but the South Florida Sun Sentinel described the event as "a cross between ABC's 'Wipeout' and a Renaissance Fair gone haywire."

There was plenty of whooping and yelling by the competitors, the newspaper said. There were also plenty of costumes, including Santa's elves, a chicken and horror-movie hostess Elvira.

By the end of the race, however, it was mud that was the uniform of the day for the racers who slogged through an endless supply of muck.

"My shoes got stuck," lamented Harlan Malamud, 36, as he nursed his post-race brew.