ABF Mud Run obstacle races, mud run, and OCR information, distance, cost, dates, calendar, discounts, obstacles, reviews, and more

As others said, from an obstacle point of view its a great race. What is lacking is atmosphere. At least for the open heats. Start was blah. Finish was really blah and a let-down. No crowd, no beer, no fun. Just finish, hose off and go home. Food vendor was a hot dog cart. I get it that you need attendee numbers to justify more but if you don't do more you wont draw or keep more runners. The course is great. Now focus on entertainment & atmosphere!

Still one of the best!

DIFFICULTY = Advanced

PARKING = A
Parking was onsite, close, and free! This is the way parking should be at every race.

FESTIVAL = D
There was hardly any festival. ABF seems to struggle with this. They had a tent selling some merchandise and a hot dog cart. On the verge of an F rating.

BAG CHECK = B
Bag check is free but unattended. It’s really a space to drop your gear.

STARTING LINE = B
The starting line is a line and a big flag. There is no arch. The DJ was there to hype up the crowd. About 20 feet from the starting line is the first obstacle.

COURSE LAYOUT = B
Woods, dirt, grass, water. Great layout and obstacle spacing. The course wasn’t that muddy as ABF is all about the obstacles. The only thing that prevents this from being an A is the lack of incline (hills).

OBSTACLES = A
ABF already has great obstacles. They’ve added more. This race had 50 obstacles (about 35 previously). Some obstacles were tiered with a beginner, intermediate, and advanced choice. In the past, ABF had about 30 obstacles. All of the new obstacles added were difficult and really tested you. Also, massive upper body strength is required. ABF continues to have some of the best obstacles around as well as obstacles you will not see anywhere else.

Best Obstacle = Destroyer
Worst Obstacle = Rope Traverse

WATER STATIONS = B
ABF improved their water stations. 2 were on the course and 1 had bananas. The only thing that prevents this from being an A was the lack of bananas at the first water station.

FINISH LINE = B
They had an arch, a crowd to cheer you on, medals waiting for you. They even had a staff member yelling at you with a megaphone to complete the last obstacle right before the finish. So why not an A? They didn’t have a clock/timer being displayed. Definitely the best finish line the ABF has offered.

SHOWERING/CHANGING = F
In the past, ABF had showers. Last year, they had hoses. This year, I didn’t see anything. If they had hoses, they were hidden somewhere and not marked with a big sign.

SWAG = B
ABF swapped their dog tags out for the biggest and heaviest medal I have received! Their tshirt is the same every year (they change the date) and there is no additional swag.

CONCLUSION:
ABF is still one of the best races out there. The obstacles are unique, challenging, and really push you. The placement of the obstacles is meant to break you then push you more (probably because they are American Ninja Warrior based). Now that they give you the giant medal, this is a must do event.

Amer Ninja Warrior style obstacles

PARKING = A
Parking was free and onsite. The previous ABF races all involved a bus.

FESTIVAL = D
Not much there. Protein bars, a hot dog cart, results, and another tent. This was on the verge of an F.

BAG CHECK = F
They claimed there would be a bag check and there wasn’t.

STARTING LINE = B
There was literally a line, a flag, and some people telling you about the course. The first obstacle was about 14 feet from the starting line. ABF has done better in the past but compared to all other races, it was good.

COURSE LAYOUT = B
Water, woods, mud, dirt, grass. The only thing that prevents me from giving this 4 mile course an A was that it was basically level terrain. It lacked hills or inclines. The obstacle spacing was a killer. Obstacles were placed strategically to drain you.

OBSTACLES = A
Something unique about the ABF is that they have obstacles that no one else has. They are constantly adding obstacles and it’s still obstacles that you have never seen. This 4 mile course had over 25 obstacles. Lots of them required massive amounts of upper body. Some of the obstacles were based off of American Ninja Warrior. Sounds too hard? ABF offered 3-4 variances of obstacles. For example, the high wall with rope climb offered 3 walls – beginner, intermediate, and advanced so you don’t need to be Superman to do this race.

Best Obstacle = First monkey bars into shimmy/balance/cargo net
Worst Obstacle = Rope traverse

WATER STATIONS = B
3-4 water stations on the 4 mile course placed at the correct locations. Water only, no food.

FINISH LINE = F
ABF still has not improved their finish line. They did have an arch so you could see the finish but it was a ghost town when you finished – no crowd, no DJ, no final obstacle.

SHOWERING/CHANGING = C
They had hoses. That was all. Definitely a step down for them.

SWAG = B
They provided you with a t-shirt and a dog tag. It’s the same ones as last year but with the dates changed.

CONCLUSION:
ABF still ranks up there with my favorite races. This new 4 mile course was great but not better than their previous courses (3.2 miles and 6.4 miles). They did offer some variety on obstacles so everyone could do them (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). There was even a kids’ wave. ABF’s signature is the unique obstacles they provide that are new and fresh and never-before-seen. The advanced obstacles made this race one of the hardest races I have ever done. If you are a fan of American Ninja Warrior and always wanted to try it, do this race. ABF is reasonably priced and they even offer a season pass and training.

Better Than the 5K Race

PARKING = C
Free parking but you had to park off-site and take a bus.

FESTIVAL = C
Not much there. It was small with a few vendors and the military.

BAG CHECK = B
Bag check was free but just a space where everyone threw their bags. A staff member was standing there but there wasn’t any real security, just a bunch of bags on the floor.

STARTING LINE = B
Despite not having an official starting line, they had a starting “area”. It was in front of a stage where they went over the rules and provided a warm up. This was the 10K race which was at a different venue than the 5K. There was a starting obstacle (inverted log ladder).

COURSE LAYOUT = A
Great obstacle spacing, great terrain (mud, dirt, grass, woods, hills). Some of the terrain was challenging (“stairs” in the woods while carrying a tire).

OBSTACLES = A
These were some of the best obstacles. These are definitely not for beginners (this was the 10K race). The obstacles here were obstacles that I have never seen before (and still haven’t). Definitely very unique and requires upper body strength and speed. The layout of the obstacles was set up to exhaust you (are you ready to climb 6 walls in a row?).

Best Obstacle = quarter pipe with pull up bar climb
Worst Obstacle = ice bath (I hate cold water!)

WATER STATIONS = B
They had enough water stations on the course, usually after you carried an item (tire/log). The stations had water only, no food.

FINISH LINE = F
It was unclear where the finish line was. No there to cheer you, no final obstacle, no timer.

SHOWERING/CHANGING = C
They had a water truck with hoses. No privacy and no changing rooms.

SWAG = A
You got a tshirt and a dog tag. Not much free stuff. It was the same tshirt and dog tag as the 5K race.

CONCLUSION:
This race was better than the 5K. The obstacles were better as was the difficulty. Definitely one of the best races out there. If you did the 5K and want more of a challenge, do this.

This race is a must!

PARKING = C
Free parking but you had to park off-site and take a bus. The bus ride was good as they hyped you up and went over a few things.

FESTIVAL = C
Not much there. It was small with a few vendors and the military. I didn’t hang out there long.

BAG CHECK = B
Bag check was free but just a space where everyone threw their bags. No staff or security at the bag area, just bags laying on the floor in a pile.

STARTING LINE = A
Despite not having an official starting line, they had a starting “area”. It was in front of a stage where they went over the rules and provided a warm up. Then, the warm up turned into an exercise (an unofficial first obstacle) and their speech was good and hyped everyone up. The first obstacle was immediately there (about 3 feet from the stage) where you had to climb this log ladder to start the race.

COURSE LAYOUT = A
Great terrain (woods, mud, water, grass, dirt). Obstacle spacing was good. When there were no obstacles, the natural terrain served as an obstacle. We mud have gone through a mile of water/mud. You were not bored or asking where the next obstacle is.

OBSTACLES = A
The obstacles here were awesome. You have standard obstacles like walls but with a twist – there was no bottom to them so it required more upper body strength to climb. There were also many obstacles that I have never seen before. They were challenging but fun. The final obstacle is awesome.

Best Obstacle = inclined ramp climb
Worst Obstacle = ice bath (I hate cold water!)

WATER STATIONS = D
I think there were 2 on the entire course (5K). More were needed. The stations contained only water, no food.

FINISH LINE = F
There was a final obstacle and finish banner but it intermixed with the crowd and festival. So heading to the finish forced you to cut through a crowd of people walking and hanging out. When you finished, no one was there to congratulate you.

SHOWERING/CHANGING = C
They had showers (water truck) with no privacy but no changing rooms. It was a showerhead on the side of a truck. I guess it’s better than a hose.

SWAG = A
You got a tshirt and a dog tag. Normally, I would give this a B or C but they gave you so much free stuff with your swag that I had to bump this to an A. Definitely the most free stuff I have ever received.

CONCLUSION:
The ABF Mud Run is in my top 5. The race is great (terrain/obstacles rule). This will take you a lot longer to do than a normal 5K mud run due to the terrain. This race is a must!