First time doing Dan Nitro Clark's Gladiator Rock N Run event. Gotta tell ya, I was not disappointed. Course was around 3.42 miles. I especially liked the balance beam over a 6ft drop into water obstacle. I didn't make it and the drop was super fun! Def get your money's worth. 17-20 obstacles that are both fun and challenging for athletes of all levels. Volunteers were awesome and Festival area was decent. Extra star for Nitro being so approachable and friendly with everyone at this event. I would recommend this run for people interested in doing a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder obstacle course race but aren't quite ready for it. Plus, they donate to TACA so that's cool. Too bad Irvine decided to build homes here as it looked like a decent venue for GRR. read more

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This was my fourth adventure run and by far, the most fun! While some of the obstacles were a bit easy (and there were way too many tire fields), it was a great experience. Parking was easy, lots of free stuff from the vendors, and Nitro was out and about and didn't seem to care a whit about the mud we got all over him during our picture with him. I'd like better rinse off options (or more of them, readily marked) for the next time. And more difficult obstacles. I think this event will only get better as it gains momentum! read more

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Pasadena Run 10/1/11 Organization: I don't blame Gladiator for this mistake but I bought the entry to the Gladiator Run from Groupon. $50 for VIP entry for the 5K. Really good deal. When I checked in with the Gladiator people, they didn't have my information. So I had to sign up all over again - but the Gladiator people helped a lot (Thanks Brandon!). I was able to get me and the fiance's race tag, t-shirt, VIP beer, and VIP tags - and our hats! We couldn't register our team in time but we dressed up anyways as the Teenage Looking Muddy Ninja Turtles. Because of the Groupon error, we couldn't sign up in time. But we dressed up anyways. It doesn't really matter what time you sign up for because you can go at any time wave. They didn't look at our time wave. They section people on the first 100 runners waves. Obstacle Course: The Obstacle Course was fun. Yes, some were a bit easy but honestly, I like that (not that I'm lazy) but I noticed all types of people - big, tall, skinny, overweight, old, young, etc... so it'd be good to work for them as well. I was happy because the Quads of Gods KILLED me. My calves were sore. The 8 ft wall... was really easy. There are steps for you. So it's actually pretty nice. The cold water plunge was cold... and dirty! So many people! The mud crawl... I wish I wore longer pants because rocks kept hitting my legs and scrapping me in the mud, but I got through it. The Balls hitting you was a joke. It could had done damage but the people managing it didn't seem to try. So just basically ran around them. The course was long and I was tired but I did fine. My fiance doesn't workout AT ALL and did not prepare himself for a run or obstacle course, but he finished! :D (yes, I abandoned him but he was with my friend too). There was a problem with some obstacle courses because you need to wait your turn for some of them. Like the cargo net. You had to wait your turn. Then there was the Rope Wall... Wait your turn. So the times don't really matter because you had to wait for your turn to go. But it was all in good fun. If you're the type to need to have the perfect time, this obstacle course is not for you. This is for someone who wants to have fun and feel like a gladiator. NITRO: Got to meet Nitro. My sister and I had a crush on him when we were kids and he looks the same. Very nice guy. COSTUMES: Lots of fun costumes! There were some guys wearing those full body suits. WOW. OVERALL: Really fun event. If you're competitive, don't do this one. If you're expecting a Tough Mudder, this is not Tough Mudder. This is a simple version of it. But I like that because it allows all types of people to participate. Not only P90X and INSANITY players. read more

I did not train for this obstacle mud run I ran yesterday. I am out of shape. Its been about 3.5 months since I ran-and that was the Redondo Beach 10K. This mud run rocked. We pulled up and it looked and sounded like a modern day Woodstock. Sunny, California day, tons of carloads of people swarming in and out. Pretty people all shapes and sizes barely clothed, in funny costumes or the best fitness gear around and live bands rocking out echoing through the air. Food trucks and stands with amazing smells wafting through the air. It was exhilarating. We each got our bib #'s, tees and checked our bags in a matter of minutes. Thats a first and Im impressed as most events I got to have huge lines. This event didnt seem as organized as most but it didnt slow down the foot traffic at all. TONS OF MUD!!! FILTHY DIRTY and PRETTY MUD. I say this because I ran a 5K mud run in Temecula Wine country 2 years ago and I was barely dirty when I finished. By the half way mark my body was completely soiled and I quite fancied it. Lots of obstacles and challenges to defeat. I left feeling accomplished, bruised and depleted. Shout out to the chivalrous men who patiently and politely helped me and other women with the difficult climbing in and out of dumpsters. Its true that most women lack upper body strength and this is so true for me so I was so glad I got help when needed. The worst obstacles for me were: the tight spaced low ceiling pitch dark crawl in the warehouse hey set up with smoke machines. Midway I panicked and got claustrophobic which made me slightly hyperventilate. I was able t make it out with the help of a teammate and then the 2nd worst obstacle was next. The waist deep pool of ICE water. It wasnt that cold to jump in to, or at least didnt feel that cold as by this time I was sweating but it was the loss of breath I felt when I was in there. I felt like I went in to shock r as a man beside me said, an asthma attack. Then while you still could not breath, had to swim underneath 5 buoy type pvc poles. I did 4 and the same asthma man helped me out by pulling it up so I could swim under it LOL. THANK YOU!!! The finish line was great and the medal made me feel triumphant. The large communal bath was cool as we waded like kids in a fountain to try and clean most of the mud off. Then got into a lil tent to change into something less muddy, All in all this was a great event. Today I am sunburnt, tan and sore with scratches on my knees/elbows as well as bruised but I feel fantastic. read more

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I ran the Irvine,CA mud run in May 2011. A fun day with friends, but the overall experience not including friends was so-so. They seemed to be fairly well organized with parking and check-in. The course itself was mostly a dirt run, a few obstacles that weren't very challenging, and I thought there would be a LOT more mud. One slide into a water pool, and one mud crawl towards the end of the race. They've only had this run for a couple of years, so hopefully there's still a lot of upside to go and they'll keep improving the experience. read more

I had so much fun at the Gladiator! Okay, so it was a little easy. But they did a good job of spreading out the obstacles. I was really impressed with the check-in process (no wait at 9:00 am) and the bag check (looked like it was going to be a mess, but was actually very organized). There were restrooms, food, beer and even free photos. Loved the fact that they had heats going off every 30 minutes to space out the runners. Overall, it was well-thought out and executed. The cargo net obstacle was a problem and they recognized that - they even sent out an apology to the participants recognizing it was an issue. That was cool. And I do wish that the downhill slide wasn't just a tarp laid down on the hard ground and rocks - ouch! I have two huge bruises on my *ss from hitting rocks as I slid down (suggestion - lay down AstroTurf or something similar first and then put the tarps down on that). I would also love it if they threw in some harder, optional obstacles so that people could try those if they wanted. They bill the course as being super-challenging, but it really wasn't (unless you were really out of shape). Loved watching everyone in costume - I think that is the way to go next year. I will definitely do it again! read more

The FAQ page on the web site alone should get 5 stars. However, the rest of the race doesn't fare as well in ratings, forcing me to give it a total of three stars. When a race touts that it has 14 obstacles, you expect so much more and unfortunately it failed in delivering. This is not a race that you should do looking for your best 5k time. Your end time is not in your control no matter how fast of a racer you are because the race is so unorganized. The first race started at least a half hour late and instead of breaking the racers up by their running times in corales, they are all sent out at once. That just created severe back up at the obstacles. The race, despite their "all call" on their web site for volunteers, was visibly lacking in that department. Many obstacles were left unattended. As I stood as an observer -slash- photographer for my husband and friends, I watched the first racers run THROUGH the spools obstacle -- not up and over. Nobody, other than me was there, to shout out to them on what to do. What few volunteers they had were not properly trained to do their job. One of the most popular obstacles was the hill slide, which lands racers into a water mud pit. The back up at the top of the hill was pretty bad. I think this compelled volunteers to send racers down the slide before the pit was vacated. This caused people to crash into each other and get severely injured. My brother-in-law left with a sprained finger as he stuck his hands out to prevent from body slamming into another contestant. My husband ended up drawing blood on his knees, forearms and hands as he tried to slow down his decent down the slide in an effort to avoid also body slamming into the group below. I also saw racers get injured frequently on other obstacles, falling off the obstacle wall or spools and spraining their ankle or worse. The only available people to call for a medic was the local radio station that was providing race commentary at a booth. Sadly, the DJ was calling for a medic over the loud speakers way too often - a testament to how unorganized this event was. You never want to hear announcements of people getting injured, and while you do sign up fully aware of the possibility, a race should do everything in their power to avoid it. Final notes: Some obstacles were super lame and should not be labeled as one of the 14 at all. It creates hype for something they are not. They were better off not counting them at all, especially the "mystery" ones - what a let down. Ultimately still fun because it was a very easy race. We got to meet Nitro. You get a free beer at the end of the race. While that was definitely awesome incentive to sign up for initially, on the whole, I'd trade that beer in for a few more knowledgeable volunteers. read more

The first time I ran a Gladiator, I considered the race a 2 star with good swag. One year later and Nitro has diligently gone through the suggestion box and made this race one of the best 5K mud runs around. Obstacles: 5 stars - Ice bath (Be mentally read for this and just do it) - Rope Climb (Bring a team or some biceps) - The wall of fame (You can do it, not that hard) - The beast (So much harder than it looks) - The only obstacles I didn't like where the ones where there was pitch black tunnels, little space, and hard breathing. This happened in both Irvine and Pasadena and I just wish they poked some more breathing holes. Racing: 2 Stars - I'm glad they made a competitive time because they've gotten into situations where there are sometimes lines, but I still want to race and have my time recorded even if I don't run in the competitive event. They dropped the ball when it came to keeping time in Pasadena, because I wanted to know where I stood. Lines: 4 Stars - This used to be a 1 or a 2, but I would say that they have decreased the traffic significantly by having added more obstacle lanes. I would add more lanes to the Beast and add an extra ice bath, but otherwise not too shabby Swag: 5 stars This is where Gladiator stands above all else. -They turned the medal into a can opener so that it's actually useful and a cool talking piece you can keep. - The Affliction shirt is super soft and MADE IN THE USA! Lastly, Nitro: 5 stars - He comes around, shakes everybody's hand, and lets you take pictures with him. I hear this year he even has a special time where he's going to be running with the fans for an extra $20 for Charity read more

One of my favorite mud runs of the year. Great exercise, raising money for a good cause and man made mud obstacles so you don't get hurt by real rocks and dirt... Don't get me wrong you still get dirty. And a free beer at the end, amazing read more

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Gladiator Rock and Run was a great experience. Our team rock really!!!! We were mentally and physically ready to conquer a monster so in the end it was not bad at all. The obstacles were generally hard for those with out training but otherwise very fair and fun to do. They added battle of the box to it, as a new deal. The idea is good, but confusing as by reading the website it sounds like and additional competition between teams (exclusive to teams) But it was not like that everyone was suppose to do the all the pointed obstacles. But if you are a team and follow the rules then you wait for your team throughout making it completely a team effort to finish together which a great feeling but it diminished the possibility of individual time placing. I think that battle of the box cool be improved to be a three to four obstacle exclusive for teams at the beginning of the competition and then run members free to the general run to allow for individual timing. Other than that it was tons of fun and will do it again next year ready to have some crazy good times and of course bit our own time records. read more

This was a fun run. The race was well organized - 2 packet pickup days + race day pickup and registration. There were PLENTY of port-a-johns (this is the first and only race I can say this about). The gear pick-up was a little disorganized, but I think they were just a bit short on volunteers for that section. There were obstacles throughout the race, most of which were cool. I loved the "skid marks" (basically a giant, downhill slip-n-slide), mud pits, and running through fire at the end. I wasn't a huge fan of "buddha's burden" (carry a sandbag from point a to point b) because it was just a little too cheesy, next time the distance from point a to point b should be a little further. Also, the cargo net climb line was so backed up that we were told it was a 10 minute wait (and we were only in the 2nd heat). They staff was really cool, and let people run around it - I'm not a huge fan of skipping obstacles but I'm not stopping for 10 minutes mid-race. The race director(?) sent an email out post race apologizing for the screw up and assured us that it won't happen again, which I believe. He (Nitro!) appeared to be very involved and interested in what people thought about the race. It's always nice when the service providers take input from the consumers. This is the first and only race I've run that has even taken post race photos and provided them for immediate download. AWESOME! So happy about that :) They also posted the results that night which is pretty cool and very fast. I really enjoyed the race and I am completely confident that the organizers are working to fix any issues that existed for future gladiator rock n runs. read more

First time ever w/ this kind of event. Over all it was a fun time. I agree w/ other reviews that noted, this is not necessarily a race for the competitive or those looking for a crazy challenge. But note it's also not super easy. It's mainly a fun time. I exercise regularly but I wouldn't consider myself ultra fit. But my friends and I were able to get through it without problems. For this April run in Irvine, it was 6-7k with 17 obstacles. But note one of the "obstacles" they note is to run behind the monster truck in which they start the race... not really an obstacle. Most of the run is on dirt. the last 1/3 of the run got really muddy. There was a lot of crawling in mud/muddy water and a lot of climbing over walls and such. It would have been nice to have an obstacle that required some sort of dodging (since it is named after American Gladiator). I think some of the obstacles could have been a tad more difficult. But I guess a good thing about this run is that a variety of people could do it. I was in the 10am heat, and we didn't encounter any bottlenecks or waits at the obstacles except for the mud bath. They definitely could have used 2 or 3 more bins for this. The line for this was like 10-15mins. The only other thing I can complain about is their water situation. The first water station we hit seemed pretty far into the start of the run, and they were out of water so you'd have to wait if you wanted water. Maybe we were just unlucky. The 2nd water station didn't have this problem. The other water issue was the showers... Irvine Great Park doesn't have plumbing and running water out there, so they had to truck in water... but they didn't time the intervals in which they'd needed to refill/truck more in, so there were gaps of time where there would be no water to shower off with. When my friends and I finished the run they had been out of water for a bit already... we ended up clean up with some bottled water or the muddy pool that was there from previous showers. Then changing into clean clothes. It wasn't until we were all "cleaned up" that the new batch of water arrived ... fail for us But It was nice that they did have a changing tent. Pricey. Pretty good experience. Improvements could be made. But definitely not bad. Mainly just for fun. read more

I have ran the GR& R twice in Irvine, once in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl, and another occasion in San Diego. Each race has successively gotten more challenging and has never been the same race twice. At each race, I was able to get my picture taken with Dan Nitro Clark who is one of the most down to earth and nicest people you could meet. I have ran everything from a full marathon to a 5K and this has been far my favorite race. The Affliction TShirt is worth the price of the registration alone! read more

So, so extremely disappointed in their Customer Service, why? THEY HAVE NONE! I have countless email and Facebook messages I have sent to receive a correct Registration and there is NO reply to my emails. I paid for two tickets, they have my money and my registration only shows one person! I am so upset I'm not even looking forward to the event, if i will have problems due to their mistake!!! read more

Great mix of running and obstacles, difficulty and ease. This was my 1st run with mud/obstacles and I am happy to say that I was able to conquer all but 1 obstacle! The waves of runner ran a little behind, but they were really good about getting everyone going! A bit of backup at the walls and mud-bath, but it was a nice break from running. So thankful for the crew up top at the last wall...wouldn't have made it over without their help! Love the shirt and love the medal...THANKS! read more

I trained about 4 months for this event and knew going in it was a challenging yet fun race. It didn't have as much running as Warrior Dash, but it had a lot more obstacles. Some obstacles were easy (thankful for that), some were crazy and fun, and some were hard. I thought it was a good mix up. This is not the trype of event you should do if you are looking for a timed run, but one to do if you want to challenge yourself, laugh at yourself, laugh at others, get dirty and go crazy, and have a great Saturday afternoon. I loved it! read more

amazing time, for an amazing cause. my first mud run ever. love love lovedddd it. will absolutely be doing more. question - when will pics be posted to the website???? read more

READ THIS IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING VOLUNTEERING for this mud run. I volunteered at the Rose Bowl Gladiator Rock n Run on Oct. 4, 2011. I know the organizer's goal was 300 volunteers. Don't know if this goal was reached, but regardless, the organizers failed to FEED LUNCH to all the volunteers as promised. I'm easy to please and didn't want to eat a Subway sandwich at 11 am, unlike some of the volunteers around me. When I was ready to eat, at about 12:30 (I started volunteering at 8:30am), all that was left was a vegetarian sandwich that was not substantial. You'd think they'd put more cheese in it since that is the only source of protein. Nope. In the end, I had to eat a few bites cuz there was nothing else and just tasted bread. After working hard in the sun for 5 hours clipping off timing chips, I needed substantive food to refuel. I have volunteered for other events and was briefed before my shift. There was no pre-training here and while not much was needed, it would've been helpful to know the answers to FAQs by runners instead of looking foolish with an "I don't know" reply. The supervisor-ish woman who I spoke to about needing more sandwiches had a cranky, don't-bother-me-when-I-can-be-socializing attitude. She told me to find out if any other volunteers needed a lunch because "It's a long walk to the Subway stand." A professional person with an ounce of courtesy upon return would've informed me that all sandwiches were gone. This woman just returned to the finish line where I was assigned and at around 2:00, after the last person crossed the completed the race, I had to approach her to find out if she had gotten any grub. I then spoke to Stacie Smith at the volunteer check in station. She was nice about the situation, although when she pointed out, "some people don't get any food", instead of making me feel better about the veggie sandwich, it only highlighted the poor planning w/regard to providing lunch for the volunteers. Also, a reviewer who ran the race on 3/5/11 mentioned how there was a wait at an obstacle for the second heat of racers. The reviewer was confident the organizers would remedy this in future races but I am eyewitness to the fact they did not 10 months later. Picture this: You're 100 yards from completing a 5k or 10k race. There are two climbing walls ahead, one of which has a wait of at least 120 people. Be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes if you're at the end of the line. Ridiculous!! Does it take a genuis to realize you should add multiple walls at one obstacle to accomodate the overflow?? The race is for a good cause TACA and racers seemed to have fun, but the organizers need to work on their organization and planning! read more

I really enjoyed this race, the only complaint I had it took us over an horus to park and then had to pay 10.00 for the privilege ? Other than that it was a ton of fun. Not a good course if you are looking for time , the hill from hell was that! I agree some of the obstacles were a little lame but then you had the tougher ones, the dumpsters there were 3 the first one was about 4ft. No problems there but then you had the other ones about 8 to ten feet. Get up and in ,needed help to get out , team work yah, kudos to those cute strong guys helping the girls out on this one. Jumping into the ice cold water not hard but very cold, the run was longer than expected that was a challenge in itself, some clocked it at over 4 to 5 miles. The beast at the end was a challenge, I was determined to get up that wall the first time. Which I did, many did not. I did have agood workout and yes, I would do this again. For my first adventure run this was very good, I enjoyed came out with no broken bones some bruises yes. That is a good day. This seems to work better with the longer run . Felt more of a challenge . read more