This packet contains everything you need to know about the race, so please read the ENTIRE DOCUMENT very carefully before emailing us with questions. Be sure to download the packet again the week before the race, as we may update it with new information over time.
The New Jersey Rugged Maniac will be held on Saturday, July 12th and Sunday, July 13th at Raceway Park, 230 Pension Road, Englishtown, NJ 07726. Exact directions can be found here. Remember that parking is $10 (CASH) per car. The Check-In Tent opens at 8:00 am at the venue on both days. Please arrive at least one hour before your scheduled start time. Get cash from an ATM. Optional timing chips, merchandise, food, and beer are all available for purchase, so bring plenty of cash. Decide what to wear. Instead of throwing away your muddy sneakers after the race, donate them to The Eco S.T.A.R.S. Project! Representatives will be onsite collecting your muddy shoes in an effort to support the Project s Shoe Away Hunger campaign. Look for them by the rinse-off stations. If you want to keep the clothes and shoes you wear during the race, be sure to wear items that are easily cleaned and tight fitting to avoid snagging on the barbed wire. Think spandex pants and tops or board shorts and quick-dry shirts for guys. You might want to wear long sleeves and pants or compression sleeves/socks to protect your forearms and shins during the crawls. Don't forget to bring a change of clothes AND SHOES! Walking barefoot back to your car will NOT be fun. TIP: Bring a gallon of water to rinse off with and you ll look like a genius to the people waiting for their turn at the hoses. What to Bring: Recommended items include: a towel, sunscreen, sunglasses (we don t recommend you wear them during the race), a gallon of water to avoid lines at the rinseoff stations (and the ice-cold water!), a chair/blanket to sit-on in the festival area, a change of clothes and shoes, and a plastic bag to put your muddy shoes and clothes in. Coolers are not allowed into the event. Racers must go to the large, white Check-In Tent at the venue to get age wristbands, racer bibs, and racer t-shirts. ID & Waiver: If you're 18 and over, you need to bring a photo ID to verify your age, but you DO NOT need to bring a copy of your signed waiver. You'll sign the 2 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
waiver at the volunteer tent before you run. If you're under 18, you need to bring a copy of the waiver signed by your parent or legal guardian. If you forget it, your parent can still sign a waiver for you at the race. Timing Chip: Racers who've purchased a timing chip with their online registration can pick it up at the Timing Chip Table located at the end of the Check-In Tent. If you didn't pre-purchase a timing chip and would like to have your finish time recorded, you can do so at the Timing Chip Table for $10. Beer Wristbands: Racers 21 or over will get two wristbands: one to verify that your ID has been checked and the other to be redeemed for one free beer. Race Bib: Each racer gets a race bib with a random number which must be worn on the front of his/her body (shirt or shorts). The bib serves three purposes: (1) It lets our security know that you're a paid runner so you can enter the start line, (2) you can plug your bib number into the photographer's website after the race to find any pictures taken of you on the course to download them for FREE, and (3) items at the bag check are organized by bib number, so you must remember it in order to retrieve your bags. We do not keep records of who gets which bib, so be sure to remember your number in order to retrieve your bags at the bag check and find your photos. T-Shirt: You'll be given whatever size t-shirt you requested when registering. Please note that the women s and men s t-shirts are different styles. Women s t- shirts are slim-fit and sizes run small. Men s t-shirts are unisex style and are true to size. Bag check: DO NOT BRING the following items with you onto the course: wedding rings or other expensive jewelry, sunglasses, your only pair of prescription glasses, your wallet, your car keys, your cell phone, or anything else you don't want to lose/destroy. Leave belongings with a friend, return them to your car, or check them at our free bag check located at the Bag Check Tent. Be advised that Rugged Races LLC assumes no liability for damage to or loss of any items placed in the bag check. Morning Volunteers Shift: Your volunteer shift will last from 7:00 am-12:30 pm. Checking in to Volunteer: Check in at the red volunteer tent at 7:00 am. You will receive your volunteer t-shirt and your assignment for the morning. Allow a 3 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
little extra time for traffic and parking, as volunteers who are late risk losing their spot to a volunteer on our waitlist. Checking in to race: You'll be relieved from your volunteer assignment around 12:30 pm. If you're running in the afternoon, return to the volunteer tent to check out of your volunteer shift and register to run. This is when you will receive your race t-shirt, wristbands and racer bib. If you choose not to run on the day of the race, you can apply your free registration toward a future event. Simply return to the volunteer tent at the end of your shift and let us know you'd like to save your registration for another event. Afternoon Volunteers Shift: Your volunteer shift will last from 11:30 am-5:00 pm. Afternoon volunteers MUST bring a $100 cash deposit in order to race. Credit cards and checks will not be accepted for this deposit. Checking in to race: Arrive at the venue at 8:30 am to allow for traffic. Check in at the volunteer tent to pay your $100 cash deposit and receive your race t- shirt, wristbands and racer bib. You can run in any wave up to 10:30 am but you must to return to the volunteer tent by 11:30 am or you will forfeit your deposit. If you're a slow runner, run in an earlier wave to give yourself time to clean off afterwards! Checking in to volunteer: You MUST arrive at the volunteer tent by 11:30 am to check-in for your shift, get your volunteer t-shirt, and afternoon assignment. If you didn't run in the morning, let the volunteer coordinator know that you plan on using your free entry at a future event. Volunteers who are late risk losing their deposit, so plan accordingly. Checking out at the end of the day: Once you're relieved from your post by a Rugged Maniac staff member, return to the volunteer tent for further assignment or to check out. You will receive your $100 deposit back upon check out. Deposits unclaimed by 5:00 pm will return to our headquarters. If you have any questions regarding your volunteer shift, please email us at volunteer@ruggedraces.com. Runners can register on the day of the race for waves that have not yet sold out for a fee of $100 ($90 for military personnel and students with valid IDs). Arrive at least 90 minutes prior to your desired start time. 4 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
Because significant unrecoverable expense is incurred with each registration, we simply can t offer refunds. However, we do allow you to transfer your registration to someone else on the day of the race (or via our website before online registration closes). You can change your start time on the day of the race to one that isn't sold out by paying a $5 fee at the Registrations and Transfers table in the Check-In Tent. You can transfer your registration to someone else on race day for $10. If you can t make it, but have a friend who would like to run in your spot, simply follow the steps: 1. Give your friend a copy of your ID (either in print or digital). 2. Have him/her check-in at any of the check-in tables using your ID to receive your bib, wristbands and t-shirt. 3. Once they have all of your race items, they ll go to the registration table where we ll officially transfer the registration. The race will not be canceled for rain! This is Rugged Maniac, not a tea party at the retirement home. If there's lightning, we'll delay waves until it passes. When the race resumes, waves will go off at 10-minute intervals until the race is back on schedule. If there's severe weather that prevents the event from being held at all on Saturday, it'll be moved to Sunday. Only those runners who have purchased an electronic timing chip and picked it up at the Timing Chip table will be listed in the official results. Racers must be officially timed, start between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, and successfully complete all obstacles to be eligible for a prize. The timing chip must be attached securely to your shoe or it won t trigger the timing mats at the start and finish lines, meaning your time won t show up in the preliminary results that will be posted on the Facebook Event 5 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
page the night of the race. All other runners can determine their race time by checking the timing clock as they cross the finish line. If your time is incorrect or missing, email timing@ruggedraces.com before Tuesday, July 15 th and we ll correct it before we post the official results on Wednesday. Winners must be present at the 1:00 pm awards ceremony to receive prizes. Awards will be given to the top 3 male finishers, the top 3 female finishers, fastest racer over 55 and fastest racer under 18. Winners will receive Rugged Maniac merchandise and an entry to a future race. The top male and female finishers will receive an additional special prize. Prizes will be given at the Awards Ceremony at the Stage at 1:00 pm. Awards will be handed out for both the Saturday and Sunday races. We'll have professional photographers on site taking photos of runners throughout the course and will make those photos available for FREE download the week after the race! You'll be assigned a random bib number at the Check-In Tent which you MUST wear on the front of your body (shirt or shorts) before you'll be allowed to run. Remember that number and plug it into the photographer's website after the race to easily find your pictures (we'll email the link when the photos are ready). If your bib falls off, is obscured by mud or you forget your bib number, you can still find pictures of yourself by browsing by time and obstacle. For example, if you run the 11:00 am wave and finish at 11:45 am, you only need to look at the pictures taken between those times. Furthermore, don t bother checking the 11:00 am finish line pictures if you started at 11:00 am! Check only those times when you would ve actually been at a particular obstacle. NOTE: We can't guarantee that the photographers will capture an awesome photo of you (or even a photo of you at all), so we highly suggest bringing along a friend with a camera, if possible. There will be a water station for racers half-way through the course and again at the finish line, where we ll also have oranges and bananas to help you replenish your energy! You can bring your own bottles of water, but no outside alcoholic beverages or coolers are allowed into the venue. 6 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
Assess each obstacle as you approach to determine whether your fitness level will allow you to safely complete it. Circumvent any obstacle that you feel is too difficult, but remember that doing so will make you ineligible to win the race. Racers of legal drinking age get one beer as part of their entry fee at the after-party! Bring your ID when you check-in to get two wristbands: one for the beer and one to wear all day to let us know you re 21 or over. But don t worry; we ll also have plenty of beer for sale, plus all kinds of food. Credit cards will not be accepted so bring cash. We ll have some crazy festival games for you before and after you run. Make your way through the inflatable obstacle course or challenge your friends to the joust. Get your party on in our crazy foam pit or for those daring enough, take a ride on the mechanical bull! Along with food, beer, and games, a DJ will keep the music going all day long. Feel free to bring blankets or camping chairs along with you. Coolers, however, are not permitted. Lost on the course: Check with the Rugged Maniac staff in the Check-In Tent to see if any lost items have been turned in. Items lost in a mud pit are unlikely to be recovered, but you may search these areas at the end of the day after the last runner has left the course. You can search for items lost in other areas of the course from the outside edges of the track, but you can enter the course to retrieve an item only if doing so will not in any way impede the progress of other runners. Any items of value not retrieved by 5:00 pm on race day will be taken to Rugged Maniac headquarters where we ll hold onto them for 30 days. Please email info@ruggedraces.com to inquire about a lost item. Lost in the festival area or parking lot: For lost wallets, cell phones, keys, IDs, or other items of value, please see the Rugged Maniac staff at the Registrations & Transfers table in the Check-In Tent. 7 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
If you have a question that isn t answered in this packet, please read the FAQ Page on our website. If your question is still unanswered, email us at info@ruggedraces.com with the race you are inquiring about in the subject line, and your full name and email address in the body of the message. Keep in mind that leading up to race day the volume of emails we receive increases drastically, so it may take more than 24 hours to receive a response. Please double-check this packet AND the FAQ for an answer before emailing. 8 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
The Eco S.T.A.R.S. Project is created to serve both people and our planet with purpose. Simply put: Sustainability Teaching and Recycling Shoes. We work with various organizations across the nation to keep as many of the 200 million pairs of discarded sneakers out of the landfills. We also work across our nation to support the Project s Shoe Away Hunger campaign where we partner with organizations to teach sustainability with gardening and recycling. Each pair of sneakers donated will help provide much needed funds, jobs, and footwear while lessening the footprint on our planet. The Air Force Reserve is an exciting and integral part of the nation's defense. Reservists perform the same missions and work alongside active duty Air Force members. It offers similar benefits afforded to those on active duty, with one major addition: the benefit of time. You are able to work on your civilian career, further your education and serve your country. Find out more here. 9 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
Time Event Location 7:00 AM Morning Volunteers Arrive Volunteer Tent 8:00 AM Check-In Opens Check-In Tent 8:00 AM Music Starts Stage 9:00 AM First Wave Goes Off Starting Line 11:30 AM Afternoon Volunteers Arrive Volunteer Tent 1:00 PM Awards Ceremony Stage 2:00 PM Last Wave Goes Off Starting Line 3:30 PM Music Wraps Up Stage 4:00 PM Finish Off That Last Beer Exit Time Event Location 7:00 AM Morning Volunteers Arrive Volunteer Tent 8:00 AM Check-In Opens Check-In Tent 8:00 AM Music Starts Stage 9:00 AM First Wave Goes Off Starting Line 11:30 AM Afternoon Volunteers Arrive Volunteer Tent 1:00 PM Last Wave Goes Off Starting Line 1:00 PM Awards Ceremony Stage 2:30 PM Music Wraps Up Stage 3:00 PM Finish Off That Last Beer Exit 10 R u g g e d M a n i a c N e w J e r s e y
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