Fifth Wee Warrior Dash draws huge crowd
Sam Michael’s Park was the location for the fifth annual Wee Warrior Dash on Saturday, Nov. 7. Wee Warriors are simply children who turned out to run through an obstacle course.
Organized by Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, this free event with partnering entities Freedom’s Run, Two River Treads, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation and Shenandoah Heating and Air, drew in close to 300 participants.
The obstacles ranged from running through a field of pumpkins, crawling under netting, over hay rolls and running through tires as the course zig-zagged through a significant portion of the park.
“Obstacle racing is huge and it the largest growing sport in the world,” Cucuzzella said. “As a child we all loved to jump over things, climb over things, crawl through things and challenge ourselves with obstacles.”
Over the last five year, many people have contacted Cucuzzella about how to do this type of event in their communities.
“It’s pretty simple, just grab a bunch of stuff from farmers and put it out on the course,” he said.
Many of the children were as young as two or less while there were just as many older children participating. After completing the course, each runner received a ribbon in recognition of their achievement.