Overall Production: Very very small trail race. Across all three distances there were only 71 runners - 28 of them running the 5K. That said, there were two sets of … MORE
Overall Production:
Very very small trail race. Across all three distances there were only 71 runners – 28 of them running the 5K. That said, there were two sets of races that day. The morning session (called the Flight of Fire) had substantially more runners at 143 across all distances. Many of the runners during the night runs (Night of Fire) were repeat runners from the morning. However, there was unique swag for each event and they were treated as truly separate events, although the courses were entirely the same.
Packet pick-up:
For a production this small the packet pick-up was completely pain-free. I showed up about 45 minutes before my run and was able to pick up the packet without any line. The packet itself consisted of the bib and the swag beanie cap.
Swag:
During the morning run (Flight of Fire) the company (Triple Dare) opted to give out t-shirts. For the Night of Fire, they instead gave out beanies with the race logo embroidered on it. One thing that runners have no shortage of is typically race t-shirts. So I certainly enjoyed them doing something different. Plus, the beanie feels very high quality and I certainly will use it. Maybe not much around town here in Las Vegas….perhaps never actually. But when I go see family in MInnesota it will come in handy!
Course:
This was the second year for the Night of Fire and the plan was to run the race in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon again after having done so in 2018. Unfortunately, a few weeks before the race it was announced that because of BLM concerns they had been forced to relocate the race to the Whitney Mesa in Henderson. The Mesa is a park surrounded by housing subdivisions in Southern Nevada. But it truly is a large elevated Mesa that towers above the surrounding structures with a nice flat plateau on top once ascended. So while you’re technically in the middle of a neighborhood, once you got on the Mesa you totally forgot that was the case. The race started with a mixture of some paved tops and trail. After about the first mile though the ascent began, shifting to pure trails that rose to the top of the Mesa. By this time the sun had gone down enough that the beautiful lights of the city, including the Vegas strip in the distance, were plainly and gorgeously visible all around the runners from our perch atop the Mesa. Many runners stopped to take photos. Nothing about the run was especially technical, with mostly flat trails until the descent at the very end encompassing the last quarter mile of the run. By this time it had become much darker and, while still visible with the naked eye, a headlamp started to assist some. The grade was very steep, it was single track, and consisted of a fair amount of loose gravel. The runner in front of me had to walk much of this portion which meant that I walked as well. It certainly was a dangerous portion that required careful footing. However, soon enough I was flying down the remaining downhill off the Mesa and very quickly across the finish line in the same place that we started. One thing of note, I was told by the 10K and Half Marathon runners that the second half of the course (which I did not run) was distinctly more technical in the trail elements. This is something you should always be aware of during any kind of trail run – sometimes they’re far less tame than simply a hilly road race. But that’s all part of the fun, right?!
Water and Aid Stations:
Very basic stations with water for 5K runners (I believe they had more for the half marathoners). Cups were available, but limited as they were aiming for a largely cupless race. Most runners carried packs or water bottles.
Crowd Support:
Not much crowd support at all. Again, as is typical with trail races, much of the race is run through more rustic areas. Plus, it wasn’t an especially large race to begin with, which naturally leads to smaller crowds just in general. However, the comraderie among the various runners was excellent. As people passed me going the other direction we invariably always urged each other on. It was an awesome community of people all embracing the suck together.
Finishers Medal:
Trail races definitely march to their own beat and often have a distinct flavor from more traditional road races. This is certainly evident in the unique finishers medals that Triple Dare always does. They are not made of the traditional metal that most runners are used to, but are actually made from wood that is laid on in layers to give the medals a real 3-D pop. They also don’t have the traditional ribbon that goes around your neck but instead use colored nylon cord (type 3 nylon/550 cord). I saw pictures of them in advance and was skeptical, but it’s definitely one of my very favorites now that I’ve seen it in person. The only knock might be that it doesn’t distinguish between distances. But they’re really fun wooden medals.
Post-Race Snacks:
Extensive. They had a couple of kegs of beer, several dozens of Pizza Hut pizzas, fruit, a wide variety of different energy drinks and other sundries. After the race the runners largely hung out for an extended period of time and enjoyed each other’s company over some beer and pizza. The same comraderie I felt on the trail was very evident afterwards. Plus it was small enough that you could actually find the people you’d chatted with before the race and seen on the trail.
Results:
Tracking was done via an adhesive tracker that was pre-attached to your race bib. They gave out awards to the top 3 of each sex, but they did not publicly post the results during the race. I had my Garmin results and had a very good idea of what my time was. I’m sure I could have asked somebody for the official time if I really was that intrigued, but I just didn’t care. Official results were posted to their website later that night and an email went out.
So would I do it again?
Without hesitation. There was a really nice blend of things in this race. The charms of a trail running race doing things a little different than the typical road race. An especially strong feeling of comraderie amongst the runners made somewhat more intimate by the smallness of the event. Great scenery. A really fun medal. Even the cost was quite reasonable (and they discount the races even more for veterans). If you have a chance to run a Triple Dare event I’d definitely give it a go.
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Fun-loving trail fanfare
Overall Production: Very very small trail race. Across all three distances there were only 71 runners - 28 of them running the 5K. That said, there were two sets of … MORE
Overall Production:
Very very small trail race. Across all three distances there were only 71 runners – 28 of them running the 5K. That said, there were two sets of races that day. The morning session (called the Flight of Fire) had substantially more runners at 143 across all distances. Many of the runners during the night runs (Night of Fire) were repeat runners from the morning. However, there was unique swag for each event and they were treated as truly separate events, although the courses were entirely the same.
Packet pick-up:
For a production this small the packet pick-up was completely pain-free. I showed up about 45 minutes before my run and was able to pick up the packet without any line. The packet itself consisted of the bib and the swag beanie cap.
Swag:
During the morning run (Flight of Fire) the company (Triple Dare) opted to give out t-shirts. For the Night of Fire, they instead gave out beanies with the race logo embroidered on it. One thing that runners have no shortage of is typically race t-shirts. So I certainly enjoyed them doing something different. Plus, the beanie feels very high quality and I certainly will use it. Maybe not much around town here in Las Vegas….perhaps never actually. But when I go see family in MInnesota it will come in handy!
Course:
This was the second year for the Night of Fire and the plan was to run the race in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon again after having done so in 2018. Unfortunately, a few weeks before the race it was announced that because of BLM concerns they had been forced to relocate the race to the Whitney Mesa in Henderson. The Mesa is a park surrounded by housing subdivisions in Southern Nevada. But it truly is a large elevated Mesa that towers above the surrounding structures with a nice flat plateau on top once ascended. So while you’re technically in the middle of a neighborhood, once you got on the Mesa you totally forgot that was the case. The race started with a mixture of some paved tops and trail. After about the first mile though the ascent began, shifting to pure trails that rose to the top of the Mesa. By this time the sun had gone down enough that the beautiful lights of the city, including the Vegas strip in the distance, were plainly and gorgeously visible all around the runners from our perch atop the Mesa. Many runners stopped to take photos. Nothing about the run was especially technical, with mostly flat trails until the descent at the very end encompassing the last quarter mile of the run. By this time it had become much darker and, while still visible with the naked eye, a headlamp started to assist some. The grade was very steep, it was single track, and consisted of a fair amount of loose gravel. The runner in front of me had to walk much of this portion which meant that I walked as well. It certainly was a dangerous portion that required careful footing. However, soon enough I was flying down the remaining downhill off the Mesa and very quickly across the finish line in the same place that we started. One thing of note, I was told by the 10K and Half Marathon runners that the second half of the course (which I did not run) was distinctly more technical in the trail elements. This is something you should always be aware of during any kind of trail run – sometimes they’re far less tame than simply a hilly road race. But that’s all part of the fun, right?!
Water and Aid Stations:
Very basic stations with water for 5K runners (I believe they had more for the half marathoners). Cups were available, but limited as they were aiming for a largely cupless race. Most runners carried packs or water bottles.
Crowd Support:
Not much crowd support at all. Again, as is typical with trail races, much of the race is run through more rustic areas. Plus, it wasn’t an especially large race to begin with, which naturally leads to smaller crowds just in general. However, the comraderie among the various runners was excellent. As people passed me going the other direction we invariably always urged each other on. It was an awesome community of people all embracing the suck together.
Finishers Medal:
Trail races definitely march to their own beat and often have a distinct flavor from more traditional road races. This is certainly evident in the unique finishers medals that Triple Dare always does. They are not made of the traditional metal that most runners are used to, but are actually made from wood that is laid on in layers to give the medals a real 3-D pop. They also don’t have the traditional ribbon that goes around your neck but instead use colored nylon cord (type 3 nylon/550 cord). I saw pictures of them in advance and was skeptical, but it’s definitely one of my very favorites now that I’ve seen it in person. The only knock might be that it doesn’t distinguish between distances. But they’re really fun wooden medals.
Post-Race Snacks:
Extensive. They had a couple of kegs of beer, several dozens of Pizza Hut pizzas, fruit, a wide variety of different energy drinks and other sundries. After the race the runners largely hung out for an extended period of time and enjoyed each other’s company over some beer and pizza. The same comraderie I felt on the trail was very evident afterwards. Plus it was small enough that you could actually find the people you’d chatted with before the race and seen on the trail.
Results:
Tracking was done via an adhesive tracker that was pre-attached to your race bib. They gave out awards to the top 3 of each sex, but they did not publicly post the results during the race. I had my Garmin results and had a very good idea of what my time was. I’m sure I could have asked somebody for the official time if I really was that intrigued, but I just didn’t care. Official results were posted to their website later that night and an email went out.
So would I do it again?
Without hesitation. There was a really nice blend of things in this race. The charms of a trail running race doing things a little different than the typical road race. An especially strong feeling of comraderie amongst the runners made somewhat more intimate by the smallness of the event. Great scenery. A really fun medal. Even the cost was quite reasonable (and they discount the races even more for veterans). If you have a chance to run a Triple Dare event I’d definitely give it a go.