The Spring Dash has been run in perfect weather, Bloomsday is next Sunday and the season to swim, bike and run has started. There are so many different races to participate in over the next few months, I have decided to include one group that is sometimes overlooked. There is one category of racing, if you can call it racing, that I covered about a year ago in one of my columns. That would be the Dirty, Warrior and Spartan or sometimes referred to as mudder runs.

These events are a lot of fun, but in some cases pretty hardcore: 5K or more obstacle courses designed to test your endurance, strength, stamina and get you very dirty. Here are three different events and some locations and dates they are happening.

The Dirty Dash

This one is closest to home with the 4-mile Dirty Dash at Riverside State Park in Spokane on June 16. The Dirty Dash can be best described has a barely controlled chaotic boot camp style obstacle course meets costumed dressed flash mob on steroids insanity.

Lots of mud, plenty of running, crawling through culverts, jumping really large hay bales, climbing walls and did I mention mud! Oh and somewhere out on the course is beer. I ran this race last year and I only saw the aftermath of the on-course beer stop, so I guess this year I need to run a bit faster before it's gone. The Dirty Dash is super fun and they do record your finish time, but the process is very basic. The next closest Dirty Dash event is in Missoula on Sept. 15. Check it out at: thedirtydash.com

The Warrior Dash

This event is very well organized and they have a few more rules than the Dirty Dash. The Warrior Dash course is 5K with extreme obstacles where you must climb over barricades, leap wrecked cars, jump across fire pits and crawl through mud under barbwire to name a few. Of course, there is still plenty of running to tire you out before you hit the obstacle areas.

This race can be best described as military training meets the Viking hoard. Again, lots of fun and lots of people dressed in costumes looking like a bad remake of "Brave Heart" with hairy men in skirts minus their swords! The closest Warrior Dash event is near North Bend, Wash., on July 21 and 22 and the other near Bonney Lake, Wash., on Sept. 22. The Warrior Dash does provide chip timing, so it is a bit more competitive and breaks down times by age groups. Check it out at: warriordash.com

The Spartan Race

These events seem to be the most demanding. There are various versions for these events from Spartan Sprint 5K with 15 obstacles, to 8-mile races up to a 26-mile Ultra Spartan. The longer the race is, the more obstacles there are to handle. There is all the standard mud, fire, barbwire and barricades to climb, plus pulling heavy weights over distance and throwing spears. Toward the end of the race, you must get by large guys with padded pugil-sticks before you can cross the finish line. The closest of these events is in Washougel, Wash., on June 16. There is another planned for Kalispell, Mont., May 11, 2013. Check it out at: spartanrace.com

Now ask yourself this, are you crazy enough to do one of these events? Then consider how to best train and prepare to survive the course.

The training:

Be sure you can run or at minimum walk/crawl 5K to 10K, depending on which race you do. I strongly recommend running intervals until you can't run or walk. Practice your best belly crawl for at least a quarter mile. Do lots of push-ups and even more pull-ups to get yourself over the walls and cargo nets. Then find a playground where you have to combat small children for the monkey bars and no crying when they push you down and scrape your knee.

There has never been a better reason to get fit and have fun. Now get out there and sign up for at least one of these events and have an amazing experience!

Judd Jones is the regional production director with Hagadone Newspapers. He can be reached at jjones@cdapress.com.