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ANW9 Rail Runner

American Ninja Warrior 9's Rail Runner in Denver

The Rail Runner is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9 in Denver.

Competitors have to hold a pair of handles and slide it to an 11-foot (3.35-meter) track with different angles, then they must make a 3-foot (0.91-meter) transition to another pair of handles and must slide again to an 11-foot track (also with different angles).

With the design of the handles being shaped like an inverted 'U', there were times when the handles could go lopsided on the rail (either go to the left or to the right).

During Denver qualifiers, the obstacle was proven to be brutal, as many competitors who did not have enough stamina to slide the handles, usually were moved back at a downward slope, delaying progress and depleting competitors' energy to hold on. A total of 23 competitors (such as Brian Arnold, Karson Voiles, Sam Sann, Michael Silenzi, Meagan Martin, Jeri D'Aurelio, Tammy McClure, Ben Antoine, Dalton Knapp, Yancey Quezada, and Michael Stanger) fell on this obstacle, and only eight competitors completed it. Ultimately, those eight competitors would become the only finishers, setting a record as the third lowest number of finishers during city qualifiers in American Ninja Warrior history (after American Ninja Warrior 13's First Qualifying episode (with 5 clears), and both American Ninja Warrior 13's Second Qualifying episode and American Ninja Warrior 7's Venice Beach qualifiers (with 7 clears).

Rail Runner Comparison

Comparison between the gap between the first and second rails of the Rail Runner during American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver qualifiers (top) and Denver finals (bottom)

A unique and painful elimination occurred during Denver qualifiers, when Brian Arnold hit the second rail with his nose while transitioning from the first pair of handles to the second, which was due to the second rail positioned lower than the end of the first rail. Because of that, during Denver finals, the second rail was moved higher than during Denver qualifiers to prevent that happened again (which made the end of the first rail was equally high with the start of the second rail). To adjust for difficulty as well, the gap between the two rails was increased to 3.5 feet (1.07 meters). As a result of this change, only four competitors failed on this obstacle: Kyle Wilson, Jeri D'Aurelio, Larissa Cottle (who attempted the obstacle for the first time as she failed the previous obstacle in qualifying) and Andrew Duncan (who completed this obstacle during Denver qualifiers).

Other Appearances[]

Australian Ninja Warrior[]

AusNW2 Rail Runner

Australian Ninja Warrior 2's Rail Runner

Aunw2 rail runner the tracks

Close inspection of the two sections of Australian Ninja Warrior 2's Rail Runner

On Australian Ninja Warrior 2, the Rail Runner appeared as the fifth obstacle in Stage Two, which was very similar to the one used during American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver finals (since the end of the first rail was almost equally high with the start of the second rail).

Ninja Israel[]

NWI2 Rail Runner

Ninja Israel 2's Rail Runner

On Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Rail Runner, locally called מסילת הכוח (literally Power Rail) appeared as the fifth obstacle in Heat 13 and Against the Route Heat, which look like the reverse version of the one used during American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver finals. Despite that, the obstacle was brutal, as it eliminated 7 out of 14 competitors who attempted it, with all eliminations on this obstacle occurring in Heat 13.

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG FNSP 2-First Stage-Obstacle-Rail Runner

Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 2's Rail Runner (Schienen-Sprung)

Although the obstacle was not used in any regular seasons of Ninja Warrior Germany, the Rail Runner (locally known as Schienen-Sprung, literally translated as Rail Jump) appeared in the Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 2 as the second obstacle in the First Stage, which was very similar to the one used during American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver finals (since the end of the first rail was almost equally high with the start of the second rail), except that the obstacle featured a laché bar, that was placed before the first pair of handles, therefore making that laché bar a medium to reach the first pair of handles.

The obstacle proved to be somewhat difficult, as three out of the 12 competitors who attempted this obstacle failed it, including Hioki Masashi, Oshima Ayano, and Céline Pignolet, resulting in this obstacle having the most eliminations out of any obstacle of that First Stage.

There was also a rather painful moment in this appearance of the Rail Runner, in which Satō Jun lost his balance at the very end of the obstacle and dislocated his left shoulder as he was dismounting from the obstacle. Right after that, however, he somehow managed to manually put his shoulder back in place and continue with his run.

Ninja Warrior France[]

Nwfr4 rail runner

Ninja Warrior France 4's Rail Runner

On Ninja Warrior France 4, Rail Runner appeared as the fourth obstacle of Path A of Oualification 2.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the NBC/Keshet 12/RTL broadcast and external information found.

American Ninja Warrior[]

ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW9 (qualifiers) 8 31 25.81%
ANW9 (finals) 21 25 84%
Total 29 56 51.78%

Ninja Israel[]

NWI Clears Attempts Percentage
NWI2 (Heat 13) 6 13 46.15%
NWI2 (Against the Route Heat) 1 1 100%
Total 7 14 50%

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG Clears Attempts Percentage
NWG: FNS2 9 12 75%
Total 9 12 75%

Trivia[]

  • The Rail Runner had a similar concept to the Battering Ram, as it consisted of an apparatus that competitors had to hold on to while moving down a track, as well as separate tracks, where it was difficult to make the transition from one apparatus to the other.
  • It was erroneously reported on ANWNation and NinjaGuide.com that Matt Wilder failed Rail Runner, when he was shown to have actually failed the obstacle before it, the Paddle Boards. As such, sources erroneously report that 24 athletes failed the obstacle when it's actually 23.
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