The Jeep Run is an obstacle that was firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 10, replacing Parkour Run from the previous season.
Competitors must first run across four stationary angled tires, which are arranged in a curve and angled differently. Then, they must jump to a "steering wheel" (a circular handhold attached to a swinging beam) and ride it 180 degrees clockwise around a curve. From there, they must transition to another handhold, which they must ride 90 degrees counterclockwise around a curve. Finally, they must make a 10-foot lache and dismount to a large spinning tire, which spins in the direction of the landing platform, and jump the landing platform.
Only three competitors (Ryan Stratis, Barclay Stockett, and Davyon Hancox) failed on the obstacle. However, it was a still a threat to contend with and much harder than its predecessor Parkour Run, as many competitors stumbled on either the run-up to the first handhold or on the spinning tire or struggled to build momentum between jumps.
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
On American Ninja Warrior 11, the Jeep Run returned as the fifth obstacle in Stage One, but it was renamed as the Tire Run. This time, the big tire was placed in between the two steering wheels. This meant that competitors had to dismount from the first steering wheel to the large tire, maintain their balance, and jump to the next steering wheel. In addition, the tires received an aesthetic modification.
The obstacle became more dangerous, as it eliminated eight competitors, including Allyssa Beird, Jody Avila, David Wright, and most shockingly, both Najee Richardson and Drew Drechsel. Both Richardson and Drechsel easily completed the Jeep Run on the previous season, and Drechsel later completed the obstacle thanks to the Safety Pass that he earned during Atlanta finals.
To note that this obstacle received the Tire Run name before its modification, as it was introduced as Tire Run during American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World 5 in the Team Competition.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
The Tire Run returned in the same position for American Ninja Warrior 13 with an aesthetic modification. The only modification to the obstacle's function itself was that the second steering wheel appeared to stop earlier compared to the previous season. Even though many competitors ended up pausing to redirect their momentum, this did not affect anyone's performance. This time, five competitors got eliminated, including Lance Pekus (who failed on the Burn Rubber on the previous season), Deren Perez, True Becker, Jonah Munoz, and Zhanique Lovett (who stumbled on the run-up, and also failed on the Burn Rubber on the previous season).
The obstacle was replaced by Tetherball in the next season.
Burn Rubber[]
A variation of Tire Run (called the Burn Rubber) appeared as the fourth obstacle during the first and second episodes of semifinals on American Ninja Warrior 12.
This version features three spinning tires, each offset 1 foot (30 centimeters) apart, 6 feet (1.83 meters) from the top of one tire to the next, and placed more to the right compared to the previous tire.
In the first semifinals episode, this obstacle took out four competitors: Zhanique Lovett, Glenn Albright, Nate Hansen, and Ashley McConville, and another four competitors in the second semifinals episode: Lorin Ball, Lance Pekus, Meagan Martin, Mady Howard.
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship[]
Burn Rubber returned as the fourth obstacle in the first Women's Championship. No one fell on the obstacle.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
On American Ninja Warrior 13, Burn Rubber appeared as the third obstacle during the second episode of qualifiers. This time, it was paired with the Broken Bridge as part of Split Decision. Only two competitors (Chris Crary and Jimmy Mikrut) failed on the obstacle. Additionally, Zhanique Lovett, who failed on this obstacle last season, attempted it again and successfully completed it.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
On American Ninja Warrior 14, Burn Rubber once again appeared as the third obstacle during the third episode of qualifiers. This time, it was paired with the Log Runner as part of Split Decision. Competitors favored the Log Runner over this obstacle. Some competitors such as Ethan Swanson, Kaden Lebsack, and Roo Yori did attempt the obstacle, and all of them completed it.
Other Appearances[]
Tire Run[]
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 7, the Tire Run, locally called Les Roues Inclinรฉes (literally Tilted Wheels) appeared as the third obstacle in Crossroads' Route A during Qualification 3 and 4, which was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 11, except that the ramp leading up to the first angled tire was removed, and the number of stationary angled tires were reduced to three due to limited space constraints that the course has compared to the American version.
Burn Rubber[]
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 5: Celebrity Special, Burn Rubber, locally called Reifenwechsel (literally Changing Tires) appeared as the first obstacle in Round 2. Compared to the version from American Ninja Warrior, the second tire was placed to the left of the first tire.
On Ninja Warrior Germany 6, Burn Rubber appeared as the first obstacle in Stage Two. With an identical specification to the special from the previous year. This obstacle only eliminated two competitors.
On Ninja Warrior Germany 7, a modified version of Burn Rubber appeared as the first obstacle of Stage One. This time, the three tires were arranged in a straight line (similar to Ninja Warrior Israel 4's version), and a ring was added right after the third tire. Accordingly, the obstacle was named Burn Rubber to Ring (locally called Reifenwechsel mit Ring). After reaching the third tire, competitors had to jump to the ring and use it to swing to the landing platform, making the obstacle was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior UK 6. This obstacle only took out one competitor. It also made a reappearance in the Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 3, as the first obstacle of Stage One with the same modifications and no ninja failed the obstacle.
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 6, the Burn Rubber, locally called Les Roues Motrices (literally Driving Wheels) appeared as the first obstacle of the qualification round. The obstacle had a similar configuration to its appearance on Ninja Warrior Germany 6.
Ninja Israel[]
On Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Burn Rubber, locally called ืืฉืจ ืืฆืืืืื (literally Tire Bridge) appeared as the third obstacle of the Heat 1, Heat 5, and Heat 9. Unlike American Ninja Warrior 12, all three tires were arranged in a straight line.
Ninja Warrior UK[]
On Ninja Warrior UK 6, the Burn Rubber appeared as the fourth obstacle during Round 1 in the Finals. The obstacle consists of 2 tires only, but the gap between the second tire to the landing platform was larger. Hence a ring was placed after the second tire as assistance.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
Jeep Run/Tire Run | |||
---|---|---|---|
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
ANW10 | 40 | 43 | 93.02% |
ANW11 | 48 | 56 | 85.71% |
ANW13 | 40 | 45 | 88.89% |
USA vs. The World 5 | 5 | 5 | 100% |
USA vs. The World 6 | 5 | 5 | 100% |
Total | 138 | 154 | 89.61% |
Burn Rubber | |||
---|---|---|---|
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
ANW12 (SF EP 1) | 22 | 26 | 84.62% |
ANW12 (SF EP 2) | 22 | 26 | 84.62% |
Women's Championship | 14 | 14 | 100% |
Total | 58 | 66 | 87.88% |
Trivia[]
- The Jeep Run was the third obstacle in American Ninja Warrior history to use a copyrighted name, with the other two obstacles (both were used to promote the upcoming movies) being the Ninjago Roll (which was used to promote The Lego Ninjago Movie) and Fallout (which was used to promote Mission: Impossible โ Fallout). However, this obstacle was the first of the three to promote a product/brand, which in this case, the Jeep Cherokee.
- Burn Rubber is directly named after automobile jargon, meaning to drive very fast to the point where the tires would heat up.
- The second half of the Tire Run (the presence of two handholds) resembled the Prism Strike from Ultimate Beastmaster, as both obstacles involved the competitors to ride horizontal-placed wheels across the curved tracks.
- This was likely due to the fact that the obstacle courses for both competitions were built by the same company, the ATS Team.
- The history of the Jeep Run's name and its relationship to Burn Rubber can be quite confusing: Even though the obstacle was initially called the Jeep Run, it is better known as the Tire Run, and it is often referred to as such.
- Furthermore, Burn Rubber could be considered a different obstacle altogether. Although the obstacle is derived from the Tire Run, it is so modified that it may very well be a distinct obstacle.