Running Down a Dream is a recurring challenge from Survivor. It debuted in Survivor: Edge of Extinction and has since re-appeared in Winners at War, Survivor 41, and Survivor 45.
Rules[]
Castaways must toss two balls into an overhead track and navigate through tripwires to catch the ball before it hits the ground. Once both balls have been caught, they must dig their way under a log with their two balls before accomplishing a final task.
History[]
United States[]
When the challenge debuted in Edge of Extinction as a Reward Challenge, the final portion was taken from the Matt Finish challenge, in which the castaways had to land their two balls on a narrow perch. In a race to land their final ball on the perch, Gavin Whitson was ultimately able to edge out Aurora McCreary and Victoria Baamonde to win reward.
In Winners at War, the challenge was used as an Immunity Challenge, where the final portion was a slide puzzle depicting the season's logo. In a race between most of the tribe, Nick Wilson managed to solve the puzzle first, winning immunity and two Fire Tokens.
The challenge was used as a Reward Challenge in Survivor 41, with the Edge of Extinction set up being adapted for tribal use. Each tribe member had to toss a ball one at a time into the overhead track. After all four members caught their ball, they must dig under a log, then land each ball on a narrow perch. Luvu suffered a blowout defeat after Heather Aldret struggled with catching her ball, allowing Ua, then Yase, to cruise to victory.
The challenge reappeared in Survivor 45 as a tribal Reward Challenge, with the end portion being changed to having to land a coconut in a basket before landing three rings on a target. Though the tribes were mostly even during the track portion, Kaleb Gebrewold managed to land the three rings first for Lulu to give them their first challenge win of the season, a large basket of fruit, and the right to raid another tribe's camp. Austin Li Coon landed all three rings for Reba shortly after, giving them second place.
Australia[]
In Brains v Brawn (2021), this challenge was used as the first part of the fifth tribal Immunity Challenge. The tribes had to open a hatch to release nine balls down a ramp; all tribe members will then race across a series of obstacles, attempting to collect one ball each before the balls touch the ground. Any tribe members that do not catch a ball in time must try again. Once everyone has a ball, they will roll their ball up a ramp and into a chute. After everyone has landed a ball in the chute, the tribe would bring their balls and race through a mud pit to a final station. Each member must land a ball on an overhead triangular frame. The first tribe to land all nine balls wins. Though Brains had an early lead, George Mladenov struggled haplessly at the ramp, opening the door for Brawn to win in a blow-out and break their streak of immunity losses.
South Africa[]
The challenge was used as the final six Immunity Challenge of Return of the Outcasts. At the end of the challenge, the castaways had to solve the pyramid puzzle from A Bit Dinghy. As Killarney Jones and Marian de Vos found themselves stumped by the ball catch, the men of the Salan tribe struggled with the puzzle. Ultimately, Phil Dickson beat out puzzle expert Dino Paulo and won his third individual Immunity Challenge.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Edge of Extinction "Idol or Bust" |
Individual Reward |  Gavin Whitson |
| Winners at War "The Penultimate Step of the War" |
Individual Immunity |  Nick Wilson |
| Survivor 41 "They Hate Me 'Cause They Ain't Me" |
Tribal Reward |     Ua |
    Yase | ||
| Survivor 45 "No Man Left Behind" |
Tribal Reward |     Lulu |
      Reba |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| All Stars Episode 23 |
Individual Immunity |  David Genat |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 5 |
Tribal Immunity |          Brawn |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Return of the Outcasts "Our Little Alliance" |
Individual Immunity |  Phil Dickson |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The name of this challenge is a reference to the song "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty.
References[]