The Mud Run was exactly what I was looking for. It was a 5K race like all the others, but it was different. First, it was in Wickham Park – practically in our backyard. Second, it had obstacles – twenty-two to be precise. I’ve always thought obstacle courses would be a blast to run. And third, it had mud. If obstacles are fun, then obstacles with mud are even better!
I signed up for the race about two months early. I started Insanity for the third time (this time, Susan is doing it, too). I probably should have thrown in some running training, too, since there would be running involved in the race.
The day of the race arrived. I got up early so I’d have time to eat something, but not feel uncomfortable at race time. I arrived at the park before 8:00 and signed the required waiver. They gave me a green wrist band, which meant I was part of the 9:40 wave of runners.
To pass the time, I watched earlier waves of runners cross the finish line and hit the slip ‘n slide. As my wave time inched closer, my nerves started to tingle like I hadn’t felt in years. I stretched out and warmed myself up as good as I could before they called us to the starting line. There were probably 50 or more racers in my wave. I lined up near the front to ensure a quick passage through the first obstacle.
The race started and we all ran toward the first obstacle. It was a ditch that was covered by a grid of PVC pipe and filled with water. There were four paths through the pipework, so you had to choose one and hurry through before it became too crowded. This was a great first obstacle. It was easy and it was also very refreshing. From that point forward, we were dripping wet.
Shortly after, we arrived at a set of four large plastic pipes about 25 feet long, partially filled with dirt. They were large enough that it only required a medium lean to get through.
And then it was past the campers to the series of three increasingly tall walls. By this time, I was feeling pretty winded – not a good sign at this early stage of the run. I heard footsteps behind me and wanted to get over the walls before the crowd, so I willed myself over the four, five, and six feet tall walls.
Next was a short jog to the spider web obstacle, which was a bunch of strings that you had to go over or under. It reminded me of the lasers you’d see as the security system in a high tech bank vault. The volunteer suggested I try the right side and I agreed that it looked the easiest.
Now it started to really get difficult. I was now out in the natural part of the park where the trails are sandy and there is little shade. To make things worse, the obstacles were much further apart.
After clearing a set of five four-foot hurdles, I reached the first mud pit. The mud pit was filled with water and covered by orange plastic streamers, forcing you to crawl under on all fours or on your belly. They called it a mud pit, but I wouldn’t call it mud. Florida dirt is at least half sand, so it was really just dirty sand. Crawling though it was not the effort one would expect from gooey, sticky mud, but more like crawling along in the surf at the beach. There was very little resistance, and the sand was rough on the knees.
Next came the cargo net. I was now falling behind and had to wait for others to climb the net. I took the right side approach, which turned out to be a good choice because the ropes were sagging in the middle, making the last step much larger than at the sides.
I was now into the hardest part of the course. There were very long gaps between the next obstacles and I was too tired to run. I tried to keep up a nice fast walking pace. Others were feeling it too. My walk was about the same as other’s run. Since I know this park, I knew how far I had to go based on certain landmarks, like the tree line at Croton Avenue and the lights of the soccer fields, so I wasn’t too discouraged by the distance.
After a long, brisk walk and a few more hurdles, I was heading back toward the finish line, but I still had half the obstacles in front of me. My quads and calves were screaming every time I started running toward another obstacle.
I went over two more sets of four foot hurdles and a set of low sand piles before reaching an odd looking obstacle. It looked like a dry mud pit. The guy in front of me stepped over the ribbons, so I did the same. Looking at the course map now, I guess we were supposed to crawl under that one, too. Oops.
Finally, I reached the second mud pit. The volunteers here was very encouraging. I went through quickly and splashed mud everywhere for the camera and made a pretty nice scrape on my right knee. On the other side, they had water. Ah, a nice drink of clean, cool water with my dirty, dripping, grungy hands. It was just what I needed.
At this point, I could actually hear the finish line activities, even though I still wasn’t out of the woods. I did even more hurdles along the back side of the youth campsites before finally making it back out into civilization (and off the sandy trails). At this point, families with young children started passing me.
Once again, I felt the pressure to not look like a tired old man in public, but my body didn’t care about such things. I walked onward toward the finish line, over the huge pile of dirt. Then came the tire carry and another wall to climb.
The next two obstacles were the hardest physically. The course veered off into the lake in two places, requiring a long walk in knee deep water. I don’t care how much energy you have, this would be tough. But it sure felt nice to rinse off some of the sandy dirt and splash water on my head.
Now there was an obstacle free path to the finish line. I saw Andrew and Susan waiting for me, so I pushed with everything I had left and ran to the finish line. The only thing left to do was hit the slip ‘n slide. I ran as fast as I could. I saw a huge puddle in the middle and I wanted to hit it. I dove forward like I was coming in to home plate. My chest hit the ground first. I was sliding quickly toward the puddle. I made it to the puddle and beyond, making a great splash for the spectators. I rolled over onto my back in complete exhaustion, and also a fair amount of pain. Not from my legs or knee, but from my ribs, where I landed on them. I quickly realized that I’m not as young as I once was and that I may be paying for that dive for some time.
The volunteers gave me a participation medal and I had my picture taken at the finish line. I believe Andrew clocked me at 35:33. Not bad, especially considering my previous unofficial time was over 38 minutes, on smooth pavement.
Looking forward, I’d like to do more official events, perhaps one a month, hopefully with Susan and maybe even Andrew. Andrew is all jazzed up about doing another mud run with me.
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