Mud Run Results

Saturday I ran in my first mud run. I had registered for it before I found out I was pregnant, and had been debating whether to go through with it or not. My doctor said as long as it feels good to keep running, I can, so despite the cold and possibility of freezing rain, I decided to give it a go.

But what do you wear in a race of indeterminate length when you're going to be crawling through the mud, splashing through puddles, maneuvering obstacles, and climbing a 6' wall and a 12' pile of hay bales?

I opted for the old running shoes I've been wearing when I paint, old long johns I purchased as a college freshman from an Army surplus store, a running skirt for modesty, a tech shirt that I think is ugly (it was on clearance, and looked a lot cuter on the rack), and an old fleece I picked up at Goodwill. I wasn't sure if any of my clothes would get ruined, so I only wore things I wouldn't be too sad to lose. As it turned out, my clothes fared a lot better than I was afraid they would.

I can only guess that the organizers of this race scheduled it in February because it would add an element of fun or adventure. I'm not so sure about that. I think we were all trying as hard as possible not to get too wet or muddy since the temps were in the mid-30s. If it had been summer, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Once I arrived, I finally found out that the race was a smidge longer than 4 miles (I couldn't find anything online saying how long the race was, so I was going into this blind). Overall, the race was fun, with most of the obstacles in the first mile and a half. Unfortunately, they didn't stagger the beginning and those of us not at the very front ended up having to wait our turn to go over the first 3 or 4 obstacles. All told, I probably lost about 20 minutes standing and waiting. I wasn't too concerned though, since I wasn't going for a time, I was just trying to finish.

I will say that those who are taller had an advantage over those of us who are short. Luckily people were nice and helped those around them (including me) get over the obstacles that were too tall for us.

I didn't get too muddy till the second mile, but most of it washed off when we went through a culvert under the highway (!) at the third mile marker. I collected a bit more mud during the third mile, but not much.

This puts my total races for the year up to 3: a 5k, a half marathon, and now a 4 miler.

Will I run this race next year?
I don't know.

Will I run a mud race when it's warmer?
Most likely.

Have you run a mud race?