When my friends asked if Shane and I wanted to do a mud run, I thought, "how fun would that be?" I pictured us mud covered, laughing hysterically while trying to complete the next obstacle. Well the closer time came, I began analyzing exactly what I had gotten not only myself, but Shane into. (FYI, I have gotten really out of shape since the wedding, as I have heard most brides do. Still not an excuse!) Everyone that knows me, knows that I dont too much like to get dirty, well ever really! But I knew that if I went to get dirty, then I would be ok with it! So the mud didnt scare me, the barbed wire did!! How low would it actually be? I CAN NOT have scrapes on my legs!! I finally did the research, you know, the research that most do before they sign up! I discovered this list of obstacles...(if youre a frequent mud runner, you cant laugh at my anxiety from this list!)
Obstacles:
1. Bottomless Ravine: Designed to thin the crowd, you’ll take three trips in and out of this seventy-five foot deep ravine before crawling back to level ground!
2. Mud Climb: You’ll get dirty early when you have to bury yourself in the mud in order to get under our low lying logs then climb your way to the top of a super slippery thirty-foot mud slope – all the while being hosed by the Volunteer Fire Department!
3. Hay Jumper: You won’t hurdle these triple stacked hay bales in a single bound – you’ll need a sidekick to throw you over!
4. Pond Crossing: Sink or swim but one way or the other, you have to make it across our pristine pond using one of three greased ropes (an alternate trail is available for non-swimmers).
5. The Gauntlet: One hundred yards of mud tunnel crawling, log jumping, tire running and wall scaling – good luck!
6. Barn Dance: Our signature obstacle and best kept secret – you’ll have to run the course to see what awaits you on the second floor of this 6,500 square foot barn we like to call the humiliator!
7. Ludicrous Low Crawl: Low crawling isn’t hard enough so we added barbed wire and a 45 degree hill to weed out the jelly bellies!
8. Giant Slip-n-Slide: Make it this far and you’ve earned a little fun. Lie down, relax and let gravity do all the rest!
9. Polar Dip: It’s going to take a second wind to finish the race but you won’t catch it here. Jump into this tank full of below freezing water and make your way to the other side before going stiff!
10. Up and Over: Don’t come alone or you’ll be waiting – it takes teamwork to get over this twelve foot wall.
11. Flame Jumper: No, you don’t have to run across hot coals barefoot, but you do have to jump over them – three times!
12. Mud Pool: It wouldn’t be a photo op if you crossed the finish line clean so we give you one last mud bath before giving you your Almighty Finisher bracelet – Congratulations, you just completed the South’s Toughest 5K! You may now collapse.
Reading this I kept repeating, "It's for the orphans. It's for the orphans" and asking Shane what I was thinking?!! I know I sound whiney, but I was nervous!! Oh, and let me tell you about my superman husband...He went to work at 6pm Friday night, got home about 8 AM Sat morning and we went straight to the race, he did this with no sleep, then rested a little in his recliner (because you know he HAD to watch the Bama game), then he went back to work that evening.
Before-
The kids were not allowed to race, but they got to play in a mud pit after the race.
Our group is in the red
We had a babysitter there to watch our kids while we ran, and they were in the middle of the race near a few obstacles (a few of the easier ones to be exact!), so that is how we got a few pictures in action!
Polar Dip
Pretty muddy
I was very needy during this!
We read that it was good to wear cleats, so thats what Shane wore.
We had to tape our shoes on so that they wouldnt come off in the mud.
So the barbed wire could have been worse, we ended up rolling on our sides under it rather than crawling.
our team After!
Shane and I had already rinsed off!
Muddy boy!
The kids covered in mud!
We donated Cadens, but kept our own.
But not because we will ever do another one!! Ha! ONCE in a lifetime experience!!
All in all, it was a great experince with Shane, Caden, and a couple of racing buddies! I am trying to get back into my running though. Our church has a 5k/half marathon in March, and I am hoping to be trained up for the half by then. We shall see!
1 comment:
I was researching the Almighty run race and found your blog. Did you do alot of training before the race? I'm signing up for it this year and I'm nervous. Also do you have to be a great swimmer? Pictures looked like you had fun!
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