Philadelphia Merrell Down and Dirty 5k Mud Run 2010 Several months ago, the girls from the running store decided we wanted to do this race this summer. None of our guys -- just all the girls that work at the store where I am and our 2 sister stores. None of us had done a race like this before, and we decided to not really race it, but to just go and have fun.
This is a race with military style obstacles, a huge mud pit, and a great charity to support (one that sends care packages to military personnel). It was a hot day, it was a tough course, and it was LOTS of fun!
L and I went over to the race site early, got a parking spot and picked up our packets. We had lots of time to kill before the race (we originally planned on going to see friends doing a 24 hour race nearby, but changed those plans for a few reasons). I walked over to the 3 guys who were parked next to us and started chatting with them. Turns out they were taking this seriously -- the FUN part, that is! They were drinking beers and coffee with Baileys. They offered us a drink, and L and I decided to share in the fun. We joked about one of the guys wearing a speedo for this race, we bragged sarcastically about how well we were all going to do, and we sipped our spiked coffee. It was not even 7am.
This is a race with military style obstacles, a huge mud pit, and a great charity to support (one that sends care packages to military personnel). It was a hot day, it was a tough course, and it was LOTS of fun!
L and I went over to the race site early, got a parking spot and picked up our packets. We had lots of time to kill before the race (we originally planned on going to see friends doing a 24 hour race nearby, but changed those plans for a few reasons). I walked over to the 3 guys who were parked next to us and started chatting with them. Turns out they were taking this seriously -- the FUN part, that is! They were drinking beers and coffee with Baileys. They offered us a drink, and L and I decided to share in the fun. We joked about one of the guys wearing a speedo for this race, we bragged sarcastically about how well we were all going to do, and we sipped our spiked coffee. It was not even 7am.
Soon enough we headed to the race start and found our other two friends from the store. M and K and L and I lined up in the second wave and soon we were off! We ran over a grassy field and up a hill, then down to a flat section and about 3/4 of a mile into the run we got to our first military obstacle -- a rope climb. Up and over that, with military people yelling at us like we were new recruits. Getting over that obstacle was pretty easy, and soon we were on our way into the woods. Up a trail, and there was our next obstacle -- a series of 3 chest-high walls. No going around, no taking our time. The soldiers kept us moving!
Up more trail (now it's getting steep!) and over a mountain of hay bales. By about two miles in, M was starting to slow, and L went on ahead. K and I stayed with M, reassuring her this was not about time, or racing -- it was about having fun with friends. After a bunch of tough trail climbs, we eventually hit a steep downhill, rounded a corner, and were told we had about a half mile to go. And two more obstacles. The first was a tilted wall that we had to climb up and over. Jump up, grab the knotted rope, hope you don't slip down the wall that they've covered with shampoo. This was truly the only obstacle I was slightly nervous about, but it proved to be MUCH easier than I thought.. Once the three of us were over the wall, we rounded a corner and there was the mud pit!
Up more trail (now it's getting steep!) and over a mountain of hay bales. By about two miles in, M was starting to slow, and L went on ahead. K and I stayed with M, reassuring her this was not about time, or racing -- it was about having fun with friends. After a bunch of tough trail climbs, we eventually hit a steep downhill, rounded a corner, and were told we had about a half mile to go. And two more obstacles. The first was a tilted wall that we had to climb up and over. Jump up, grab the knotted rope, hope you don't slip down the wall that they've covered with shampoo. This was truly the only obstacle I was slightly nervous about, but it proved to be MUCH easier than I thought.. Once the three of us were over the wall, we rounded a corner and there was the mud pit!
With a series of 4 humps and troughs, and flag lines strung low across, and the military people yelling at us to GET ON YOUR BELLIES! (we were required to make our way through the pit doing a military crawl), this was gonna be messy. The troughs were filled with muddy water, and the second one I went through I actually had to dunk under. This is where the only problem of the day came in -- coming up over the next muddy hump, I realized there was mud in my eyes, and my contacts were gunked up. Eyes screaming, and trying to blink out the mud, I waited on the last hump for M and K, and we crawled out of the pit together and ran across the finish line. DONE! Tired, muddy, and smiling the whole way. We were handed our dog-tag style finisher's medal and a bottle of water. This was a fun run. 
L waited while I cleaned off my face and cleared out my lenses (note: med tents should have saline solution!), we found her sister, snapped some pics, and then made our way to the "showers". The showers were a great idea in theory, but in reality it was just a spigot with a bunch of hoses attached -- which meant zero water pressure. I stripped off my shirt, my shoes, and my socks, and threw them right in the trash. I tried to get as much mud off me as I could, but even shoving the hose into my bra and my shorts didn't clear all the mud. It was everywhere, and it was caked on. It was even in my ears! After making our way home, I showered and headed right to work. I looked up the results and WHOA! I was second in my age group! 72/1964 OA, 2/164 AG. My time was about 5 minutes off my PR, but it wasn't about time -- it was about doing something different, doing something fun, doing something with friends.
We got down and dirty, and had a great time!
