Mud, Mud Everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE)

The mud run took so much out of me that it's taken three days for me to finally sit down to write about it. What an exhilarating and bizarre experience - I highly recommend it.

My sister Vanessa and I got up Saturday morning, put on our custom-made shirts, packed a change of clothes, towels, trash bags, hockey tape, everything we thought we needed to survive a day of mud. Did I mention it was freezing cold and rainy too? Oh yes . . .

After a nauseating hour on the DC Metro we finally made it to our destination. We both felt giddy with excitement and nervousness.  What had we gotten ourselves into? As we disembarked from the shuttle bus we encountered the first waves of runners who had already been through the course. Mud-drenched people walked past us on all sides. They were so thick with mud it was difficult to tell whether they were male or female, young or old, light or dark-skinned. I suddenly felt like mud was the great equalizer. Wow, cover everyone in mud and all of a sudden we are all the same!  Amazing. We passed rows of people rinsing off in the free-standing showers and faucets next to dumpsters already overflowing with discarded mud-soaked items and we both shivered a bit, thinking of the discomfort to come.

We checked in, wrapped our shoes with Jack's hockey tape to keep them from falling off in the mud pits, visited the porta-potties one last time and then joined the mass of people in front of the stage for the big warm-up before the race. Every half hour another wave of people would take off and disappear around the lake. An energetic Latino guy onstage led each subsequent wave of runners through a frenzied warm-up routine. Vanessa and I leaped and shuffled and danced along, laughing hysterically at all the crazies around us dressed in nutty costumes.  These guys made us laugh the hardest . . .

Then it was time to go. We all cheered as we started to run. The first mile or so were fairly uneventful. We reveled in the fresh coolness of the air and the creatively dressed people who ran past us. We heard someone behind us singing "I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me" and suddenly Garth from Wayne's World was passing us, his whole group singing "Bohemian Rapsody" and practically dancing up the hill. A couple ran past us with shirts that said "Mudder" and "Fodder". Several superheroes were on the trail as well as two girls wearing bikinis over their stretch pants. We were so entertained we forgot we were exerting ourselves.

Then we encountered our first obstacles: fences to climb, tires to run through, tunnels to crawl through, nothing too hard. I began to wonder where the mud was.

Suddenly we came upon our first lake crossing. Wading through water, how hard could that be? Pretty hard, we realized as we stepped into the lake and our feet kept going down, down into the sludgy bottom of the water. Ugh - now I understood why people suggested duct-taping our shoes to keep them from coming off. We trudged through the muddy water, waist deep in some area, slipping and sliding as we clung to ropes stretched across the surface. As we emerged I realized that now the lower half of my body was ice cold. We ran faster.

But what's this? Another lake crossing? Piece of cake, been there done that, right? Think again. This time the water came up to our necks. A few timid souls actually turned around halfway and came back out again, taking the long way around the end of the lake to avoid going into the deep water. My sister and I pressed on. We weren't in this to chicken out. Each step was a surprise - one second we were sinking, the next we were falling over because we were thrown off balance by a shallow spot. Several people completely ate it. This time as we climbed out of the lake we were sopping wet from head to toe.

Still not too muddy though. The muddiest part came at the very end of the race, where a huge mud pit awaited us right before the finish line. It wasn't so much mud as muddy, sludgy water with strings that you had to crawl under, thus ensuring that you would get completely muddy. We decided to hold hands and jump right in. The people who stepped in prissily and tried not to get too muddy were booed by the spectators in the beer garden, some of whom actually dipped their empty beer cups in the sludge and then hurled it at the mud-shy people. I don't blame them. Why sign up for a mud run if you're not going to get muddy? My sister and I got all the way in and crawled to the end.

BEFORE THE RACE . . .

AFTER THE RACE . . .

GRAB THOSE MUDDY BUNS!

I have to admit after looking at these pictures that we did not go full force and completely dive into the mud. Our heads and necks look fairly unscathed. Some people took a running start and got some serious air as they leaped into the mud pit. Here are some of my favorites . . .

This guy looks like he's sitting in a chair!

These guys got some serious air - that landing must have hurt

Love these superheroes - they're flying! I especially love the guy on the far left in full dive mode.

Before we hit the beer garden we decided to go rinse off in the free-standing shower area. The amount of muck that covered our bodies became all too apparent as we attempted to rinse it off. The water was freezing but we didn't care. We just wanted that stuff off our bodies! I finally kicked off my shoes and socks, took off my shirt and tried in vain to rinse underneath my shorts and sports bra without flashing anyone. A guy standing next to me was vigorously scrubbing his beard. It felt odd to be showering out in the open with all these random people.

Then I glanced up and realized that a clown was standing on the other side of the shower from me. A clown, taking a shower! I looked at him and said "My worst nightmare! There's a clown in my shower." He replied "Are you scared of clowns?" then he paused and added, "Clowns freak me out." His friend agreed and I realized he was a clown too. I'm not making this stuff up. It was a bizarre experience. Rolling around in mud and showering with clowns - not something that happens every day.

We finally got all the sludge off and somehow managed to get dressed in the women's changing tent without dropping any of our clean clothes on the muddy ground. We agreed that showering and changing had been more taxing than the actual run. Then we hit the beer garden and watched the rest of the lunatics jump into the mud pit. Pure entertainment - I could have watched that for hours.

I felt like I was on such a high that it took a day or two to recover. Vanessa and I decided that next year we're getting our husbands in on the action. There's nothing like a little mud to provide some serious bonding with your loved ones. I can't wait to do it again.