Mud Factor 5k 2012 race report.
Back to back weekends with 5ks? Crazy. But this was very different from last week's 5k, because it was one of those muddy, obstacle-ridden off-road 5k "races", where it's not timed and you're just out there to get muddy and have fun.
Karen invited me to join the group she was gathering to go do this ridiculous event, and it ended up being me, Karen, Ashlie and Tracy. We donned ridiculous matching outfits, got very lost out in BFE Manor trying to find the place, and then stood around shivering in the sunny-but-upper-40s weather waiting for our ridiculously late 11am wave to start.
Before the fun began, in our ridiculous outfits
When we finally got to line up to start, Karen pushed our way up near the front, because it appeared that many of these people were here to walk from obstacle to obstacle, but our strength is definitely running, so we didn't want to get stuck on the trail behind a bunch of people walking.
And so at 11am sharp, they sent us off, we set off running down the trail, and my pants immediately started to fall off. Ohyeah. THAT'S why I don't wear those capris to run usually. But I wanted the longer pants for knee-protection, and it ended up being fine other than having to hike up my pants every quarter mile or so.
The trail was mostly cut field, so very kind, but with lots of foot-high thick stalks that had been chopped off to dodge around. I was the only trail runner of the group, so I was out front with Karen, who's faster but not a trail runner. Also I was the only one who HADN'T already run 10 miles that morning. I had worn a long-sleeved shirt under my obnoxiously wonderful orange shirt, and even with the high 40s temps, I regretted wearing the under shirt, since it was warm with the sun overhead.
Running in a sunny field in ridiculous outfits
The obstacles were pretty fun:
- a series of 4 over/under walls, crawling under 2 and hoisting over 2
- a few very dry mud pits that were completely avoidable (though we did see one guy lose a shoe)
- a kinda crappy little ramp that was easy to run up, then jump off of
- cargo net climb up and then down the back
- rope climb that we were scared of, but didn't end up being bad
- a big mud pit that was also completely avoidable
- a tall wet slide into a little lake
Since it's not timed, why not stop and take a picture before tackling the cargo net?
I had been scared of congestion on the obstacles, but because we were running, there weren't that many other people around us. We could later see the obstacles we'd already done, and there was definitely congestion further back.
None of the obstacles were hard, though the cargo net and rope climb were probably harder for people with any heights fear. And they were definitely easier if you had some upper body strength. Actually I really enjoyed the obstacles, because they made me feel somewhat strong, which isn't common for me. And the whole thing made me want to go do one of the Real obstacle runs, like Tough Mudder. This was so very watered down from that that it was kinda silly. But it's also much more accessible to people who probably have no business doing something like Tough Mudder.
Some other dude getting photographed as we start our climb up the cargo net
So we got through all the obstacles just fine. We got to the last mud pit, the only place on the course that really had any mud at all, and we merrily stomped through it, shooting dirty looks at the people who were walking on the edges to avoid the mud completely. And right around the corner was the last obstacle: the slide. This was the only place where we encountered any congestion, because you had to climb up pretty high on some scaffolding, and only 2 people could slide at a time. So we were maybe 10-15 people back, and we stood there for a few seconds waiting, then we looked at each other and realized we were doing something with Mud in the title, we were almost done, and our shoes were the only things that were even vaguely muddy.
So we left the line and went back to the mud pit and slung mud at each other. Because what else are you gonna do? We threw mud and smeared it on each other and maybe threw some at other people who weren't muddy, and then we decided that we were sufficiently muddy, and went back to the slide. I may have hugged a stranger who said he was sad he wasn't muddier. His girlfriend didn't seem to mind.
Up the slide, and then Karen and I slid down together. I hadn't worn my sunglasses because I wasn't sure what the obstacles would be, and I didn't want to lose or ruin them, and so far I had only been sad, because it was sunny and I was squinty and nothing had threatened them. But them I was in deep, cold, muddy water, completely submerged, and though none of us lost glasses, the guy behind us out of the water did, so I was glad I hadn't taken the chance.
And done! We waited in line to get our picture taken by the event photographer, and then we immediately headed back to the car, forgetting about our free beer tickets, because we were now wet and it was still in the low 50s, and we really just wanted to be warm and slightly cleaner.
Cleaned up at the car so as not to filthify Karen's yellow school bus, and then headed home in half the time it took us to get out there, now that we knew the way.
Overall, I had a blast. It was a fun off-season adventure with fun people. I probably wouldn't even do this event again, though. It was expensive to sign up for, many hidden costs (pay for parking, pay if you wanted to check a back, pay AGAIN if you wanted to take out that bag and then put it back, no shirt unless you paid extra for it, etc), it took us about 24 minutes total, with trail running and obstacles, so it sure as hell wasn't a true 5k or even close, and you didn't even get muddy unless you went out of your way to do so. And unlike Women's Adventure Race back a billion years ago when I did it with (2004, evidently), they only had a photographer at one obstacle and after the finish line, so nobody was there to document all the silly crap we were doing. But I still had a great time! (Oh, the medals were nice, though, and solid, so we're pretty sure most of our entry fee went toward the medals.)
I definitely want to do something longer and harder now, though, like Tough Mudder. Fun!
Karen invited me to join the group she was gathering to go do this ridiculous event, and it ended up being me, Karen, Ashlie and Tracy. We donned ridiculous matching outfits, got very lost out in BFE Manor trying to find the place, and then stood around shivering in the sunny-but-upper-40s weather waiting for our ridiculously late 11am wave to start.
Before the fun began, in our ridiculous outfits
When we finally got to line up to start, Karen pushed our way up near the front, because it appeared that many of these people were here to walk from obstacle to obstacle, but our strength is definitely running, so we didn't want to get stuck on the trail behind a bunch of people walking.
And so at 11am sharp, they sent us off, we set off running down the trail, and my pants immediately started to fall off. Ohyeah. THAT'S why I don't wear those capris to run usually. But I wanted the longer pants for knee-protection, and it ended up being fine other than having to hike up my pants every quarter mile or so.
The trail was mostly cut field, so very kind, but with lots of foot-high thick stalks that had been chopped off to dodge around. I was the only trail runner of the group, so I was out front with Karen, who's faster but not a trail runner. Also I was the only one who HADN'T already run 10 miles that morning. I had worn a long-sleeved shirt under my obnoxiously wonderful orange shirt, and even with the high 40s temps, I regretted wearing the under shirt, since it was warm with the sun overhead.
Running in a sunny field in ridiculous outfits
The obstacles were pretty fun:
- a series of 4 over/under walls, crawling under 2 and hoisting over 2
- a few very dry mud pits that were completely avoidable (though we did see one guy lose a shoe)
- a kinda crappy little ramp that was easy to run up, then jump off of
- cargo net climb up and then down the back
- rope climb that we were scared of, but didn't end up being bad
- a big mud pit that was also completely avoidable
- a tall wet slide into a little lake
Since it's not timed, why not stop and take a picture before tackling the cargo net?
I had been scared of congestion on the obstacles, but because we were running, there weren't that many other people around us. We could later see the obstacles we'd already done, and there was definitely congestion further back.
None of the obstacles were hard, though the cargo net and rope climb were probably harder for people with any heights fear. And they were definitely easier if you had some upper body strength. Actually I really enjoyed the obstacles, because they made me feel somewhat strong, which isn't common for me. And the whole thing made me want to go do one of the Real obstacle runs, like Tough Mudder. This was so very watered down from that that it was kinda silly. But it's also much more accessible to people who probably have no business doing something like Tough Mudder.
Some other dude getting photographed as we start our climb up the cargo net
So we got through all the obstacles just fine. We got to the last mud pit, the only place on the course that really had any mud at all, and we merrily stomped through it, shooting dirty looks at the people who were walking on the edges to avoid the mud completely. And right around the corner was the last obstacle: the slide. This was the only place where we encountered any congestion, because you had to climb up pretty high on some scaffolding, and only 2 people could slide at a time. So we were maybe 10-15 people back, and we stood there for a few seconds waiting, then we looked at each other and realized we were doing something with Mud in the title, we were almost done, and our shoes were the only things that were even vaguely muddy.
So we left the line and went back to the mud pit and slung mud at each other. Because what else are you gonna do? We threw mud and smeared it on each other and maybe threw some at other people who weren't muddy, and then we decided that we were sufficiently muddy, and went back to the slide. I may have hugged a stranger who said he was sad he wasn't muddier. His girlfriend didn't seem to mind.
Up the slide, and then Karen and I slid down together. I hadn't worn my sunglasses because I wasn't sure what the obstacles would be, and I didn't want to lose or ruin them, and so far I had only been sad, because it was sunny and I was squinty and nothing had threatened them. But them I was in deep, cold, muddy water, completely submerged, and though none of us lost glasses, the guy behind us out of the water did, so I was glad I hadn't taken the chance.
And done! We waited in line to get our picture taken by the event photographer, and then we immediately headed back to the car, forgetting about our free beer tickets, because we were now wet and it was still in the low 50s, and we really just wanted to be warm and slightly cleaner.
Cleaned up at the car so as not to filthify Karen's yellow school bus, and then headed home in half the time it took us to get out there, now that we knew the way.
Overall, I had a blast. It was a fun off-season adventure with fun people. I probably wouldn't even do this event again, though. It was expensive to sign up for, many hidden costs (pay for parking, pay if you wanted to check a back, pay AGAIN if you wanted to take out that bag and then put it back, no shirt unless you paid extra for it, etc), it took us about 24 minutes total, with trail running and obstacles, so it sure as hell wasn't a true 5k or even close, and you didn't even get muddy unless you went out of your way to do so. And unlike Women's Adventure Race back a billion years ago when I did it with (2004, evidently), they only had a photographer at one obstacle and after the finish line, so nobody was there to document all the silly crap we were doing. But I still had a great time! (Oh, the medals were nice, though, and solid, so we're pretty sure most of our entry fee went toward the medals.)
I definitely want to do something longer and harder now, though, like Tough Mudder. Fun!