Mud Run Do's and Don'ts

Summer is finally here in the Mid-Atlantic! Along with warmer temperatures and sunny skies, summer means the season of obstacle races and mud runs. If you've never participated in one before, then you might be wondering, what exactly is a "mud run?" A mud run is an umbrella term for a race that usually involves mud, water, and obstacles. There are many different types and distances depending on the type of adventure you are looking for. Matthew and I have completed a variety of mud run races including Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, Savage Race, Cereb Run, Run for Your Lives, Spartan Race, Beast of the East, Rugged Maniac, and Merrell Down & Dirty. With that in mind, here are some tips to make your mud run an experience you won't forget!

DO research the event you'd like to participate in. 

I can't stress this one enough! Each event is different and some you may want to avoid based on the specifics of the course. For example, a Tough Mudder is between 10 and 12 miles and includes electric shocks, a greased-up half pipe, and lots of enclosed spaces and barbed wire. The Merrell Down & Dirty has two options (a 5k or 10k) and includes an inflatable slide, shallow mud pits, and tire flipping. One of these races is significantly more challenging than the other. Read race reviews, watch videos on You Tube, and look up previous year's courses online to get an idea of what the race may be like.

Matthew (in yellow) clamoring up the greased half pipe at Tough Mudder.

Super fun (and shallow!) mud pits at Merrell Down & Dirty Philadelphia.

DO wear something fun!

Disney isn't the only place runners like to dress up. Most mud runs will have many participants dressed in costumes, team shirts, or other attention-getting outfits. Join in the fun with a unique racing ensemble. Check out blogs, Pinterest, or previous events' pictures for ideas.

Tutu at Warrior Dash, Superman at Merrell, "Goonies Forever" at Warrior Dash

DON'T wear anything you don't mind getting muddy, wet, destroyed OR anything that will be uncomfortable when wet.

Remember, you'll be in water, mud, grass, sand, etc. and your race day outfit needs to work with you, not against you. You'll want to stick with technical fabrics- cotton holds onto water and tends to get very heavy when loaded down with mud. Also, loose-fitting clothing will inevitably stick to you and could hold you back as you are trying to navigate the obstacles. Form-fitting, technical fabrics have been the best thing I've found to race in. However, don't spend too much on these items- you may destroy or lose them. That tutu was ridiculously heavy in the Warrior Dash mud pit- I ended up throwing it away once I got out.

Lots of mud and lots of cotton- no bueno! 

DO get comfortable doing scary things.

All mud runs and obstacle races- regardless of distance or intensity- have some elements that are meant to "help" participants face their fears. Heights, enclosed spaces, electricity, water, fire- you name it and I'm sure there is an obstacle that features it. I never even knew I was afraid of heights until I had to scale 15 foot cargo nets! Most of these obstacles are relatively safe and good races have EMS, lifeguards, or other medical personnel at each obstacle just in case. If you're thinking about a mud run, be ready to conquer some of your greatest fears!

Cargo nets at Rugged Maniac.

 Matthew getting shocked by live wires at Tough Mudder.

Jumping over fire at Rugged Maniac.

Monkey bars over a five foot pit of muddy water at Savage Race.

Trust me, looking down this slide at Savage Race is crazy terrifying!

DON'T worry about failing to complete an obstacle.

There are just some obstacles that you won't be able to complete. For me, it's anything with monkey bars- I literally fall the minute I grab the second bar. But don't worry- lots of people struggle! The important part is to try- you'll never know what you're capable of if you don't at least give it a shot. There are some races where an alternative activity must be performed if you fail or want to skip an obstacle. At Spartan Race and Savage Race, you must complete 30 burpees if you don't complete an obstacle. Ugh. I try to avoid those races :-)

I fell about 3 seconds after Matthew took this picture (Beast of the East).

These walls are crazy impossible to finish! (Spartan Race)

DO bring a camera and/or spectators!

Most mud runs position the biggest obstacles next to the best spectator viewing spots so encourage your friends and family to watch you compete- as a spectator, it's really fun to watch people conquer them. And usually spectators can get some great pictures. Also, if you can, bring a waterproof camera- we usually use the disposable ones- you can get some great shots of the obstacles and the course.

I took this one while I was above Matthew on the cargo net- you can see the corner of my tutu!

Matthew looking like a BAMF on the Tough Mudder course.

Another great shot of Matthew at Tough Mudder.

Matthew got this great picture with a disposable camera at Warrior Dash.

DO realize the risk involved.

Despite all the effort put in by race directors to keep the runners safe, there is still inherent risk involved in participating. All the races we have participated in have required signing a release of liability form that states possible serious injury or death could occur as a result of participation. While we have walked away relatively unscathed- despite bumps, bruises, minor cuts, and a slight ankle sprain- there have been deaths at some of these events. Serious injuries and deaths aside, even a minor injury can hamper your ability to train for future competitive races. When training for the Dopey Challenge, I made the choice to not participate in any obstacle races simply because the risk of injury was too high and I was not willing to jeopardize my training for a mud run.  

DON'T leave a mudder behind!

One of the things that I LOVE about mud runs is the idea that they are not a race- they are a challenge. Runners are meant to help each other over the obstacles; not try to be the first one through them. I can't tell you how many times a fellow mudder has helped me scale a wall or helped pull me up when I'm too tired. It's always amazing to watch as someone scales a wall and then turns around to wait for someone that needs help. These events are absolutely team-oriented- even if you didn't start with a group, you will have teammates you've never met before at each obstacle. Likewise, it's your duty to assist anyone that needs help in any way that you can. Embrace a culture of cooperation; not competition :-)

Matthew (in yellow) helping a fellow runner up the half pipe at Tough Mudder.

DO celebrate your accomplishment!

Most mud runs have awesome after-parties with free beer, bands, and copious amounts of good food. Take full advantage of everything offered and revel in your newly-crowned, fear-conquering, bad ass status!

Warrior Dash 2013 finisher shirts.

2012 Finisher.

Enjoying a craft beer after Rugged Maniac.

While challenging, mud runs and obstacle courses are a great way to shake up your usual race routine. With a little planning, you can have a fun adventure while conquering your fears and earning lots of beer rewards!

QOTD: Have you ever run a mud run or obstacle course? If so, what are your do's and don'ts? If not, what's holding you back?

Race Recap & Review: Storm the Beach

On Sunday June 15th, Matthew and I competed in the Storm the Beach obstacle race in Nags Head, North Carolina. Since we are down here vacationing for a week, we decided to sign up for the five mile option. This race offered a .75, 3, or 5 mile option. Naturally, we had to pick the longest distance :-)

Sunday was a beautiful day for a race: mid-60's, partly sunny, with a slight breeze coming in off the ocean. The race started at 7:50 am and we arrived around 6:30 am to Jeanette's Pier. We had come in early because we still needed to pick up our packets- there had been a packet pick-up the night before but since we were staying about an hour away from the race, we didn't want to waste precious vacation time running all the way down the night before. Matthew emailed the race directors last week to ask about race-day packet pick-up because it wasn't clear on their website or emails if that would be an option. Then I called them, facebooked them, and tweeted at them- no answer. This race gets an "F" in pre-race communication. Why have social media accounts if you don't respond at least daily to them? On the facebook event page, some other participants had shared that there would be race-day packet pick-up. So Sunday morning, we drove down with hopes that we'd be able to race.

Everything turned out to be fine. They were even taking race-day registrations. We got our bibs, t-shirts, and swag bags- which were awesome, by the way. When we got our bibs, I saw that Matthew had put a special nickname on my bib- "Stinky." He's just hilarious :-)

Bring it.

Gorgeous day for a run.

Start line selfie!

After getting our bibs on and making sure our shoelaces were double-knotted, we lined up at the start. There weren't many people doing the five mile option- maybe 100 total. I'd soon find out why. After only a few minute delay, we were off! And I felt like I was running through peanut butter- for real, dry sand is just awful to run in. We trotted along, quickly becoming one of the last few people in our group. We quickly went through the first obstacles with no issues- just some things to crawl under/over- though I must say that army crawling through sand is pretty painful on knees and elbows.

Since we were doing an obstacle course, we didn't have a camera with us so I don't have any pictures of us on the course. We did get an email with the official pictures but there were only 17 of us- and all but two were of our backsides as we were crawling through a water/sand pit. There were over 20 obstacles but we only had pictures at one of them. Kind of a bummer especially since we were considering buying some of the pictures. Again, I'm giving the race an "F" in photography.

The rest of the course was challenging, mainly because of the sand. We did have to wade into the ocean chest-deep, drag a tire about 100 feet, flip a tire end-over-end, raise sand bags, crawl under surfboards, crawl through tubes- which was SUPER painful because of the sand grinding into your knees- in addition to running in soft sand. We tried to stay on the packed sand as much as possible but that created another problem- lots and lots of sand in our shoes making them super uncomfortable and heavy.

Course map with all the obstacles listed.

With about a quarter of a mile left, we took our shoes off and ran the rest of the way barefoot. The sand had become too much for us. One of the last obstacles, "The Fence Climb," scared the crap out of me. It was a series of three "fences" to climb of various heights. The tallest was about 15 feet. After the race, I was able to take a picture of it- it may not look like much but when you're at the top of it, it's a little nerve-racking.

Luckily there wasn't a line of people waiting when we went through.

We finished the race, got our super cool medals, and then headed to the car to clean up a bit. Then we went back to enjoy the post-race food and beer. I have to say, there was an incredible amount of food available to us- hot dogs, chips, cookies, granola bars, bananas, PB & J's, fruit, etc. There was also a local brewery giving out four (4!!) beers a piece to runners. And what was super cool was that our ages were already printed on our bibs- no need to show ID. "A+" for the race in the post-race department. Another cool thing- they listed our emergency contact person and phone number on the front of our bibs. Helpful and functional :-)

Matthew loves a good beer.

Lots and lots of food. 

So happy to be finished! And loving this cute beer opener medal. 

I also have to mention that the support during this race was incredible. I've never seen other runners so vocally supportive- every time we were passed (which was a lot- ha!), the runner would say "good job," or "looking good," or "great job." I can't say how much I appreciated it. It was a tough course and the extra encouragement went a long way in getting us to the finish line.

The volunteers were really awesome as well. There was a very cool woman dressed as a pirate walking around post-race handing out food- she was an absolute riot. All the race personnel we interacted with were phenomenal. Another "A" for volunteers and race personnel.

So. Much. Awesome.

After the race, we were able to explore our swag bag and were pleasantly surprised. We got a cool race t-shirt, a mini beer pint, sunglasses, a key chain, and of course- a really nice medal. Another "A" for race swag.

All in all, it was a fun and unique race. How often can you run five miles on the beach, including tons of fun obstacles including getting in the ocean? It was a first time for us and I'm sure we'll be back next year if it fits in our schedule.

QOTD: What's the most unique race you've ever done? What made it unique?