My Mud Running Journey, pt. 1

I've been mud running since 2011, though 2012 saw a long break from training and a complete lack of running partners. Here are the mud runs I've done so far:

June 2010 Boryeoung Mud Flats 5k (no obstacles, no solid ground, all mud)
4-16-11 Warrior Dash
6-5-11 Merrell Down & Dirty
6-25-11 Patriot Games
6-6-12 Gladiator Rock & Run
4-6-13 Hero Rush
6-1-13 Miles of Mud
9-7-13 Mud Factor

The Warrior Dash and Merrell Down & Dirty are my favorite two mud runs so far. The Warrior Dash was my first and was such a blast, was very well-organized, had unique obstacles, and had some of the best swag of any race. The Merrell Down & Dirty had a lot of Texas National Guard service members among its volunteers, including one shouting at us in his drill sergeant tone, "I want to see you smiling! You signed up for fun, so you'd better be having it!" It gave me a good chuckle on a long, hard slog between obstacles.

The Patriot Games, Miles of Mud, and Mud Factor were poorly organized at varying levels, frequently unsafe, and disappointing overall. Though I've heard that Patriot has since improved. These races inspire me to look more critically at upcoming events, to avoid inaugural races as much as possible, to stick to events with a proven record of epic awesomeness, and encourage my friends to do the same.

To that end, and to challenge myself, I'm looking at running the Savage and Spartan races before the year is out. And I'm moderately fearful and anxious about them, too.

11-23-13 Savage Race (6-7 mi)
12-15-13 Spartan Beast (10-12 mi)

I signed up for Miles of Mud to give myself a baseline. It was rough. Really rough. Four miles wouldn't have been so bad, except that I hadn't trained on hilly terrain, and that course had a LOT. The water stations were alright, but we were dehydrated by the end and there was no water provided at the finish line. We were very fortunate that I packed several bottles in my race bag and the car.

I'm now up to running 6 miles well enough on flat terrain, so I signed up for the Rugged and Raw 10k trail run next weekend to provide another training benchmark. I got to run the course a little over a week ago, and it kicked my butt. It was glorious, though. It's at the Cedar Ridge Preserve, which has some serious elevation (by this flatland Texan's standards) and gorgeous views.

I'm ready to add some hilly terrain to my training runs but am not necessarily feeling up to hill repeats. And I've been trying for weeks to get myself to the gym to start lifting but am lacking motivation. The obstacles will most likely be my downfall, specifically the rope climbs and incline monkey bars. I had better get on that.

Running ain't just for affluent, cranky, middle-aged white men any more.

This article, The Slowest Generation: Younger Athletes Are Racing With Less Concern About Time,
has been circulating a few of my groups lately, and I have a lot to say about it. In it, a middle-aged runner complains at length about the decline in the number of competitive racers among the millenial generation—a new twist on the tired "Wah, wah, millionals suck, get off my lawn" theme.

Before reading the article, I said I had mixed feelings about the issue. Aren't there a number of elite and timed road racing events, some of which require qualifying times? Aren't there a number of mud run events that provide chip timing and elite waves in addition to open waves for everyone else? To suggest that greater interest in movement and fitness activities and greater inclusion is a negative thing is some snooty, privileged, disablist bullshit. Everyone who wants to should be allowed to participate in fun fitness events safely.

HOWEVER, these events absolutely need to limit the number of registrations they accept in order to maintain a fun and safe environment for everyone who participates. I've been learning first-hand in the last two years about shitty fucking races that are poorly organized, poorly budgeted, and straight-up dangerous: Patriot Games in Denton 2011, Firefly in Plano 2012, Mud Factor 5k in DFW this year, and the egregiously aggravating Neon Splash Dash in Arlington last weekend.*

On the upside, I'm planning 2014 more carefully around established and proven events, with a greater focus on half and full marathon road races than fun runs, adventure runs, and obstacle runs. But these hellish gimmicky first-time events are endangering their participants, leaving a bad taste in their mouths, and literally turning them off to running altogether.** THAT is what is doing the sport of running a disservice, not participants who are not competitive.

Since reading the article, I would like to say that I think the author draws a lot of faulty conclusions and is probably not very good at math. Because of the explosion in fun run event popularity, there are more races for competitive runners to choose from, so you're less likely to compete against the best at any one event, AND there are thousands more run-walkers and walkers registering and skewing the median and average result times without necessarily impacting the number of competitive runners out there, just the percentage.

I don't know anything about Olympic and world championship racing, but I fail to see how it is related to regular road races and fun run events, which happen to get more people into running at all levels of ability who never would have tried it in the first place. You can't open a running mag without seeing a profile on a now-competitive runner who got into the sport "for fun."

I find it interesting/disappointing that the Tough Mudder uses dis/able-ist language, calling timed races "lame," and am especially glad I passed that one up for the Spartan Beast instead.***

*I should put together a page where I review the events I've run and link it here.

**A friend of mine had so much difficulty getting to Neon Splash Dash and was treated so poorly at the event and refused any kind of refund that she has sworn off all races.

***My buddy bailed, so it looks like I'm going alone. Drop me a line if you'd like to run with me, pretty please.

Race Reviews

These are all DFW area runs I've completed since 2011. I'll add as I think of it.

Recommended:

Warrior Dash 5K: great event for all abilities, fun & family friendly atmosphere, lotsa costumes, easy obstacles (mostly), good pacing (April 2011)

Heels & Hills Half Marathon (and full available): Great organization, volunteer pacers for wide range of time goals, nice course, not hilly, great volunteers (May 2011)

Gladiator Rock N Run 4+ mi: Difficult, mixed obstacles, very difficult [read: impossible] rope climb (June 2012)

Foam Fest 5K: cake walk, sloppy organization, DO NOT INHALE! No joke. Best showers of any mud run (Fall 2012)

Hero Rush 4-5mi: LONG (2:08), one really tough and one tricky obstacle, minimal mud intended, great volunteers (April 2013)

Mixed feelings:

Merrell Down & Dirty 5K: too long stretches between obstacles, too few water stations, great volunteers (summer 2011)

Electric Run 5K: GREAT course through Fair Park, good music, awesome decor. This is a night run, no obstacles. Problems: No fucking bag check. Not good for people taking the DART when the weather is cold. (January 2013)

Thumbs down:

Glow Run 5K: Traffic is only partially sometimes blocked off from race course, difficult to park/leave, no fucking bag check, TERRIBLE long lines for sign-in, periodic black light stations with DJs but not music + lights throughout whole course (November 2012)

Patriot Games 5K: dangerous course with barbed wire lying around ground, too few volunteers, no one near questionable 25-30 foot wall climb, barbecue ignited huge grass fire during peak of Texas Is Burning season. Alcohol-free beer. (fall 2011)

Firefly Run 5K: No separate waves, all runners and walkers released at once = clusterfuck of several thousand people, no one clearing the finish line so people stopped abruptly and trapped in crowd, can't get to water, danger of passing out. Course was changed from what was previously published so I sent my family to where they couldn't see the race. Traffic and parking is AWFUL. (Spring 2012)

Hero Rush

Saturday I ran the Hero Rush, a 4-5 mi obstacle course with proceeds donated to firefighter charities.

It took us over 2 hours because none of us had trained and had to walk most of it. There were long lines, too, 20-30 minutes at one obstacle.

From L: my friend Sean, brother Parker, me, friend Tori

Hauling tires

My hips got stuck in the last row of ropes, so I rolled out onto my back at the end.

I hadn't climbed a rope since I was 9 or 10. Still haven't. This obstacle was way harder than it looked.

I kicked butt on the slack line obstacle, but I had the camera.

And then the water was waist- and chest-deep.

It wasn't supposed to be a mud run, but it had rained two days before.

See those finishers' medals?

Morning after bruises.