Team Mud Hens
I did it! Seattle’s Dirty Girl 5k Mud Run & Obstacle course! While it was called “Seattle’s” Dirty Girl Run, it was actually held in the city of Snohomish, about an hour outside of the city (and not even in the same county!). My friend, and our team captain, carpooled together since we live only a few minutes away from each other. It was nice to ride up together!
gearing up for the first obstacle!
I was on team Mud Hens with a friend and a bunch of her friends/co-workers. Our vibe was fun, chill and TOTALLY supportive, with all fitness levels represented! I loved that it was a female only event, and that it was un-timed. While some teams seemed, more…competitive…we were definitely all about having fun and completing the course as a team.
trail running
The course was divided into 11 obstacles over a 5k stretch on the Green Meadows Farm. I was nervous ahead of time, because I didn’t do any research on the obstacles, but I found that I was able to complete each of them!
on top of a muddy culvert
net crawl…no way to not get dirty!
Events included things like: slogging through mud pits, climbing up mud hills, crawling through troughs of water and mud, and climbing over walls. I knew I could do the fun mud pits, crawling through water troughs and sliding down the hilarious pink inflatable slide. What I didn’t think I could do so well were the walls and the climbing nets.
dancing across the finish line!
Probably the best part ever? Beer garden post-race, with 1 free beer for race participants! Woo! Now that’s a way to celebrate our accomplishment! While I only ran a few segments of the race, probably no more than 3/4 of a mile total, my body feels wrecked today. I think it was a combination of the rugged farm trails and all of the obstacles, utilizing muscles I haven’t used for awhile (like, since 3rd grade monkey bars! ha!).
Thinking about doing a mud run/obstacle course? Here are a few suggestions:
-find a fun team that will encourage you regardless of your fitness level!
-Costumes! Ours helped unify our team, though next year we’re talking about going even more ALL OUT! There were so many fun costumes there, including old prom dresses, one girl in a wedding dress, superheros, mardi gras masks, plenty of tutus and other hilarious nonsense.
– Do an early heat! Race started at 8, with waves every 15 minutes. We went at 9 and it was perfect. The course took longer than expected, and as we were finishing up, we could see the later heats really bottle-necked on certain events. Going early meant coming back early enough so we could take a sweet nap!
– Wear old rubber gloves! I loved this suggestion from fellow teammate, it really saved my hands during the rope challenges, and while they’re all squishy and icky feeling in the mud, it’s better than having no skin left on your hands 🙂
-Bring a garbage bag and extra change of clothes (plus towel AND underwear, cause that’ll be sloshy, too).
-Have fun! Because that’s what it’s all about 🙂
boof & monk-monk 