Cincinnati Mudathlon - We Did it!

"We are calling out serious athletes and fun seekers alike to join us for an off-road, obstacle packed, mud soaked adventure that will leave you wiped-out and wanting more! Mudathlon is over 3 miles of 40+ challenging obstacles and 100 yard mud pits followed by an outstanding post-party that promises beer, live music and great food. It's an event that you just don't want to miss! Choose to compete as an individual or as a team. Either way, at the end of the day you will be proud to call yourself a Mudathlete!"

Before

After

Muck-Ups: My brother Dave, co-workers Ben and Nicole and Nicole's friend Megan. And Bolt Speedman.

 
Our team, the "Muck-ups", was decorated in vibrant gear thanks to Nicole and Megan and then given some great flare thanks to Ben and his Doo-rags and flaming duct tape! I thought the neon idea was awesome because it looks so bright in the beginning and then - you are just muddy!

Nicole pushing the pace - as usual!

The Course and Obstacles:

The course was a 5k with obstacles - which really was a lot more tiring than an 5k because you were either trying to run distances or doing something related to strength. Or mud. Mostly mud. But some strength.

The best obstacle was #38 the slide. It was a pretty big and steep hill with a water slide into mud. The mud at the bottom was impossible to keep to keep out of your nose.

The worst obstacle was the #9 monkey bars. Each individual bar would turn - making it impossible to actually finish them.

The most frequent obstacle seemed to be the shifty spools. They were actually pretty tall and took some good effort to climb over.

The mucking mud pit was a crowd pleaser as you had to cross it twice. It was mostly ankle deep but it was so slippery underneath that you often feel. There were a few sections of barbed wire that required you to crawl/swim underneath. The girls support crew also joined in the fun by "cannon balling" into the mud pit as we were coming through! Great effort on their part!

The cargo net climbs were good too. One was more of a cargo net walk 6 feet off the ground which was surprisingly dangerous. In fact a number of obstacles could have caused some bodily harm. Except for the potato sack race. That was just fun. And not a race at all. More like an obstacle. Except part of the overall race.

Mud Pit!

It was surprising how a muddy river could actually seem clean as we used it to get mud off our face or glasses.

Summary:
The Mudathlon was a blast! I have a few bumps and bruises but I would definitely do it again. I wish there were a way for the spectators to see more of the course as the best obstacles were in the woods.