Mud, Guts, and Glory was a race I will never forget. I signed up last minute. The week of even and only because Amazon had a deal on it. Lucky, for Jon (or not so lucky), it was a 2-fer. There was a lot of hype surrounding the race, most of it I really didn't believe. I've done the local races and counted on it being a few standard obstacles with an occasional hill. Boy, was I wrong. Dhani Jones was there filming for his show on Spike TV, Playbook 360. They flew in Junyong Pak and Amelia Boone. Matt Davis with Obstacle Racing Media and Heather Ganoe with Relentless Forward Commotion as wells as other "Celebrities" in the OCR world. In my gut I was very nervous for Kings Domain. All these big names with far social networking reach could have been potentially disastrous for their future in the OCR industry. But they put on one hell of an event.
The race started at the bottom of a hill that you could not see the top of. It was AWESOME! The MC was hilarious telling us "We started at the bottom, now we here." He read off the prizes ($1000, $500, and $250 for top 3 of each gender in Elite). Then we started.
As always the race was a blur. There were definitely some memorable moments:
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| Running with Matt |
- Getting bounced off the suspended bridge and scraping up my calf at pretty much the beginning.
- Slowing to a walk only to have fellow Crazy Mudder Mucker, Kevin Jones, tell me to keep running, that I easily was a contender for the top 3, that I can catch them, not giving up on me, when I was giving up on myself. He is an amazing teammate and leader.
- The Paintball slingshot with a Spartan as a target. Hey, gotta appreciate the humor. Plus, it was so much fun even though I missed all 4 shots.
- It was at the Gatorade jug at the sling shot that I started running with Matt Davis. We stuck together for about .5-1 mile. At one point we were crossing a creek bed and a volunteer informed me I was the 3rd girl. Right on cue Matt blurted, "I'm the 4th girl."
- The volunteers. I have never done a race with so much energy from the volunteers. Not just volunteers at one particular obstacle, but every single one was rooting for us as we raced. Seriously. They were everywhere in the Neon Green Tee's whole heartedly wanting us to succeed. This was hugely appreciated.
- Carrying 2 tires for what seemed like forever. I was so exhausted and came upon a pile of tires expecting to carry only 1, but no those same lovely volunteers told me to carry 2. During the long trek, I managed to come up with a joke. However, when I told the volunteers I was tired, they didn't laugh. Tough crowd.
- Repelling down one hill, only to turn the corner to find the biggest vertical slope I have ever seen in my entire life. I think everyone was stopped in their tracks when they saw it. It was gigantic and looked impossible. Channeling my inner Mountain Woman, I climbed up all three ropes while getting bit by horse flies. Seriously. I felt like the stinky kid from Charlie Brown with them flying around me. It was kind of embarrassing. Luckily post race, I found out others were bit which made me feel much better about my personal hygiene.
- Sprinting the last 100 yards to the finish line. Two of the course builders (the carpenter and the digger) asked me which obstacles I liked the most shortly after the race. Although not a obstacle, I think I liked that stretch of green before the finish. I could eek out every last bit of energy and finish the race strong, not covered in mud crawling out of a pit or slowed because of Gladiators. There was something about just being able to sprint to the finish. It felt glorious.
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| Pak on the mountain |
26. The difference between me and a champion.
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| Getting paid! |
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| Me and my new friend, Ulrike! |
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| Repelling down the big hill |
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| Top 3 Ladies |
Pictures compliments of Julia Rohs. Our most awesome team photographer when she's not blazing the trails herself.
And finally, some Katy to take you out....
