I just came back from my first mud run!

Put on by the Marine Corps and located at the Quantico marine base in Virginia, Run Amuck is a 3.5-mile course that is a mixture of road and trail racing.

Not only was this my first mud run, it was also my first trail-esque race!

Besides running my first mud run, I also got to meet another blogger, Rebecca from Destination 26.2. She is absolutely amazing! It felt like I’d known her forever.

She was kind enough to pick me up from the Pentagon (I am 003, so watch your back) this morning at 5:30 and we headed over to Quantico together.

Quantico is located 30 miles south of Washington, DC, a fact that eluded me until 11:30 last night. I had thought the race was going to be in DC. Silly me.

Because it’s on a military base, the procedure to actually get onto the base was a whole (keyword slow) process. It took us at least 45 minutes to enter the base because they were checking and scanning everyone’s driver’s license.

I started probably 40 minutes after my scheduled start time since I still had to pick up my race bib.

The race atmosphere is always positive and exciting. Rebecca had some issues with race registration so she wasn’t able to run with me but she did bring her Brazilian mastiff Brutus along. He is a sweetheart and totally stole the show.

Everybody wanted to see and pet the dog.

I spotted a few runners also wearing Vibram FiveFingers. I can’t stress how amazing Vibrams are for mud runs.

The mud comes right off, and they remain light since they aren’t boggled down by water.

This was also my first run on the East Coast in humidity. I must say that I am not a huge fan of humidity but what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

I ran my first hill in the humidity, and I survived an entire mile without stopping to walk. But with the obstacle course, some ginormous up AND downhills, and the added humidity, I had to take a few short walk breaks.

Obstacles included: 10 jumping jacks, hoping over a hay stack, running through mud water, running down an insanely muddy (and slippery) hill, crawling under some wires, crawling through a tube, and jumping through tires.

I wish there had been a fire pit.

But whatever Run Amuck lacked in fire, it made up for with water.

There was a ginormous water-spraying contraption, similar to your shower head but multiplied a bajillion times.

And it was bloody cold. It was towards the end of the run, so I just ran in there and felt the cold water splash on my face. Refreshing and rejuvenating. Perfect.

I felt like Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption.

My least favorite obstacle was the one where we had to crawl under wires. We were on our hands and knees, but not in a mud pit. It was on a muddy trail, filled with hard rocks and tree roots. I have a few scratches (battle wounds) on my knees, but nothing unbearable.

Overall, it was an enjoyable event. It was fun because it was my first mud run.

Would I do it again? Probably not the same race.

But I would LOVE to do the Warrior Dash, Spartan Race, World Famous Mud Run, and the Tough Mudder.

I honestly had a blast, though.

It was my first race in a state that’s not California. I’ve now raced in two states.
It was my first race in humidity.
It was my first race on a military base.
It was my first race where I had to tackle obstacle courses.
It was my first race where I got covered in mud.
It was my first time at the Pentagon.
It was my first time seeing a Brazilian mastiff.

And it most certainly won’t be my last.

Oh yeah, the metro ride home from the Pentagon was amusing. I was quite the sight. Muddy. Smelly. And in my gorilla feet.

Instead of Half of Jess, I should go for Homeless Jess.

 

Have you ever done a mud run?

Would you ever do one?

Any tips for running in humidity?

How many states have you run a race in?

Tagged as: marine corps races, mud run, obstacle courses, run amuck, running in humidity, warrior dash

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