On Sunday morning, we played in the mud. 
As you guys know, I LOVE mud/obstacle runs and haven’t done one since last year, so I was excited to get out there and run in a more creative and fun way on Sunday morning at the Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run 5k! Pictured above is “Team Awesome!”, comprised of me, Matt, and my friends Lara and Jess, about halfway through the run. Fun times had by all.
As usual, I brought along my waterproof camera for the adventure so I could get some action shots of us during the race. When I wasn’t using the camera or needed my hands for obstacles, I stuffed it into my sports bra. Classy, I know. It worked! I was able to salvage all my clothing and my shoes, too – they just got a SERIOUS rinsing in our tub and then I ran the clothes through the washer twice.
We signed up for the 9:30 a.m. 5k wave (there was also a 9 a.m. wave, and an 8 a.m. 10k option) – as late as possible was the key since we were at a wedding the night before! Matt was sleepy.
But pumped. 
We arrived at the race start with plenty of time and had no problems parking, checking in to get our race packets, hitting the porta-potties, or checking our bags. Two points for good race organization! Off to a good start. We were ready to go at the starting line shortly before 9:30.
And then we were off!
It was hot out, but not unbearable like last week was, and since we were getting muddy/wet, the heat didn’t matter as much. The race took place on a mostly shaded (and really pretty) trail, so that was nice, too.
One of our favorite obstacles was this lake! You just waded through it in a small loop, but it felt SO good.
Then came the mud.
Another fun obstacle was this big blow up slide! You climbed up the rope on this side, and on the other side you slid down. Fun!
Running by a pretty pond on the the trails:
Here’s Jess peeking out over a fun rock climbing wall obstacle! I liked this one.
Made it!
Matt goofing off near the top:
At one point, we randomly ran by corn fields! Does anyone else find corn fields super creepy thanks to a certain 80’s horror movie?
We ran from the corn and back to the pretty wooded trails:
And then got ready for a big climbing obstacle!
The race ended with some more trail running, and then two more obstacles. First was this rope climb up a slanted wall – this was HARD!
And then more mud, of course.
We made it!
It was really sunny – excuse our pained expressions.
Nothing like starting your weekend by playing in mud. Overall, this was a really fun race! Next time, I would love to do the 10k – I could have gone for even more obstacles and more of those pretty shaded trails! I told them they should offer more than one start time option for the 10k next year – we’ll see. For the 5k, we could have gone for more creative/even crazier obstacles, but that’s just me being an adrenaline junkie. Thanks to Team Awesome! for the fun morning! If you’re interested in checking out the Down & Dirty race, too – check out their locations page – they have races all over the country!
Are you a mud run/obstacle run fan?
Disclaimer: Matt and I received a free bib for this race in exchange for sharing our experience here on the blog. Thank you to the folks at Down & Dirty for the great opportunity! All opinions are my own.
Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run 5k originally appeared on fANNEtastic food on July 23, 2013.
The post Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run 5k appeared first on fANNEtastic food.