ASYMCA Mud Run

Up until a couple of weeks ago I’d decided I wouldn’t be doing the 8k Mud Run this year. It’s a deceptively challenging race which not only tests your physical fitness but your mental toughness too. The terrain is varied and before you get to the finish line you’ll have covered soft sand, trails, hard sand, mud, grass and road. If that’s not enough there’s a small stream to cross, ropes to duck under, a solid wall to scale, dunes to climb and a gritty mud pit to crawl through. Great fun eh? Well it always is…..after the race is over.

Well, on July 30th the dreaded “price increase before the end of the month” email arrived and before I knew it my wife had signed us both up. No turning back now…

The first wave of the race for “the younger runners” started at 8:00am with my wave due to start at 8:05. I wished Ally good luck, took my place on the start line and waited for the starter to let us go. No point in wearing a watch as there wouldn’t be any mile markers and speaking from experience the last thing I’d be concerned with is my speed.

[That’s me in the white Running Etc. singlet on the right]

The first couple of hundred meters on soft sand was a quick reminder of how difficult the race would be. As I made my way to the hard-packed sand near the ocean I could already hear runners complain about the surface and wondered how many first-timers were here today. I quickly settled in to second place behind fellow age-grouper and long-time “rival” Mike Denning. Before the race Mike had stated he was looking to get back in shape after running a tough Boston earlier this year – judging by the blistering pace he set in the first mile I think I can announce he’s officially back in shape!

I slowly got closer to Mike before we reached the end of the beach and after a short section on the road and a much needed water stop, we were side by side and heading into a wooded trail. Mike was running like a man possessed and deftly navigating his way past the straggling (or should that be struggling) first wave runners, but soon took a tumble in the bushes on one of his overtaking maneuvers. I managed to blurt out “You ok Mike?” as I skipped past. He said he was fine, so I continued on along the trail passing many more of the first wavers in the process.

Finally we exited the trail only to be greeted by a series of sand dunes and a ton of soft sand. Looking back I think it was at this point in the race that I realized I hadn’t recovered from Thursday’s fartlek workout with my quads still trashed from the 10 x 60 second faster than 5k pace intervals. Oh well, no time to worry about that now. Mike breezed by me at some point on the dunes and it was clear he was running better than me in the soft stuff.

I half hoped I’d be able to catch him in the mid portion of the race which is run mainly on the road, but as I grabbed another cup of water from the second water stop I looked up to see he was further ahead than ever. Rather ironically, we’d chatted at the start line about me using this part of the race to get my breath back and conserve some energy for the final stages of the 8k. Now I found myself working harder than I would have liked just to stay with him. Typical! That’ll teach me for sharing my race tactics….

Somehow I managed to limit his lead to about 7 or 8 seconds and as we left the road, took a sharp left towards the infamous wall and water pit, I found myself closer than ever.

I sprinted towards the wall, vaulted it and charged towards the water, only to almost run into Mike as he fumbled for something in the water. Initially I thought he’s lost his timing chip, but a few minutes later I realized he’d lost a shoe in the mud and he’d stopped to retrieve it.

I surged through the pit and headed towards the next obstacle – a nice set of crawl-under-ropes in the soft sand. (note: water pit followed by sand crawling = sandpaper on the knees!) At this point I was still ahead of Mike, but on the next dune he surged ahead like I was standing still. The one-shoe technique proved to be very successful as he maintained the lead until the next trail section where I managed to sneak ahead on a descent one last time.

With the volunteers shouting “less than a mile to go” I knew time was running out, but my legs were complaining and I had nothing left. I stayed fairly close to Mike but he was definitely the stronger on the day and with just the mud pit to navigate I knew my chances of age-group victory were slim. The mud pit was fun (a great addition to the race for 2008) and a perfect ending for the challenging event. I chased Mike down as best I could in the closing stages on the road, but it was too little, too late. We congratulated each other at the finish and I told him he definitely deserved the victory today. I mean; he tripped, he fell, he lost his shoe and ran at least 1.5 miles with just a sock on one foot – how’s that for determination?! Congrats Mike! I’ll see you at Rock ‘n’ Roll….

The race report above is the good part of the story. Unfortunately, there’s a sad twist to the tale too. As I waited excitedly for my wife Ally to finish (she started in the third wave) I heard shouts of “stretcher coming through” and the crowded finish area soon split open to let the medical guys through. I glanced up and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw good friend and fellow blogger Charlie stretched out with a full splint on his right leg. As they bundled him into the back of an ambulance I found out he’d broken a leg on the final run in to the finish line. Charlie had been suffering with shin and calf issues for several months and despite not running for 6 weeks, a weakness must still have been present – in fact both the tibia and fibula were dislocated just above the ankle. Charlie was released from hospital last night and is in a full cast for a week to see if the bones have been kept aligned. I wish you the very best Charlie and a speedy recovery. You’re one of the most positive guys I know and with your upbeat attitude I’m sure you’ll heal quickly.

Slightly unimportant stats: 5th overall out of some 2200 competitors and 750 individual finishers. Second in the 40-44 age group.

Photos: TriDuo.com Sports Photography