Saturday morning, Jenny and I joined some good friends at our first mud run, the Jailbreak. As first-timers, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect except mud, obstacles, some running, and more mud. As a non-runner, Jenny was a little apprehensive, but she stepped up and gave it a try.
We met Lacy, my best friend from high school, his wife Amie, and our friends Jon and Amber for the 9:00 wave, first of the day. The location was DFW Adventure Park in Roanoke, which is normally used for outdoor paintball, ATV riding, and other extreme events. Each wave had 300 runners of varying speeds and ages. To fit the jailbreak theme, Jon and Amber dressed up as a ball and chain, with Amber as the ball and a chain tying her to her husband (see pics below!).
Lacy and I ran together, running most of the way and catching up. We rarely see each other anymore, so it was great to hang out for a while. Jon and Amber were slowed a bit by their attachment. Jenny and Amie stuck together by choice rather than chain and actually ran a lot more than Jenny had planned. I don’t think she realized how much her stamina and strength have improved over the months she’s spent in the gym, and I’m proud of how well she did.
The run itself was quite interesting and prettier than I expected, with much of the course going through a quiet forest and a cool, refreshing river that we waded through (my favorite part, right in the middle of the course after we were nice and warm). The obstacles weren’t as difficult as I expected. We kept a comfortable pace rather than blasting through at full speed, which would have been impossible due to the MUD. The shallow, slippery mud simply threw off your footing and made you worry about spraining an ankle. The thick, sticky mud nearly sucked your shoes off and buried them forever. Jenny and I both nearly got stuck in a few places. We both chose not to take home our nasty shoes or socks. You’ll understand once you see the pictures. After the race, a fire hose provided a welcome chance to clean off the mud before we enjoyed a free beer and some tasty barbecue.
Although I still plan to do most of my racing in a mud-free environment, the Jailbreak was a fun change of pace and a chance to hang out with good friends while benefiting a worthy cause. Jenny actually wants to do another mud run next year, so I’ll look into our options. Maybe you can join us!
Here are some pictures: