Getting Muddy Again

It is that time of year again, The Muckfest!  Today, was an amazing day.  A day spent with coworkers, teachers, neighbors and a few parents from our school, Mucking it up” at “The Muck Fest”.  This was my third Muck Fest, and my fifth mud race.  Each year, as the build up to the race happens, I think it will be my last, and then I do it and cannot wait till the next one!

Last year my goal was to overcome my fear of a few of the high obstacles and I did it!  This year, my goal was to run the whole thing, which is why I began training with the C25k program.  It worked!  I was able to keep up and run pretty much the entire race and I kept up with two of my coworkers who left me in their dust last year!

We had thirteen people on our “Mudketeers Team” this year.  The best part of all, was that in the end, we raised nearly $2000 that will go to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/General/?fr_id=21240&pg=pfind

Last year we ran in honor of Lee Sacket, the husband of one of our coworkers.  This year, it was in his memory, as he lost his battle with MS in November.  I am sure today was a bittersweet day for her and her sons who ran with us.

It was amazing to see so many people out on this beautiful day running and having fun all while raising money for such a good cause.  From wikipedia:

For MuckFest MS, runners are called “muckers.” MuckFest MS attracts an almost even split of men and women across a broad range of age groups. The event is self-timed and the course and obstacles are designed to allow for a wide range of abilities, from top tri-athletes and marathoners to beginning athletes and groups from exercise boot camps and gyms. Because of its affiliation with National MS Society, every event includes runners who are living with multiple sclerosis, some of whom complete the course using a cane for stability. Many runners dedicate their participation to family members or friends living with multiple sclerosis.

I am sure I will be mucking it up again next year with my fellow “Muckers.”  The popularity of these races is growing – maybe more friends will be inspired to join and get dirty with us next year!

Mucking it Up With Friends

Today, was an amazing day.  A day spent with coworkers, all teachers, (and a few parents from our school)… “Mucking it up” at “The Muck Fest”. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_MUCK_homepage

For once, instead of being teachers, we were able to act like the kids!  We got to run, crawl, swim, walk and play in the sticky, gooey, smelly mud, and when it was over, we got to wash off in the middle of the road with ice cold hoses, splashing each other!!   This is my third mud run and they are ADDICTING!!   For some of us, running in a mud race might have be one of the most physically demanding things that we have ever done.  For some of the other girls though, maybe not, since they have run marathons and done the Tough Mudder.  Yet still, we stuck together, sometimes in pairs, sometimes in groups, but we all made it through and finished.  None of us did this to win.  We did it just to prove that we could!  We even got one of our friends to overcome, (even if just for today), her fear of cicadas…which were EVERYWHERE as we ran through the reservations.

Some of the obstacles were fairly easy and some were really tough – but we did all of them!!  There is always an option to run around it if it is too hard.  There is also the option to take the short cut, which makes the race a 5k rather than a 5 mile.  The majority of us stuck to the five mile race.  We worked together when we could.  When one of our teammates got stuck in the mud, (usually me),  we pulled each other out. When one of us had a hard time climbing over something, we gave her a push or pull.   At the high obstacles, we encouraged and cheered until we got through it.  Sometimes, we had to just stop and laugh and snap a photo with a waterproof camera!

There were definitely a few obstacles that made me apprehensive, but with this amazing team behind me, and all of us cheering each other on, it turned more into excitement than nervousness!  We all ended up with cuts and scrapes, some of us bloodier than others, but we did it!  We were rewarded at the end with an ice cold shower, to rinse off the mud…which by the way does NOT get all of it!! (I am sure that I was not the only one who wound up with a ring around the tub after showering at home)!!  We also got a nice lunch at McLoones and sat out on their patio with all of the other runners and just reveled in the beauty of the day and the fact that we did it!  We all tried to decide when the next race would be!  The best part of all, was that in the end, we all raised money for National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_MUCK_2013_MuckFest_fundraise

It was truly an amazing day spent with friends laughing and having fun.  It was a good reminder to let loose sometimes and not take myself so seriously.  In the end, I am sure that that makes me a better person.