Down and Dirty Mud RunIndian Hills Farm - 5/20/12
Race Preparations This race came about two months after the GORUCK Challenge. Since then, I had kept up with weekly long runs of 10-12 miles so I was feeling pretty well prepared for the 10k Down and Dirty Mud Run course. I hadn’t planned on running the race since my wife was on pregnant, on bed rest and a week away from her due date. Since she wasn’t showing any signs of labor, I signed up the morning of the race. My main interest was stress testing a new pair of shorts that I planned on wearing for the Tough Mudder.
Race Course The Down and Dirty Mud Run course took place on a farm which was incorporated into the course early on with a run through a barn. There were some notable hills but the terrain itself wasn’t particularly punishing. At one point, a road was partially closed and runners ran across a bridge. Though it’s normal for road races routes to follow closed streets, it’s pretty rare for obstacle course races to end up on asphalt. The obstacles themselves were not particularly challenging. Despite the name, the Down and Dirty Mud Run had little mud and wasn’t very dirty at all.
The Obstacles
Low Walls - The Low Walls were probably about 4ft high and with a solid hop, easy enough to vault over.
Pushups - The Spartan race is well known for using burpees as penalties for failed obstacles. I hadn't run a race that actually used that kind of PT as an obstacle. Despite being called the Down and DIRTY mud run, they had a mat on the ground so you didn't have to actually do push ups in the dirt. I don't even remember how many we had to do. It was maybe 10-15. Not a lot.
Ladder Wall - Ladder walls are basically a skeleton of a wall. The open structure has open air beams instead of a solid barrier. These were probably 10ft tall.
Cargo net/Inflatable Slide - I felt that this obstacle set the tone for the course. Truly intense courses and inflatble slides really don't mix. A cargo net climb was used to get racers to the top of a slide that was probably about 18ft high. It was cushy and soft and kids would love it.
Low Crawl - A more intense course would have you doing a low crawl under barbed wire. The Down and Dirty Mud Run had racers crawling under a net.
5' Walls - Another fairly self explanatory obstacle. Really not much to say about these. The Low Walls, 5' Walls and Marine Hurdles were all pretty similar. They just had a slightly different spin on the same basic concept.
Marine Hurdles - These hurdles were a series of raised beams that racers had to climb over. Each hurdle was probably about 5ft high.
Monkey Cross - This was an innovative obstacle that involved using slacklines as stepping stones and overhead ropes for stability. The overhead ropes were had a lot of play in them so they weren't always as useful as people might have thought. Someone with good balance or a long stride could probably cross without them. You do have to be aware of other racers on the obstacle because their weight on the slacklines can make the slacklines less predictable.
Balance Beams - The balance beams were raised a couple feet off the ground which seemed to make racers a little more hesitant. There was also some change of height instead of just one continuous beam to cross. It was maybe 4in wide and pretty stable. Since it's single file, you obviously can only go as fast as the person in front of you.
Tires - The classic high-stepping obstacle, running through the rows and rows of tires isn't particularly taxing.
Sandbag Carry - This obstacle is pretty self explanatory - run out with a sandbag, turn around and carry it back. All I can say is those sandbags were so light. Maybe 7lbs?
Cargo Climb - A cargo was stretched over a wood frame that was around 10ft at its peak. This cargo net was sloped but fairly taught which always makes it a little easier.
Tunnels - If the inflatable slide set the tone for the race, the tunnels helped confirm the this race was light-hearted instead of intense. The tunnels were basically a kid's toy - plastic tubes with metal coils giving them structure. Kneeling on the metal coils was a little uncomfortable, I guess.
High Wall - The high walls were maybe 10-12ft high with proper rock climbing holds. More intense races have similar walls but with just one or two pieces of wood as footholds.
Water Crossing - Instead of using any natural creeks or ponds, the Water Crossing was basically a short man-made pool. It was pretty shallow too - just above knee deep at the deepest point.
Slippery Mountain - The Slippery Mountain was a slick angled wall with a rope to help racers in the ascent. Runners had to crawl under a string of flags to begin the climb so just running up the wall and grabbing the top wasn't an option. The angle of the wall didn't seem nearly as steep or as tall as a similar obstacle in the Spartan Sprint making this version much easier.
Mud Pit - There were two mud pits on the course. Both had a pretty wet slippery mud and neither were particularly long. Despite the course name, these were the only two obstacles that were dirty.
Overall Obstacle Difficulty Rating: 1/5
Hardest Obstacle - None of the obstacles were particularly challenging. The biggest challenge might be watching kids who look like they’re in junior high competing alongside you.
Time: 1:09:55
Mud Rating: 1/5
Clean Up - The Down and Dirty Mud Run had pretty standard hoses for washing off. One nice feature was that they offered men’s and women’s changing tents. It was nice to be able to change clothes without trying to balance inside a portapotty.
Atmosphere - There was a general military theme to the race with military members overseeing some of the obstacles or shouting motivation. The national anthem was sung by a veteran and military charities were promoted. I fully support our armed forces and I’m glad for the additional visibility and respect they were shown. That said, the caliber of the obstacles just didn’t seem consistent with the military references.
It was a very family friendly event with a lower than usual minimum age (13 years old for the 5k, 14 years old for the 10k). They also offered an Adventure Kids race for kids as young as 4 years old. I’m all for getting kids involved at a young age but something just didn’t seem right about going from signing a death waiver for the GORUCK challenge to running alongside kids who are too young to start drivers ed in this race.
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