Last Sunday morning we ran in the Merrill Down and Dirty Mud Run at Cedar Hill State Park. It was so much fun! Nick and I ran the 5K and Zack and Michael ran the kids' 1 mile. The course was in the grass, woods, and water and included 12 obstacles (2 of them were mud pits).
The 5K started at 7:45AM. It was cool and cloudy, which really helped since the first part of the race was uphill. I knew Nick would do well, but I was hoping to keep up with him enough to watch him do at least the first couple of obstacles. He broke away so fast that I didn't see him after the first 1/4 mile! There were walls to climb over, a tunnel to crawl through, a 20-foot high inflatable with a cargo net to climb and then slide down, and a push-up station. The only one I had trouble with was the slippery wall just before the last giant mud pit at the end. The wall was at an angle, and you had to pull yourself up using a rope. I really didn't think I was going to make it, but somehow I managed. I'm sure this was strategically placed near the finish line where all of the spectators could get a few laughs watching everyone try to get over the wall. It was really exciting to cross the finish line! Nick finished in 41:21 and my time was 51:12.
The 1 mile race was at 10:00AM. It was definitely warming up by this point, but they only had to go a mile. Luke loved watching the kids take off at the start and cheering them on as they had their turn to crawl through the mud at the end.
We camped for the weekend at the state park, so when the race was finished we went back to the camper. We grilled hot dogs and visited with friends who had raced with us. We had gone to Mass the night before, so we had the rest of the day to clean off, rest, and relax. We also celebrated with homemade ice cream and s'mores around the camp fire in the evening. It was such a great weekend, that we plan on camping out and running again next year.