Stop and feel the mud between your toes
Nearly 2,000 people gathered at the American West Heritage Center to run the Man vs. Mud 5-kilometer race Friday and Saturday.
The race hosted every type of costume from animal print pants to USU football uniforms, capes to helmet cams, tutus to neon tights. Friday showcased a choreographed dance to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know it.” While Saturday’s racers got a little extra dose of mud, due to the early morning rain storm.
The Man vs. Mud is not a normal 5k race. As the name would imply, the race requires participants to do anything from tramping through a waist deep trench of mud, to weaving their way through the “Spider’s web,” (I hear it helps if you wear a Spiderman suit).
The race starts out with a plunge down a slip and slide, followed by a short run “over the river and through the woods.” Instead of reaching grandmother’s house, the course leads to a foam washer, where you can get all clean, right before you army crawl through a mud pit.
Getting thirsty? A quick climb up the “stairway to heaven” will reward you with a cup of refreshing water.
More running will lead you to the trench, a chest deep pit of mud where at least one shoe was lost. The rest of the race involved a few hay bales, a couple more mud pits, a floating bridge where one misstep sends you plunging into a muddy lake, and finally, the chute.
Crossing the finish line of the Man vs Mud race is not like the normal ending to a 5k. It involves another slip and slide, this time with a quick dip into a pool of muddy water at the end.
Going down the waterslide may seem like the ending to this muddy battle, but no, the last leg of the race requires yet another army crawl through even more mud. This last crawl marks the end of . If you are concerned about the amount of running, don’t worry. The motto of the race is “more fun, less run.”
After finishing the race, you may decided that your shoes are not worth salvaging, so donate them. The Man vs. Mud run supports of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through their Green Sneakers program, which recycles, refurbishes, and repairs old shoes for distribution to people in need throughout the United States and abroad. There will be a designated place for you to drop your shoes after the race.
The Man vs. Mud race also supports the American West Heritage Center in preserving and celebrating the heritage of Cache Valley.
If you do decide to come in costume, or if you don’t, the race gives out awards such as the “Man vs Mud – Man Won Award,” or the “I fought the Mud, but the Mud Won Award.” Awards are also given to best costume, individual and team, most energetic, best plank, best team name, dirtiest (meaning muddiest) guy or gal, and many more.
This race is an annual event, so if you missed it this year, be sure to watch the Man vs. Mud website, http://www.manvsmud.com in the early spring for next year’s registration.
I know I’m not going to miss it.
– carli@jdsco.com
Twitter: @carli_sue