I’m a Dirty Girl!
This past weekend I participated in my first-ever organized run: The Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run and Obstacle Course. The experience carried a lot of personal significance for me since I have never been a natural runner, but have long been a wanna-be. Now, I can proudly say that I have completed my first run (even if it was a noncompetitive and an untimed event).
I am prone to anticipatory anxiety before big life events so I spent the 24 hours prior to the Dirty Girl googling “Dirty Girl Mud Run experiences” and pacing. Now that I’ve completed the event, I thought I’d write a blog post for other women who might be nervous about the idea.
First off: let me be clear. This run is noncompetitive and intended for women of all athletic abilities. And when I say this: I REALLY MEAN IT. Unless you are incredibly overweight, elderly, or frail, I don’t see any reason why you can’t do this event. It is perfectly acceptable to walk the course (the majority of people actually walked) and you can skip any obstacle you want without anyone giving you a second look. So, if you have hesitations about participating because of your perceived athletic deficiencies–PLEASE DON’T!! You will be fine!
Athletic Preparation
I didn’t do any special preparation for this run besides my normal 30-minute evening jog and felt quite comfortable during the race. I don’t routinely do upper-body strength training and was worried that I would find the obstacles difficult. However, I had no problem at all with them. You can TRULY do this course at your own pace, with your own desired level of intensity.
What to Pack
I would definitely recommend bringing a change of clothes, sandals, a towel, and a garbage bag for your muddy clothes. Also, don’t forget to bring a photo ID so you can get a wristband/free beer after the race!
What to Wear
Apparently, I didn’t get the memo about goofy, bright pink costumes for this event. So, let me just make it clear for you: get yourself a hot pink running outfit, some striped knee-socks, and war paint. You will fit right in. And make sure you wear some good, solid footwear. The Pittsburgh course is quite hilly and the mud/water makes everything very slippery.
We’re off!
Race Day: Check-in
The Pittsburgh race was at Fayette County Fairgrounds, which is about one hour from the Aspinwall area. We were asked to park at a shopping mall very close to the Fairgrounds. Schoolbuses then shuttled us to the event. As you can imagine, my kids were psyched to ride on a schoolbus and I had the opportunity to chat with other women about the run.
The check-in process was quite easy without any lines. We then processed over to another table where we picked up a free Dirty Girl T-shirt and a charm. There was a HUGE line for the baggage check-in, but luckily my husband offered to hold my stuff so I could skip this part and proceed directly to the starting line.
Race Day: The Course
After a group countdown with bystander fanfare, we were off! We came upon our first obstacle pretty quickly. It was called “You Go Girl!” and involved high-stepping through tires that were positioned on a pink, bouncy platform. It was a nice obstacle to start with since we didn’t get too dirty, it wasn’t that difficult, and it eased my anxiety about the intensity level of the run. The Dirty Girl Mud Run website has a diagram of the other obstacles we faced. However, please note: the obstacles were not in the same order as described on their website.
Dirty Dancing obstacle
Here are my obstacle superlatives:
My Favorite Obstacle: Dirty Dancing
Climb up an inflatable and then slide down into a huge mud pit. Totally exhilarating and really fun!
My Hardest Obstacle: Get a Grip
Climb up a huge rope ladder, ring the bell at the top, and then climb back down. It wasn’t really THAT hard, but I did find turning around at the top a little tricky
Most Uncomfortable Obstacle: Utopian Tubes
Climb through tubes filled with mud and small rocks. It’s a bit claustrophobic and the rocks were hard on my knees.
Longest Line: H2O MG
None of the obstacles really had a line, except H2oMG. Women enter a water-filled pool one-at-a-time and wade across to the other side. I ended up skipping this obstacle when I heard people complaining they had been in line for over 30 minutes.
It took me about 1 hour to complete the obstacle course/run, although I think the range was about 45 minutes-2 hours depending on your pace.
The Mommy Mud Monster
Race Day: Aftermath
After the race was completed, I easily found my family near the finish line. I had some fun horrifying my kids with my muddiness before I went to get cleaned up and changed. The line for the clean-up area was quite long (and I heard they were just glorified hoses), so I skipped this part and sleuthed my way into finding another faucet near a barn at the fairgrounds. I rinsed off and got changed behind some (lucky) fellow’s pickup truck before I found my family again. We quickly got a ride back to the car on another school bus, ate some lunch in the car, and were back home by naptime.
Things I Wished I Knew Ahead of Time
1. Don’t worry too much about your running shoes. It has taken me years to find a good pair of running shoes and I was petrified that they would be ruined completely by the mud. I washed them immediately when I got home and they were totally fine.
2. Definitely participate as a team. I registered for the run pretty late and couldn’t find any friends who could participate with me on such late notice. I’m generally pretty independent and decided to participate alone anyway. In retrospect, this event is way more about team camaraderie than athleticism. I would not do this run alone again.
3. Bring your Free Drink ticket with you on the run. You will need it to get your free beer at the finish line.
Horrifyingly Intriguing
4. The event is not really kid-friendly. There are no activities geared toward them and they were (surprisingly) totally freaked out by the mud. I would probably not bring my kids back again.
All in all, I had a really fantastic time at the Dirty Girl Mud Run and am extremely proud of myself for completing it. I can’t wait until next year’s event!
Disclaimer: I was asked to participate in this event as a Blogger Ambassador. My registration fee was waived in return for writing a blog post both before and after the event. However, please be assured that the descriptions and opinions in this post are completely my own and have not been influenced in any way by the Dirty Girl Mud Run organization.
