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Dirty Girl Mud Run Recap: FBGs Get Dirrrty!

I did it! I ran/walked my first mud run last weekend—and it was awesome. Erin raved about her mud run experience last year, and I don’t know what’s taken me so long to do one. And just look at our FBG team…Maria, Tessa, me, Becky, Jodi and Becca (from left) flexing and excited before the Dirty Girl Mud Run. (Note: no mud to be seen yet!)

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Our intern Maria (the climbing rockstar—she can seriously climb like the wind) and I picked up some matching animal-print socks for our team before the race. Yes, I knew they’d get muddy, but I didn’t care. Fun socks for all! Also, face paint for all. Clearly, we are tough, like warriors or football players.

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Or more like kind of crazy warriors or football players. I think the heat was already getting to us—thank goodness we had a 9 a.m. race time and no later!

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Since we didn’t have matching shirts, we decided “branding” ourselves as FBGs on our arms was the way to go. We definitely had a few people stop and ask, “So, um, what’s FBG stand for?” They seemed to like our answer.

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In addition to our socks and face paint, I also made sure to pack some of this. No sunburns for us! (Discloure: We’re a blog ambassador for Neutrogena, and they supplied us with this!)

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It’s a sunscreen-spray party!

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During the race, I decided to test out a new pair of running shoes: the SKORA PHASE ($110), which are billed as fantastic for adventure racing. Seeing that this would be my first entry back into anything high-impact from my stress fracture, I was beyond excited to test them out. Lightweight, they were very breathable and have a strong heel cup that stays on, no matter how badly mud is pulling it down. (I will admit that this same strong heel cup did rub my ankles a little raw by the end of the race—but, ahem, that’s what I get for wearing a shoe for the first time for a race. I sooo know better.) Oh, and the look of these is pretty rad, right?

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With a flexible sole and added traction for obstacles—these really did make it easier for the water and mud I was in to drain and clump off. Just enough traction to get good grip when climbing up inflatables and ropes and walls, while still not having traction ridges that are so deep that mud gets lodged there. Pretty dang brilliant. If you’re looking for a new minimalist or obstacle course shoe, check ’em out.

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But, as one might expect in a race titled “Dirty Girl Mud Run,” you’re going to get muddy. Very, very muddy. Here are our feet and socks before the race.

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And then after! What a hot dirty mess.

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As was the rest of us. (I don’t have a photo yet of ALL of us—bummer, I know! It’s hard to have a cell phone or camera around when you’re looking like this. Hope to have a complete dirty FBG team photo soon!)

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We seriously had such a great time getting muddy. There were 13 obstacles during the race—some of them pretty easy, some of them kind of high up and scary (rope nets up at least 25 feet and then back down, I’d guess), and some of them in between. We crawled through mud pits on our hands and knees; we maneuvered our way over pink walls; we walked through waist-high muddy water. And our favorite Dirty Girl Run obstacles of all? A giant inflatable stair step that you could bounce down on your bum (so fun!), and a huge inflatable slide that dropped you in muddy water. Both were sooo fun. (Apparently we have a thing for inflatable things—like the adult version of a bounce house, I guess!) And we all had a blast cheering each other on.

While my entry to the race was comped by Dirty Girl Run, it’s one I would do again. The race was fun, the atmosphere was encouraging (we saw women of all shapes, sizes, ages and races), and the course was well marked with plenty of room for runners and walkers. Although, I do think there are some things that could use improving. First, the water situation. Before and after the race the only water that was available was for sale, which, JUST ISN’T COOL. Especially in June in Kansas City. Oye. Thankfully, there were fully stocked water stations on the course. But still.

Next, there really wasn’t a ton of staff or volunteers actually on the course. Off the course there were plenty—and they sooo nice—but during the race there really weren’t that many. With obstacles and heat and mud and running, you never know what can happen, and we all worried about the lack of volunteers around to help seek medical attention if anyone needed it. Thankfully, we didn’t have any issues. Lastly, this isn’t the race’s fault by any means, but there weren’t a lot of spectators or people cheering everyone on. Having that crowd support always means a lot and adds a level of excitement to any race, so it would have been nice to have more of that. Maybe next year!

After the race, we donated our dirty shoes (the race organizers clean and send them to a good home in need!) and then hosed off and changed in the private tent for race participants (having this was a serious perk of the race—lots of other mud runs just have you hose off in an open area for all to see). See our clean feet?

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Then it was back to the car for my new favorite obsession: Silk Iced Latte. I tried this after the hike we did on the Silk Bloggers’ trip (again, disclosure: we’re a brand ambassador), and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s so refreshing any time of day but especially post-workout. Thought it was only right to share the love!

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We sipped and noshed on apples and some NOW Foods Raw Trail Mix. Cheers to a great race!

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Have you ever done the Dirty Girl Mud Run or another mud run or obstacle course? How does my experience compare to yours? And stay tuned next week for my top mud run tips—I learned a lot of what to do and what not to do! —Jenn

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