The Rugged Maniac Report

Well, it's come and gone just like that! My first running race over in a flash!

Three Sundays ago now, myself and four friends trekked to the middle of nowhere Massachusetts to try our hands in the Rugged Maniac. I can't believe it has taken me so long to write this up. Short version of the story: It. Was. Awesome!!!

The Rugged Maniac falls within in the "mud run" category. More specifically, it's a 5K on a motocross track, packed with 25 obstacles, lots of dirt and goo, and relentless hills to slow you down before you get your beer--we all know that's the main motivator here.

Now obviously, when you're a part of the team, you need a really kick ass name for yourselves. You will in no way understand why (inside joke), but we decided to call ourselves CatCorps. It was equal parts hilarious and ferocious. Furthermore, each of us had a name and duty to serve for the team. We had Captain Meow Meow: motivation; Colonel Scratch & Sniff: reconnaissance; Sabertooth: lightning speed; Sergeant Liger: brute strength; and Feral Stray: amoral survivalist. Due to some severe underplanning, we did not have costumes/team uniforms (next time), but we DID have two main objectives:

1. We are here for the fun and the experience. That being said, our time does not matter, let's just not kill ourselves or each other along the way. 
2. Beat "DogCorps" (a fellow racing team with dogs on their shirts who had no idea we had targeted them as our natural foe). A little friendly competition is healthy, no?

CatCorps Pre-Race: The Claws Are Out

Due to our hungry appetites and subsequent pre-race fueling, we got to the course with barely enough time to make our heat--a 12:30pm start time. When I say barely, I mean, once we were registered and checked our bag, we had to hurdle over the "prep wall" obstacle into the gate. Our last team member jumped the wall just as the start gun went off.  Fortunately, this means there wasn't really enough time for me to psych myself out or worry too much about what was about to come. It was game time! We left the gate at the back of the pack, and slowly made our way to the middle of the racers by the first obstacle--a set of two 4.5 feet walls. Let the bruises begin!

Part One: CatCorps Climbs
The first half of the race consisted of dry climbing, jumping, and crawling elements. There were a TON of walls we had to climb--most were about least two stories high and straight verticals, and a few of them required a leg-up from your teammates. So, for over a mile, we were scaling makeshift walls and pyramids, crawling through black-out tunnels, leaping over series of trenches, and balancing up/down diagonal beams and logs. All while running up and down hills. Luckily, CatCorps paced itself nicely, so we still had lots of gas in the tank for...

Part Two: CatCorps Swims
By mid-way through the race, everything changed, and we found ourselves in almost consistent water/mud obstacles. Most of the elements in this section involved trudging and/or crawling. There was a pool at the bottom of a hill we got to launch ourselves into then slosh out of. There were steep drops into mud pits. There were barbed wires with nothing but mud and rocks underneath that we had to army crawl through. There were uphill tunnels coated in mud that you needed to pull yourself up with a rope. There was even a giant slide leading down into a pool of dirty, dirty water. And then you got to jump over fire! Talk about epic! This part of the course felt like my wheelhouse. I've always been one for getting my hands dirty, and after all, you come to a mud run to get really disgusting. I was right at home.

Cats love water.

Barbed Wire Incline Crawl

Part Three: CatCorps Rehydrates
When we hit the finish line, we immediately got our team photo taken and hit the beer tent--priorities, people. That said, we totally forgot to look at the race clock to catch our finish time.  Our best guess was that we came in just around the 65 minute mark, but we weren't wearing timing chips (not "competing," remember?) so we'll never know for sure. I kind of like it better that way--your first race should be about the experience, right? Plus, we met our two objectives. We didn't kill ourselves or each other, and we totally burned "DogCorps" after the first obstacle.

CatCorps Post-Race: The Claws Are Still Out

So here I am, having earned a sweet t-shirt, a whole lot of bruises, and a bunch of great memories. After a few days/weeks to think about it, here's how I've processed my first running race:

• Favorite obstacles: army craw under barbed wire; mud tubes. To get through these obstacles quickly, you literally had to use your whole body. After so much running, it felt great to incorporate my arms, back, and abs into the mix. Not to mention, I felt pretty bad ass racing through the mud with all hands on deck in terms of muscle demand. I imagine this feeling is akin to being a really dirty, newborn gazelle.
• Surprise struggle: ANY balance obstacle. These varietals totally kicked my butt psychologically. Namely the incline/decline logs and narrow beam over a water pit. I learned I have a totally irrational fear of falling into things. I don't mind at all falling onto the ground--especially from a standing height. I do THAT all the time. However, falling to a 6-foot deep trench or pool of dirty water where I can't see the bottom=anxiety attack and an uncompleted obstacle. Due to this game-day surprise realization, I had to outright skip one obstacle (beam over water), and tried, but did not complete two (trench jump, incline/decline logs). Major bummer town. I think with a little bosu ball/balance beam work for stability and focus, I'll be able to own these elements next time!!!
• Surprise strength: running endurance, strength preparedness. Believe it or not, I had TONS of gas left in the tank after we crossed the finish line--and I felt like I could successfully do the whole course over again. My muscles weren't fatigued, and I felt like I had barely run at all. Yay for running/strength training plans AND distractions--like mud slides and barbed wire.

This race was such a blast, and I'd totally recommend it--or any mud race--to anyone for a few reasons: First, it's always awesome to be a part of a team and a participant in the race community/culture. Second, I learned a lot about myself as an individual athlete (and person). Third, it gave me a chance to appreciate my training efforts and progress. And last, but most importantly, we all need more opportunities to just let loose, not take ourselves too seriously, and play.

Mud for the win!

My Sweet T-Shirt.