Saturday, November 13, 2010

I survived the Ruckus

ON a sunny, 60 degree day in November, this is what fun looks like:














Yes, that is mud all over my face! The Ruckus was much, much muddier than I anticipated.



I wasn't in the first heat (I was in the 5th! Long wait before running) so I got to check out what the course looked like from the stands (though I did not get to see what happened once everyone ran into the woods). I saw that the first obstacle was crawling under barbed wire. And that lots of people got stuck in the barbed wire, creating a back up for those at the back of the pack. Since I'm really short, I figured I'd blast out of the start, scuttle under the barbed wire, and then let all the fast people pass me later. It worked out great!



Then I entered the woods. And saw that the next two obstacles were water filled trenches with sand piles in between, and a 20 foot long water/mud pit. (which totally worked against shorties like me. The water pit was chest deep on me!) It also meant the entire rest of the 3 mile course was run in sopping wet in shoes that looked like this:


(and yes, those socks started out white)


But, oh! what fun. There were nets to crawl under, walls to jump over, crossed-4x4's called "Normandy walls" to step over, tires to run through, ropes to climb, monkey bars to cross, a horizontal pole and then a suspended rope to traverse, cargo nets to climb. The hardest for me was an 8 foot wall to jump over. I'm only 5 feet tall! Plus, I was wet and muddy and this was around 2.25 miles into the course. (I needed a boost). It ended with a crawl through the mud under a net and a run over a huge dirt mound.


When I finished, my legs looked like this:


I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a challenge and some fun. (Just make sure not to make the big mistake I made: do not wear white, cotton underwear under your running tights. You'll regret it later)

Today I am grateful for:

1) running events

2) the chance to hang with people just as crazy as me

3) yummy soup for a recovery meal

4) warm showers

5) warm sweatshirts



oh...and Q-tips. I'm very, very grateful for Q-tips!

2 comments:

Amy - the gazelle said...

That sounds so freaking awesome/scary/fun. I have always wanted to try something like that, but have never signed up (due to the scary part). Maybe 2011 will be my year!

Anonymous said...

Looks like fun (mud is always a good thing). But I think I'm getting out of shape from all the studying!