Race Recap: Go Dirty Girl Mud Run – Detroit

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free entry to Dirty Girl Mud Run in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated are my own.

This year has been a year of me pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. starting with competing in the Crossfit Games Open, followed by my first Crossfit competition, and then running a 10k. But one thing I still had reservations about was an obstacle/mud run.

I had always been scared of such runs, thinking I would not have the ability to run whatever distance the run covers, but also that I could not complete the obstacles as given. I know most of these runs contain some obstacles with water, and some with heights; two things I am not a fan of. But when offered an opportunity to participate in the Go Dirty Girl Mud Run, I knew it was time to face my fears and see what it is all about.

Fortunately, something about this race seemed different; it was marketed as a more fun run rather than a competitive one; plus each obstacle was optional, so worst case scenario, I would skip past the crazy parts.

Registration

Registration was easy, with a very user-friendly site that allowed wave changes or team-name updates to be made after the initial registration. This made it easy to coordinate a group of people to fit all of our schedules! The race is a bit pricey, and gets more expensive towards the day of the race, so sign up early if you are interested! The website is great with a lot of helpful information such as what to expect and what to bring to the run.

I recruited a team of fellow Crossfit athletes from my box, plus Dawn from Canada (she drove 6 hours to visit and run!), and we cleverly named ourselves, “Rather Be Lifting.” We tried for “Snatch-tastic” to honor the seemingly vulgar-named Olympic lift, yet the registration desk denied that request.. Oops!

While it was our entire team’s first mud run, two of the ladies in our group were participating in their very first run overall, so it was quite a special experience for everyone! We were so fortunate to have some amazing weather so it was not sticky hot, nor too chilly.

Team “Rather be Lifting”: Hope, Dawn, me, Leslie, Kris

I am so thankful that Hope’s husband came to cheer her on, as he was a great photographer for the event (and so I have some blog footage!).

Check-In, Swag, and Gear Check

Checking in was a very smooth process, just having to show photo ID. Your bib number was assigned on the spot and then you were directed to the swag table. Here, too, the process went smoothly, where were provided with a cotton t-shirt, Dirty Girl necklace, and then directed to the gear check area.

Gear check also was a painless process! Our bibs had a gear tag that we could attach to our bags, which were stored in one of the tents. Upon finishing the race, you could only pick up your bag after verifying that your bib number matched the number on your bag. While I would recommend not bringing anything of high value, this was a nice process to have some sense of security knowing you will not be going home naked..

Race Start

I loved that the race went in waves every 30 minutes, so even though there were a ton of ladies participating, there was never a time that it felt too crowded. We made our way to the start line and went off promptly at 9:30am.

The entire course covered 12 obstacles, so the extent of running at once usually was no more than a quarter-mile (bonus!). It had rained the night before the run so the course was quite wet and muddy anyway, but it was amusing how many of us were running around the puddles and mud prior to the first obstacles! A few of the obstacles that stood out (and that I was able to get some footage of..) are below. The rest you will have to experience for yourself!

Barn Burner

Climb up higher than you ever thought you would go. Once at the top , there is nowhere to go but to gently bounce back down to the ground.

The first obstacle was not muddy at all, but did involve facing a fear of climbing up high. However, the reward was a fun bouncy slide! It reminded me of those bounce houses I used to love as a child.

Down and Dirty

It’s like crawling under the fence when you were a kid…you still giggle a bit, but there is a lot more mud and the fence is 40 feet long.

It was the next obstacle that we experienced our first muddy encounter. There was no avoiding the mud here; while you could manage to keep your top half dry, dousing your shoes and socks in thick, gooey, mud was quite inevitable.

H2OMG

Heard of water aerobics? This is more like muddy-water aerobics. Your job; climb in and get out to the other side any way you want. Water wings are not required.

After a few more obstacles, we had a nice “break”, having to crawl in and out of a small swimming pool of water. It was somewhat gross and swampy after so many muddy girls dunking themselves into it, but it was refreshing and it temporarily cleaned off all of the mud..

PMS (Pretty Muddy Stuff)

Dirty girls are Pretty and this Stuff is Muddy. Hop in the pit , run through to the other side. Pretty Muddy Simple.

But alas, our cleanliness was not going to last very long! While I suppose we could have just tiptoed through the mud pit and defeated the obstacle a bit cleaner, we thought it would be more fun to just get completely covered! 😉

Utopian Tubes

It’s wet and muddy in those tubes. Follow the light as you crawl through the short tunnel and emerge on the other side, muddy and laughing until your belly aches.

While I have no picture of this one, it brought back some bad memories of a first grade experience I had. We had to crawl into these tunnels to get to this neat planetarium type experience (you know the kind – they would start all scrunched up and you stretch it out so you can crawl through). There were fans in there holding the tunnel open and one of the little boys made some sort of comment that scared me to death of getting in that tunnel. So even though I am not crazy claustrophobic, I refuse to be put into any situation that has me in any sort of tight enclosed space. Another girl on my team felt similar.. but we sucked it up and used our Crossfit mentality to just do what we had to do. And we didn’t die. 😉

Time to clean up!

After our awesome finish (where were performed some burpees into the mud pit), we knew eventually we would have to get cleaned up. While playing in the mud is fun, it is not as pleasant walking around afterwards as the mud starts to cake and solidify on your body. You would be amazed at the places that mud hides..

Dawn and me!

We made our way to the shower and changing tent, which was a bit different from I expected. While the tent was secure and ladies-only, it was just one big, wide open space with multiple spray-nozzle hoses around the perimeter.

For many a conservative girl, this was a bit awkward experience. While I was comfortable hosing down in front of other women, and even would have been comfortable changing in front of others in a normal situation, it was pretty much a necessity to change your undergarments as well, and that part was very difficult to do in a wide open room. With some strategic towel-wrapping, I made it out unscathed!

Free Beer?!

In the end, we were all treated to a free beer! While I am not a beer drinker at all (as in, I have had two sips of beer twice in my life), I figured I would at least be a good sport and try it out. I mean, it was free and all (and there was not any wine..). Surprisingly, I was able to drink half the can! 😉

Overall, I had a blast as this run and it provided a perfect transition run before I embark on Warrior Dash next month! I highly recommend this run for anyone, athletic or not! You will be pushed a bit outside of your comfort zone, but it is all in good fun!

I will definitely do this run again and encourage all ladies to participate!

For more information, you can check out the Go Dirty Girl website, follow on Twitter, or “like” on Facebook!

Your turn..
Have you ever completed an obstacle course or mud run?
Do you have any fears or phobias?
Would you drive 6 hours just for a fun run!?