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A Muddy Saunter

Last Saturday our family participated in "The Dirty Dash".  We had never done anything like this so we really didn't know what to expect.

We drove up to Soldier Hollow where it took place.  On the way, the traffic was a little heavy because the Utah Valley Marathon was taking place so one half of the road was blocked off.  There were a lot of really tired and hot-looking people walking and running down the road as we drove past.

After our 4 participants got their race packets with their T-shirts, they went to the starting line for their starting time of 10:40--when you sign up, you pick the time you start.  We could see a lot of the race course from the observation point which was on a ridge above the start and finish lines.  There were a lot more obstacles than we had realized there would be.  The whole race was a 5K and there were maybe 15 or more obstacles scattered throughout.

Obviously, the main point was to get really dirty.  Immediately after starting there was a big mud pit to get through and there were many more like it.





The very last obstacle was a very deep pit of muddy water which required help to get out of:



There was a Slip 'n Slide in the middle:



And other unique obstacles:


I didn't run the race; I sat on the side by the bleachers with our two youngest.  I have to admit, I was getting pretty tired of being there mostly because I had to listen to the very loud race starter who was doing all kinds of gimmicks to keep the people waiting to start entertained.

I had no idea where my family was on the race course, so after a while, I started asking the people coming up from the finish line when they started.  The first guy I asked said he started more than two hours earlier!  He confessed that they didn't run at all; they just walked.  It was really a social event--not a race.  I started feeling concerned this was going to take another hour! But after a few more minutes my son and daughter showed up.  They had actually run the whole course and finished it in a reasonably amount of time.  After a little longer my husband and older son also showed up.  We took our obligatory pictures:



My husband was the dirtiest of them all--he had gotten submerged at one point when he slipped in the mud.  They took some very cold, quick showers and then we headed home.  It was definitely a unique experience which they enjoyed but aren't looking to do again any time soon.


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