At long last, the Muddy Buddy!

As the sun came up yesterday morning, Luke, Kathy (Luke's mom) and I drove out to Gilberts, IL to join the 2,800 other Muddy Buddy competitors.

We got there around 6:15, just about in time to see the "parade" of costumed competitors participating in the optional costume contest. My personal favorite was the girls who did wear their bridesmaid dresses again after all.

Here are a couple before pictures. The first is a picture I took accidentally while showing Kathy how to use Luke's camera, but I think it's kind of fun.

Luke before the race

Us before the race

The mud pit before the race

Overall, the course was maybe a little bit more difficult than we had anticipated, but, happily, many of the other participants were less competitive than we would have anticipated. Many people were out there strictly to have fun, like us!

Luke started biking and I started running. The course included several steep and not-as-steep hills, and lots of mud, as well as four obstacles: balance beams, an inflatable slide with cargo net ladder, a climbing wall, and a ranger weave.

Luke biked again for the last leg, and got to the end, where he dropped the bike in the "transition area" and waited for me before the mud pit.

Climbing out of the mud pit

Muddy!

And finally, the official "after" picture

We had a lot of fun, and Luke even agreed to do it again with me sometime (although not next year)! I think next time I'll try to get a little more muddy.

Official race pics here.