Champions "Mud" Bash... ???

With few exceptions, this is where most of the mud was located

Nothing like jumping over a little fire...

Check us out! Team TLCF still fresh and clean prior to the festivities

All clean... for now...

Some of us got a little dirty I would say... I was hoping for caked mud...apparently not so much

Last Saturday was the day for the Champions Mud Bash in St. Cloud. I've been looking forward to this for awhile because I have heard so many great things about these types of events. I was so ready to be caked in mud from head to toe especially since it rained yesterday... however, the day was not exactly what I expected...

I arrived fairly early, the location was not very difficult to find. The weather was great and it rained for almost the entire evening the night before. The prospect for mud was high and I was ready to get dirty. Team TLCF (Ty Lewis Cancer Foundation) was decked out in our glorious pink tank tops in honor of the fact that the event was designed to raise money for Save the Ta Tas and the people around us were taking notice. I suppose it helps when you have several strapping lads donning their tight pink tank tops with phrases such as "Boobs, not just for breakfast". Our wave wasn't starting until 10AM so we wandered around to see the other contestants and their costumes as well as watch people cross the finish line. Based on the mud pool that we saw at the end, we were excited about the race to come.

As our time arrived, we lined up and got ready for the event. Chris was ready with 4 cameras in hand and we were revving up to go. Once the starter yelled go we were off... through a mine field of cow patties... yeah... poop... Aside from attempting to avoid all of the poop you were also running through trees that had these giant root systems sticking out of the ground. Right and left people were rolling ankles and tripping over heaven only knows what. I ran the first little stretch thinking I would be okay after making it through the trees because we were approaching an open field. Unfortunately, the open field was more treacherous than the trees were. Since it was grown over with grass you couldn't see the divots, holes, and other uneven elements in the ground so every step you took was a 50/50 shot that your foot was going to land level. It was at that point that I decided to walk. I am not the most graceful individual in the world and I was not about to roll my ankle right before we get on a cruise. Fortunately, I had wonderful company to walk with. (KP, Jake, Stacy & Sarge)

After deciding to walk, we started to reach obstacles that included, haystacks, large tires, and lines of flags that we had to step over. Anyone know where the mud is? I signed up for a mud bash, not a hay bash. There were a few obstacles that included mud along the way, but they were few and far between. People running the race were so desperate to get muddy that whenever they saw mud they would pick it up and smear it all over themselves. That's how low the mud count was for this race.

Now, there were two obstacles that were at least fairly enjoyable. They had a giant slip n slide set up that went down a hill and into a lake. It was definitely a blasting diving down that thing and into some mud and water. Especially since it was so incredibly hot by that point. The other obstacle was the trench of mud at the end. I suppose that you should actually have muddy people crossing the finish line, and to be honest that particular obstacle was a lot of fun.

I think the worst part about the lack of mud was the fact that there was just enough mud to be annoying. If you are going to an event that advertises mud obstacles, you expect to get caked in mud head to toe and just get nasty. At this particular event, you would get a little wet, and dry by the time you got to the next obstacle that actually had mud involved and all that was gross was your shoes and socks.

Overall, I was disappointed about the mud factor, but I had a good day because I got to spend time with my wonderful bootcamp family. Any event with them is a good event and although the mud was missing from the mud bash, it was still a successful day in the sun.