Race #6: June - Dirty Dash & Piglet Plunge

The Dirty Dash.  My first obstacle race. This race is a team challenge.  We registered early.   We were the Mud Pies.  This really became a family affair with a couple of adoptive additions.  I'm so glad I registered for this race.  We had a later start time because a handful of us were running the Piglet Plunge with our kids afterwards.  This meant we didn't have to get us at the crack of dawn to be up at Soldier Hollow.  Thank God.

We gathered in the parking lot where we took pictures and then headed out to the start.

The Start:

Our team had tentatively decided on doing the 5k.  However, when we finished the 5k, we decided we had enough time to do the whole 10k and be back for the piglet plunge.  This was a good idea, because all the best obstacles were on the second half of the course.

There was so much mud.  Mud to wade through, climb over, and slip across.  I was running this race with a tiny sprain.  Probably not the smartest idea, but I made it without breaking my ankle.  I did have to go a bit slower, but saving my body is always worth sacrificing time.

In the course, close to the end, there is a HUGE slide.  It looked awesome.  Some people were sliding down fine, others were having a bit more trouble.  I didn't want to slide completely out of control, so I decided against the running start.   I stood and jumped down the slide.  I wouldn't have needed the running start.  I shot down that slide.  So fast.  I thought there was going to be a whole ton of mud at the end.  You know, to help me slow down.  NOPE.  There was a tarp at the end, which meant that my extreme speed sent me flying off the end of the massive slide onto a watery mud covered tarp that would continue to hurl me down the mountain.  At the end of the tarp was a 1-2 foot drop.  I catapulted off it and landed on my bum so hard it rocked my back a good one.  My hubby even ran out to me to see if I was okay.  We couldn't take any recovery time though because there was a very large man coming at me at very high speeds.  We jumped out of the way just in time.  He would have broken us.  This slide was fun, but hurt.  So, it was the best and worst part of the race.

I really enjoyed the finish.  It was a huge pit of mud with cross sections of mud we had to climb over.  Very fun.  And great for picture opportunities.

We hurried to finish, skipped the pictures, and went right into the piglet plunge.

The Piglet Plunge was more than I expected.  I thought there was going to be a mud section that our kids could run through maybe 1/4 mile long.  I was so wrong.  The Piglet Plunge was at least a mile long with a crazy uphill mud climb, at least 3 obstacles (the HUGE slide was one of them; we skipped that), and the awesome mud pit at the end.  Completely worth the $20 for the kids.  My Sweet Pea LOVED it.  She wanted to keep going down the slide.  My little Green Bean wanted nothing to do with the mud.  Oh well, he'll get in on the fun next year.

There was not medal for this race.  Always sad when there's not, but it's okay.  We posed for pictures at the end, received food and water, and took a FREEZING shower.  We threw away our kids shoes, but my Hubby and I kept ours.  Stripping down is a must at the showers.  There is just too much mud.  EVERYWHERE.  You will discover crevasses that you never knew you had.

There were hot showers that you could pay for, but we did not pay the extra.  We headed back to a relatives home to clean up.  It was great to have them close and they were wonderful to let us destroy their bathroom with dirt.

This race is worth every penny.  I loved it and would definitely do it again.