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Camp Pendleton Mud Run
(by Carol Moore)
The Mud Run was an experience that I must say I’ve
never had and the family will never forget! What a blast it was to
see all the participants getting muddy, laughing, and having a great
time, at the same time. All of them were competitive and strong,
dedicated and hard working.
It was a beautiful day for the run. As we toured the site and
viewed the obstacles, we could see that it would definitely be a
challenge for some of the runners. The broadcaster for the event
placed the number of participants at 3,500—we were amazed with the
number! We were also surprised to see individuals put duct tape on
their knees (fearing the scraping they would get in the tunnel was their
reasoning), and other duct taping their shoes to their feet (to
eliminate more sand then normal getting in the feet). Nathaniel
was socializing with a few people before the race, learning the ins and
outs, and before you know it, he had been convinced that he better
"duct tape" the pockets he had on his shorts!
After a morning warm-up and a little run to suicide hill, it was 9:00
a.m. At the start of the race there were thousands of individuals—the
teams started 15 minutes later. Nathaniel was at the beginning of
the pack (front line) and it took the whole pack 2 minutes and 17
seconds to pass the start line . . . what a massive crowd! As we
journeyed over to the stands, where they had put bleachers for the
spectators to watch everyone go through the mud pits, we heard the
talking from family and friends of last years times, etc. I sat in
amazement as I listened to the time it would take them . . . even with
all the obstacles, walls, tunnels, water, etc. Sure enough, at
43:45, the first runner approached the final mud lagoon! By the
way, it was his first year doing this and he did a great job breaking
the course record. After about 20 come across, we saw
Nathaniel. We cheered as he swam through the mud lagoon. His
time was 51:07. He placed 3rd in his age group (15 to
19). In 1st place was a 17 year-old who finished in
46:40. 2nd place in his age group was an 18 year-old at
49:43. The top three finishers received very nice medals.
Nathaniel was glad it was over, and when I said, "How did you
like it," his response was, "Not good" On the way home,
however, all he could talk about was the run and the obstacles. So I
asked him again, "did you have fun," and his response was,
"YES." That’s all that matters. We must say we are very
proud of his accomplishments.
For complete Results, see: http://www.y-events.com/mudiopen.htm |
