The Swamp Romp was an absolute BLAST!!! 5.5 miles of mud, puddles, mud, obstacles, mud, ocean, mud, sand, mud, stream, mud, hills, mud. Oh, did I mention the mud?
Although the check-in/drop off waiver/pick up timing chip, was poorly organized, it was way worth the effort. Lots of characters in costume.
The wanted teams to start off in sequence, but when the gun went off, at least 1/3 the field was still waiting in line for their chip.
They started three teams together, in 30 second intervals. We were team #8 & #69. By the time I got my group to the start, they were already in the 30's. No biggie, since the time goes by mat, and not gun time.
Out the chute, and headed down a dirt path. First giant puddle, I was stomping and splashing everyone withing 20 feet of me. They were yelling "hey, stop that." My reply was, "you're going to be way dirtier than this when it's over." I just laughed and kept on running.
First obstacle had a line backed up. Reason, you climbed up a 7 foot ladder, in which you slid down the back to the first mud pit. Automatically you were stuck in the mud. People were trying to walk out, but you were stuck up to your knees. I opted to lie face first, and crawled Army man style out of the mess. I did have to push a few by their butts, to get them out of my way.
These pictures doesn't show how thick the mud was. My wife got there after I had already gone through. The water you see was not there when I went through. These people standing, means it was way easier to get out than when I went through.
From there we ran through more puddles, and had to climb over at least 5 log obstacles ranging from 3 to 6 feet high.
Down the road, we had to run through a thick clay area of a estuary. Some people opted to swim through it. From there down a path, and eventually up a short hill. Down another path from there to the first water stop.
From there we went along a roadway, and went through a bushy area. We emerged and went though several deep puddles. There was even a puddle where you had to crawl through a 2 1/2 foot tunnel.
Further up the path, we rounded a corner, and had a beach to run down. It was about 1/2 mile down, where you had to go into the Pacific Ocean, to round a marker that was about 20-25 feet off shore. It was about waist high in the water. Now back down the beach from the way you came, so you go to see everyone behind you. This is where I spotted the second team I put together, and had started behind us.
Just before the end of the beach, there were two separate wood crate tunnels, that you had to crawl through in the sand. When you exited, there was a crate about 4 feet tall, and 6 feet wide that you had to climb over. Fortunately there was the second water stop.
The next puddle required you to get down on your stomach, and go under a cargo net. No room under there, so basically I was swimming with my eyes closed.
From there back on the trail, and a tire obstacle course. Back through more puddles, and then back to a road for a short distance. We turned a corner around a fence, and entered a stream. It was deep, and unstable because you were walking through grass that the people ahead of you had trampled down.
Up a hill, around another fence line and we arrived back to the staging area and near the finish line. But, we couldn't finish just yet. We stood there for about 25-30 minutes for the rest of my team to catch up. Teams were passing us to the finish, but we had no choice, we had to wait.
Finally the others got there, and we finished arm in arm. I have no idea what our time was, as there was no clock at the finish line. I'll have to find out later.
We took a fun finisher's photo at the end, all sitting in a puddle. I can't wait to see that.
There were two fire trucks at the finish, which gave a great shower with a 3 inch hose. Talk about water pressure! I wore a pair of bathing suit shorts under my pants, so that I could strip down and get all the funk off of me. Well, needless to say, it took three shampoos, and scrubbing with some strong body wash to get the funky smell off of me.
All in all, I had a great time, and can't wait to sign up again. Only thing is I need to find better teammates who can run together, and not whine about their boots, the blisters, and the mud. A few of those who came out today, will not be on my call list next year. Too many headaches before the race ever started.
What was really the best part, mud spa for $22, and it included the tshirt! Some of you pay over $100 for a spa treatment. I saved big bucks today!
I somehow manage to do most of my training on flat surfaces (the coast lines are great for that), so I'm not really prepared for hills, either!
I had to do it on my treadmill at home (home for the weekend from WVU.) and I hate that treadmill... it's in the cold, dark basement. It's old and I'm pretty sure it doesn't track distance right. I did my normal workout that usually is between 1.5 and 2 miles and it said I only did 1.... grr. Oh well... 
