The Survival Race

For the past couple years, I've heard about and seen pictures of various mud runs and always think they look pretty fun. So when a Living Social deal came through for one in Dallas, I was on it. Not everyone thought it sounded so amazing (cough cough, Sarai, cough), but Lizzi agreed to do it with me. The race was at some random paintball field in the middle of nowhere and had 8 obstacles over the course of a 5K. Here's the rundown...

1. A football training-camp-esque tire run. Turns out we were supposed to run on top of the tires vs. doing high knees through their centers. Live and learn.

2. Crossing a mud pit...via a tree branch.

3. Climbing up a muddy incline, while some A-hole sprays a hose at your face.

4. Trudging through a muddy creek where Lizzi ate it, I made fun of her, and then God laughed in my face as he struck me down too.

5. A rope thingy-ma-bopper that you climb up and over. This was definitely the scariest one. Don't let the look on my face fool you; I was smiling so I wouldn't cry. Lizzi, on the other hand, looks pretty confident.

6. Some stupid cement spindle that you're supposed to climb over. The guy working at that stop (and Lizzi) had fun watching me run and try to jump over to no avail not once, but twice. Then the two-part grand finale of...

7. A crazy high* blazing fire pit you have to jump over *crazy high = 4 to 6 inches off the ground

8. A big sloshy mud pit with barbed wire down low that you have to crawl under on your stomach. This was clearly my favorite one...hands down. I can't promise that Lizzi and I quite went for it like this lovely gentleman in the picture – I'm just assuming that's a man – but you've got to appreciate his effort.

Lizzi was hungover for the entire thing and forgot her inhaler, so it was more of a mud stroll than run, but we had fun and got some good pics. Hardcore, right?