Rhett S.

My momma always said... "life is like runnin in the mud, you never know how dirty you're gonna get." The Mud Run is exactly what you'd expect. That is, a bloody muddy good time for 6.5 miles. This was my first year competing and I can't wait for the many more to come. No one can teach you how to prepare for a race like this; but like Anne Marie wrote, I can atleast provide some advice... ------- Do not eat the mud - It smells and tastes horrible... trust me. Sign up early - asssemble a team and sign up quickly. It sells out every year ($50 per person). Arrive early - If the race starts at 9am, get to the entrence of Camp Pendleton by 8am. Expect traffic on a single lane road. Bring a bag - Check it in before the race. Should include sandals, bottoms, and a top (you will be provided a shirt). Practice your uphill pace - This is the second toughest part (just behind trying to keep the mud out of your mouth). Thin socks - Thinner the sock means less obsorbtion of mud. less obsorbtion means less chafage. Shampoo/Conditioner + small face towel + moisturizing lotion - There will be showers at the end. USE THEM! The mud will stick in places you'd never expect. It's tough to get off and will leave your skin very dry. No pockets - It makes it hard to clean out when you got mud in your pockets. It also weights you down. No Pants - wear booty shorts girls! Tighter the better (because of the mud... i swear :) guys, shorts are fine (again, no pockets). No hats, visors, or headbands - You will end up loosing them along the race probably in the mud. Bring a waterproof disposable camera - The muddy memories are priceless. don't carry water - there is plenty of water and gatorade provided by marines. Cooler with beer - leave it in the car for after the race. ------------- I think that is it. Lastly, sign up next year and have fun!!!

Joy B.

Let me preface this review by expressing my delight to discover that Mud Run is on Yelp. Everything worth talking about is on Yelp. I was intro'd to this torture fest from two of my good friends. We all signed up in January for a June race (FYI it sells out quick so this is the lead time you need to keep in mind!) My BF was supposed to race as well, but he conveniently got sick the day prior. Lol, just kidding, he really was sick - I could tell, so I gave him a get out of torture free pass. I think he was so adverse to doing the race that he visualized illness and made it a reality, just to have a legitimate reason to flake out. The world may never know. Ho hum. Anyway, last Saturday was the 2nd year in a row I have subjected myself to becoming a dirty, diiiiiirty girl, and oh yes, I loved every stinkin' (literally) minute of the mudder funkin' fun! 6.5 miles of fun to be exact. There were hills,tire obstacles, river crossings, and 5 foot walls surrounded by mud pits..oh my! I must confess, I am a girly girl, but few know the hulk like athlete that lies within this svelte frame. The best part about it was that I beat my time from last year by about 3 minutes. HOOAH-BULOUS! I placed 26th in my sex/age class and 479th overall with a time of 1:09. Considering the best overall female time was 0:50 and they time participants up to the 2:30 mark, my time is pretty dayum good, if I don't say so myself! And that's without any training above and beyond my regular work outs. Oh yeah, did I mention that I was in a tube top? Yes, I ran in a tube top in the name of vanity for fear of developing an unsightly "sport bra" tan. Let me explain before you think I'm a bimbo; I am a bridesmaid in a wedding that takes place this Saturday, as is my friend who also ran the race, in a tube top. The bridesmaid dress that we'll only wear once, might I add, is strapless. Therefore, I shunned the idea of sporting a sport bra tan whilst my back face the audience. Tantastic? No. Anyway, so that explains why I wore a damn tube top to do a 10K race. Had I not had a wedding to be in, I'd wear the appropriate attire. So there you have it. :) The mud pits were decidedly stinkier this year, and the river floor was covered in moss, so I was slipping and sliding the entire crossing, which I'm convinced stole precious moments from my time. One of my friends did #1 in the river (not Steve); but you didn't hear that from me! As long as you don't have an open wound and you don't swallow any water, you shouldn't have to worry about getting gangrene or some random infection. If you do, there's medical staff on standby. LOL, kidding! The good news is that I made out with good results, so all them beeyotchs who might have been whispering amongst each other about my race outfit just ate my tube top wearing asses mud dust! And I took preventative measures to ensure a wardrobe malfunction would not take place each time I rose out of the muddy waters. There are event photographers who cover "action shots" at the obstacle check points - last year I only had one stinkin photo, my BF had one, Anne had 2, and all Steve got was a shot of his bicep. WTF? This year I hope to see more shots of us getting down and dirty. Perhaps the tube tops will have worked to our advantage to get us more camera play. As for Steve, well, he didn't wear a tube top so he might get lucky and get a bicep AND tricep shot this year. Go Steve! Post race the mud run staff has boxes of bananas and oranges as well as H20 and Gatorade to refresh and nourish the wary. The oranges were delectably sweet this year. This is the only place you can go and have a mass communal shower with 4,000 or so of your closest strangers. Lines of sepia toned, tired mud runners line up like drones for the coldest showers in town. No, there is no such thing as "hot" or even "lukewarm" for that matter. But, it's either take the icy shower or have mud up your unmentionable places for an undetermined amount of time. Being more experienced this time around, I mastered the "towel change" and managed to change clothes under the opaque protection of my 100% cotton magician cape. Move over, Copperfield. Mud Run is very well organized; the military staff is so nice, hospitable, and during the race they are at check points with water & gatorade as they shout motivating words your way to keep you goin'. I highly recommend you challenge yourself to roll in the mud as an adult at least once in your life, and Mud Run is the perfect place to do just that. Hooah!

Chris G.

I've done about every race involved with the Camp Pendleton race series. This particular review is for the World Famous Mud Run. I've been doing this event for 8+ years, and it has really grown into an 'event.' This year they had an abundance of vendors for food, drinks, face painting, massages, etc. They also re-enforced the military aspect through a strong presence of military vehicles, MP's with guns, huge flags, and various military artillery apparatuses (Howitzer). The post race atmosphere is very fun, and as interactive as any race I've run, including carnival type rides, face painting, bands on the big stage, and plenty of things to entertain the family. As for the course, I've become accustomed to the obstacles, there was minimal change, but it was still fun. They did add a few push up stations, and a sand bag lifting area, otherwise it was largely unchanged. Aside from those challenges, you can expect mud pits (obviously!), cargo nets, wall hurdles, spraying fire hoses, mud ridden hills, creek crossings, tube tunnel crawls, and lots of hills. This race is a great endurance test, so don't show up thinking it will be a breeze, it's not. They do a wonderful job of providign several hydration stations - thanks to all the volunteers. For me, this has become a fun annual event that I do with my friends. They have recently constructed a fun run for kids, and a 5K, so there is a race for everyone, NO EXCUSES!

Erik S.

This is for the World Famous Mud Run, which is cleverly disguised under "Camp Pendleton Races." Recognize: this is the original mud run, and still the best. While some Harvard MBAs cooked up the Spartan Race, the Muddy Buddy, The Warrior Dash, etc., etc. as cheap to produce cash-cows, Camp Pendleton is the real deal, on real Marine training courses, not some improvised deal in a parking lot. And it can be damn tough. I did the run twice about 8-9 years ago, before I started getting all full of myself and doing the SD Rock'n'Roll Marathon every year, which takes place on the same weekend. I took a break from the damn marathons this year and did the Mud Run instead. My, how it's grown: Buses to get to the start! Carnival rides! Carnival food! And 6 or so wave starts each day over two consecutive weekends. It's also tougher than I remembered before. My team opted for the 10K. In addition to the mud pits and struggles over obstacles and up slippery hills, the 10K included runs up very hilly trails through recently burned-out terrain. Part of the course went through one of the urban-warfare training areas, where in one of the adjacent buildings, fake smoke, gunfire, explosions, and rumbling tank noises emanated, but not at a loud enough volume to trigger anyone's PTSD, I sure hope. Probably the toughest part of the course involved having to crawl or crab-walk 100+ yards under 3-foot-high netting that covered the muck where we used to do a lake crossing. I still have the healing scrape marks on my hands to prove I traversed the gravely places. Great car-wash-like preliminary cleaning stations afterwards, followed by showers, followed by a beer garden and a kick-ass band. Good times!

Dave L.

Groups showers? That's why I signed up! I loved every dirty moment of the Mud Run. Some of the highlights include climbing a ridiculously steep hill with a guy on top hosing down the trail into mud, swimming across a stagnant lake, and diving head first into the mud crawl. This is easily one of the top 3 funnest races I've done. The only thing I regret was carbo-loading the night before on donuts. What the heck was I thinking! Tips: Register early! Race sells out in about a week (early Jan).

Brian P.

This was my second year doing this mud run here. It's a total kick in the ass. We have done it twice as a team event. Teams of 5 is the max. But get several teams if you can and all run together. Its a blast. Its really the only time I can hold my girlfriend under water and everyone laughs. How can you pass on that opportunity?! You get to the mud pits and its on. Your "Teammates" turn on you like a Pitbull from a bad home. My suggestion is wait until the end when they are all gassed out... then go for revenge. No strength to fight back. Tips of things to bring: Great friends Shoes you don't mind tossing away Clothes you don't give a crap about A couple of towels Flip flops Change of cloths Sunblock An extra friend for photo taking Cash (limited ATM USE) and its all cash basis there Frozen Gatorade (it will be frosty cold when you are done) Great event, Great photo ops and all around good dirty fun.

janie j.

This is by far my favorite race EVER. The obstacles are good, and by good I mean challenging. Be prepared to get completely soaked/wet/muddy/dirty. I like that the obstacles were well spread out and you get down to business early on in the race. When I ran it, they drench you with a fire hose within the first mile, and there were some scattered little streams you had to run through to get a taste of what was to come. Then there's the massive uphill (oy) and the mud pits with walls those were LOTS of fun. They're high enough to be a challenge but not impossible. The big river you basically swim/wade through helps you clean up a bit. Then there's a mudy uphill, and the famous mud pit right before the finish. I have to say they do a spectacular job organizing this event, the gear check is very thorough and they are prepared with showers and donation bins everywhere to get rid of your muddy gear. I love love love this race, it sells out fast so if you want to experience it sign up early (like the first day) and be prepared to have loads of fun!