This was my first ever mud run which I signed up for months ago and read all of the tips beforehand so I knew to print out the waiver prior to arriving which definitely helped speed things up for me. My 'wave' was at 10:15 and I arrived at 9:15 which gave me plenty of time to find parking, get my bib, watch some of the other waves begin, and stock up on food and water. Wow was it hot! The very first obstacle was hilarious! Everyone was laughing hysterically as they hit the mud and crawled through the chilly mess. A welcome relief from the heat. Next up was the spider net, tires, and slide. I wish the slide was higher with a bigger puddle at the end. The hurdles were definitely a challenge. I am not a 'little' person by stretching anyone's imagination so it was quite difficult heaving myself over three five foot walls. Then we hit the cargo climb. Eeek! There was a slight delay here which only added to my fear of falling. I barely suppressed a panic attack at the top. The guys manning this obstacle were very encouraging and kept the pace moving. Finally, we get some water at the half way mark. A complete waste as we immediately hit the 'Ditch of Death' next. Yep, this was a mud slurry cocktail sucking at your shoes. Much like a really thick shake of mud with no safe place to step. Here was where many people literally 'ate it' myself included. Now I really needed water to wash out my mouth. I made it through the remaining obstacles, including monkey bars, hay bales, cargo net, and stairs to reach the final insult! Corrugated pipes ending in another mud pit! I am too tall so I pretty much just had to slither through like a snake going head first into the drink! I had more fun with this than I've had since I was a child. The entire route I heard mostly only squeals of joy and laughter. I think people who started later in the day probably had less fun due to the crowds that eventually piled up. Funny moment at the showers. A young man just finished cleaning up and promptly fell in the mud pit created by the showers. The entire crowded loved it! Pros: Employees very encouraging, obstacles fantastic, fun group of people to run with. I believe I was caught up in the middle of the 10:00 - 10:30 waves. Very competitive fun group helping push each other into the mud and then helping to pull them out again. Cars on the freeway honking encouragement! Cons: Shower lines too long! Cranky people in long shower lines complaining nonstop. Needs at least one more water station along the route. I am hooked and looking forward to next years event with excitement. Somehow, even though my bib and timer was coated in mud, my time was reported correctly. Oh yeah, only took one hour to complete the entire course and I did every obstacle. Yeah me! read more

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Poorly executed event. The coarse was narrow and the obstacles were poorly engineered. The registration booth, t-shirt pick up, race finishers meet was so spread out and was really inconvenient to get to. It was not in order and you had to walk far to go to each one. The waves started really close and it caused bottle necks in a lot of the obstacles. There was a few courses that required you to wait in a single file line to get through. Very annoying especially if your someone like me that wants to smash the course. The water station only had one guy pouring water and he was not keeping up with demand. One of my main concerns is the safety of the course. I know I filled out a waiver, but the event has to do its part to consider the safety of the racers. There was a lot of narrow obstacles (i.e. first mud crawl and small cargo ladder) and they did not control the flow of participants. To me actually dangerous. Since they started the races so close there was such a mess in bottle necking. The mud crawl was packed with people like sardines. I seen a lot of people scream because at the end of some mud slides your foot will get stuck and other people will slide into them when they were stuck. I slide head first every time! At the end of the race, the race finishers were not greeted with medal givers and congratulators. You had to pick up your medal from a table in plastic wrap and put it on yourself. Now, I can care less about this, but if this is your first type of event, you would want to feel a little more accomplished rather than, "whoopee you finished now get your medal yourself." The impression the left was no one cared that you finished. The volunteers were more into not getting dirty so they were really not committed to the job. This event used the chip system stuck on the number bibs rather than one you can tie on your shoe. Probably cuz its cheaper, but I seen too many bibs ripped off and laying on the ground of the course. It will take a beating from the obstacles. They lacked photographers. Only photo opt was at the end. I didn't see any photographers on the course. The wash off/showers was really far from the finish line and it was an obstacle itself. I waited at least an hour to get washed off. Instead of having a few showers with low pressure nozzles, have a fire hose wash off the crowd. A lot of frustrated event goers just broke off the nozzle hose to increase the pressure of the water. I have done other mud or obstacle coarse events, but this was the weakest and most expensive of all 5K events I have done. I was really disappointed. I felt that this event was more about making money rather than the experience. They cut corners on safety and service (as mentioned, lack of course photographers). This is what I propose in the next event. -Have the race times start further apart or have less racers in a group. My best bet is that this is not going to change cuz this event needs to "Make its money" -Create more lanes in the mud obstacles and put a little more thought into it as well. -Have a water shower right after the finish line. -Have the volunteers have more enthusiasm and congratulate the finishers If this event can convince me to make some changes in the future, then I will consider to join again. So far, this is the first and last time I will be doing this event. **I added a picture of what of the bottlenecks look like in one of the mud obstacles.** Update - I left some constructive criticism on their Facebook page. But my comments have been deleted and now I am not able to post on their page. If anyone is reading my review please know how they are treating me as a paying patron with an honest opinion. read more

Survivor Mud Run - An example of the lines you had to endure in one of the obstacles. A symptom of starting races to close to each other. - Races & Competitions Near Me - Lathrop, California

Good: Parking, Bathroom, Entertainment, Size and Staff. Bad: The waves of competitors are sent running too closely together so way too many people are stuck at obstacles. I found myself waiting for a long time(about 20+min) between 2 obstacles. The Geo tag monitors given as a bib recorded my time waaaayyyyy off by several HOURS!!!!???? And the worst part was the showering station. I found myself in the line for more than an hour. Bottom Line: I will go back next year but I wont expect much. I will either have to start much earlier or much later so I don't get stuck. I later learned of a river a five minute walk away and next year that's were I'm going to get the mud off. And as the Geo tracker I will just have to wait and see if the can get better working ones. I'm serious about these obstacles races and I just wish they were to. read more

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I signed up for the 2013 edition of this race over a month ago, when the race was scheduled to occur in Modesto which is a short 1.5 hour drive from the South Bay. I received an email saying the venue had changed due to safety reasons, which I completely understand, to now occur well east of Sacramento. That change also adds an hour to the drive in which case it's no longer driving out that morning to participate, it's driving out to Sacramento the night prior, adding to the total participation fee. Had that been the original venue I seriously doubt I would have signed up. Best part? The email telling me of the venue change also says "*PLEASE KNOW THAT THERE WILL NO REFUNDS DUE TO THE ADDRESS CHANGE*". Yes, in all CAPS. My response: Please know I'll never sign up for one of your events again, and I'll leave you some feedback on Yelp. read more

This was my first mud run EVER and I have to say I had a GREAT Experience. We got there around 9am for our 10:45am run and it was just enough time to register, get our shirts, use the bathroom and stretch before the race. We began the race running up a gravel slope and descending down the other side of a tower. My feet were already in pain from feeling the rocks under neath my feet. We then ran on a gravel path towards our first obstacle, a mud pit. Obstacles included in no particular order: Mud pit. Trying to be clean, I crawled under the ropes instead of laying on my belly.. this resulted in knee scrapes from the rocks in in the mud pit. A series of strung bungees. This was easy to get by if you were with a group. It took team work to go through each rope together and I paced myself with my other group members to get through successfully without get tangled Tires. It would have been easy to run through this part if there weren't mounds of mud in the middle of the tires. If you went too fast it could result in a twisted or sprained ankle. Slide. You go down a slide and then have to run on the end of it whilst trying not to slip and then run on a muddy surface again trying to maintain your balance. After the slide we had to jump over several mud pits. Balance Beam. Walk across beams over a ditch without falling. Wall hurdle. We jumped over 3 chest high walls. Cargo net climb. We had to climb up a rope wall and then climb down the other side of it Mud Trench. This area was backed up but the funnest part of the run. We stood in line to go through an obstacle that featured a muddy trench with a waist deep mud hole that you have to climb out of. A few "cheaters" ran along the obstacle but suffered the consequence of all the waiting people tossing clumps of mud clay and muddy water at them. Monkey Bars. This was one area I thought I would fail because my hands were so muddy, but I found that the bars that had mud on them were much easier to grasp and got across successfully. Cargo Net Crawl. Climb on all fours across a cargo net. This was rough and I fell on my 1st attempt, but successfully made it across going sideways. Pit Fall. Slide down into a ditch and climb back up on the other side Climb up and down bushels of Hay stacked up high. Mud Crawl. Climb under mesh in a muddy area without falling. We did this again as a team and made it across the area without pulling each other down. Cross a waist deep mud pit and climb over and under PVC Pipe. This was funny because my friend kept slipping in the mud and fell a few times. She also took me down with her a few times. I gave up trying to stand and climbed under the PVC where everyone else was climbing over. Mud Hills. This was the hardest part of the course. The slippery hills was where we had to use the most team work and strangers helped pull/push each other up the slipper slopes. This is where some people got hurt and we had to wait a while in the back up of chaos. Tubes. Crawl while slippery through pipes and fall into a mud pit below. I inched my way on my back to do this. Stairs. Two sets of stair cases going up and down. I think that was all of them! It took us 2 hours to complete the course because of the two backed up areas, but we made it! We were greeted at the finish line with people giving us our medals, free bottles of water, free bananas, and free coconut water to rehydrate ourselves. We then waited in a long line to shower in COLD water. We got all cleaned up and headed to Golden Coral Buffet on our way home. It was an amazing fun filled day! TIPS: Wear spandex type clothing, anything cotton will soak up water and be very heavy during the run. I heard people complaining that the water was heavy in their clothes and that their pants were falling off. Wear running shoes that are light weight. (I wore aqua socks and my feet hurt from running on gravel. My friend wore shell toes and the rubber toe got stuck in a lot of the muddy areas) I also heard people say that their shoes were heavy b/c of the water and mud. Wear lots of Sun Screen.. i wore some but still got burned. Tie hair in bun- I wore mine in a pony-tail and my hair was a mud stick by the end of the day. Bring portable shower if possible. You use a lot of water to get the mud out, but waiting in the long line dried all the mud on our bodies. It took us an hour to shower off and another 30 mins to change. read more

Yelp should have the ability to add video. Here's a video I made of the run: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pn_7KXXiPk This was my 1st Mud Run and I agree with the other reviewers. I decided to write this after thinking about the experience for awhile. I really wanted to do a Tough Mudder, but we as a group wanted to "try" one out first. I wasn't so concerned about my time but more for the experience since plain ol' running is boring. Pros: - It is fun with friends - Lots of mud in the beginning and end - Weather Cons - Not enough water in the events, the beams didn't have water underneath. If you fall, you'll most likely get hurt - Only one drinking station - No safety folks around to rinse your eyes - The bottlenecks at the ditch and the log jam were just horrible. - Not challenging - Waiting for the showers was the worst, and don't bother washing your feet, you end up walking in mud after the shower Tips: - Rent a van when going with a group (we drove from Daly City) - Don't bother bringing soap, lol - I believe my Vibram Five Fingers helped me not get stuck in the mud - Bring jugs of water to rinse off later In the video, of course I wanted to make it look fun, but damn, most of the time was just standing around waiting. My battery even ran out before the end, and we started with the 11:45 wave. The next mud run I want to do has to be near a lake, so I can just jump in and wash off. The only reason why this was fun is because of the company of friends I was with. read more

They should rename the event the "Survivor Mud Wait." There was really nothing to "survive" other than a hefty registration fee, long lines and disorganization. First off, let me tell you that I had fun despite the fact the event execution was pretty much a total fail. The checkin process was slow and unclear. The waivers were at a different building than the bib lines. And, since I previously changed my reservation months before the event from Saturday to Sunday, they made me wait in a second line (one with a computer) for my bib. That line was slow and disorganized. Why did I have to wait in two lines?? There were very long waits at two of the obstacles. Since I did not have the luxury of being at the event all day, I bypassed the first obstacle, which consisted of a massive line of people walking very, very slowly through mud (I estimated it would take 40+ minutes to get through it). I got pelted with dried mud by people calling me a "cheater" (as did several other people). Some were hurling hardened mud clobs, even pelting young girls as they ran by. The event staff did nothing to stop it. The line at the final obstacle was ridiculous as well. Took me about a half-hour just to even get onto the obstacle itself, and several minutes to trudge along with the masses through it. After the event, it took about an hour wait in line to be able to take a shower. Despite all this, I still had fun and will probably do it again. The event organizers just got greedy and sold too many tickets, sending too many people in waves that were not spaced out enough. I posted a comment about the excessive wait times at the obstacles and showers on their Facebook page under their "NorCal" message, but it seems to have disappeared... they said they didn't delete it, so I don't know... so I'm posting my observation here instead, where I trust it will receive a larger audience. read more

If you're looking to walk 3.5k and stand in line for obstacles, then the Survivor Mud Run offers a fun afternoon. However, if you're looking for a competitive, physical challenge (as I was), DO NOT SIGN UP--unless you can get in the top 5 starting times on Saturday or Sunday. The Good: -Food, parking, bathrooms widely available -Great weather The Bad: -20min+ total WAIT TIME DURING THE RACE for obstacles (bib times not adjusted, so you had NO chance of winning if you were in the later heats) -1 HOUR+ wait for the showers once the race was finished Suggestions for Improvement: 1. Create a recreational division. There were several walkers on the course, as well as people frozen on the obstacles who collectively backed up the later heats. A rec division (think of it as fast and slow lanes on the highway) might help ease the backups without restricting the number of participants. 2. Post-Race Showers. Need a system (such as a firetruck) that has a constant, high-force stream of water to hose down crowds en masse. read more

I agree with the prior couple posts. This event was REALLY poorly executed. Luckily I started early (10:15am) so the bottlenecks weren't so bad. The one time that my group had to cheat was in the ditch obstacle - if we didn't, we would have had to wait at least half an hour. People were throwing hard pieces of mud at the "cheaters" - something that should have been prevented by nonexistent volunteers stationed at the areas. The monkey bars were a joke, no one was actually climbing on them. The wait for the showers at the end of the run was the worst. You didn't exactly have the option of opting out since you were literally covered in mud. There were thousands of people waiting for maybe 15-20 showers. If you are going to sign up for this - wear some really crappy old shoes that you're willing to throw away. Sign up for a VERY early time slot so you can avoid the bottlenecks, the wait for the showers, and the HEAT. Park in the surrounding areas to avoid the $10 parking fee. Fill out your waiver prior to standing in line for registration. WEAR SUNSCREEN. Although most of the obstacles were fun to do with your friends, I would definitely not do this again. read more

I understand that Survivor Mud Run presents extreme obstacles including, but not limited to, fire, mud pits and steep hills...I felt like I was promised fire =( First ever experience and it was a fun-filled experience. The Survivor Mud Run was an event recommended by a friend who grabbed a bunch of us filled with mixed emotions thinking we were going to suffer dearly for agreeing to come out. However, after going through the registration and filling out our waivers beforehand, we picked up our bibs hours before our event and browse the surroundings and watch the other competitors. Attitude is the key to having fun that day. Groups of people came out in costumes and team colors with war paint ready to survive the mud run by all means necessary. Having friends run in a group and staying in a group help motivated one another and aid in the obstacles rather than bypassing them. I was happy to see the one water station at the midway point, no not because I was thirsty, (a little bit) but I'm the type of person who will rub his eye because he put sunblock on his forehead and the sweat went into my eye (OUCH) and would rub it with dirty muddy fingers...haha...so heed my warning boys and girls I agree with the other reviews that the heats were too close together and obstacles were constantly backed up and the shower wait time was ridiculous. It would be nice if they had split the course to a slower group and a faster group. Overall, they should have done what they did, but times it by two to satisfy the amount of people they had attend Survivor. However, I didn't care too much about our race time, and was glad to get through all the obstacles...still wanted fire though. If you want an extreme challenge, this is most likely not for you. There was simple fair food and beer for those ready to pig out and let loose after their run. I'd be happy to sign up another year for an earlier slot and ready to challenge myself correctly. Seriously, fire next time or no go =P read more

After reading all the reviews on here I had to submit my own. This was the second year I attended the mud run. The event was well planned and executed both years. Your attitude your bring can make a big difference I think. I only got there about an hour early the first time and had plenty of time to check in. The second time I was about a half hour early and barely had time to check in and check my bag but I made it. That was my fault for being late. All the staff was professional and courteous. I had a question about the photos that they couldn't answer but they did point me in the right direction. The waves were well spaced and the obstacles were plenty wide. Everyone had a great time and were helping each other through the obstacles. I notices some people skipping obstacles and no one said anything. The first year I was with a large group and had friends in an even bigger group. That made all the difference. This event is for FUN it is not like the tough mudder. Survivor Mud Run is more for the casual runner. I did it with my 15yr old daughter my wife and father in law. He got bored and ran ahead at one point. but I stuck with the girls and we had fun tackling the obstacles together. We didn't train hardly at all and so we walked a lot but still had fun. Took us an hour and twenty seven minutes. I look at it this way we got our moneys worth by taking our time. I would recommend this event. Just bring a good attitude. You will will get dirty that is part of the fun and you will have even more fun with friends. It is a bonding experience and you have something to talk about and look forward to next year. read more

This was the second mud run that I have done and I was comparing it to the previous one the whole time. I had a fun time but there were definitely a few things that weren't so fun. First, I agree with a few other reviews that the waves should have been more spread out. Waves every 15 minutes caused a lot of congestion at a few obstacles. And it was very crowded in the first mud pit, I kept thinking someone was bound to get injured. I felt that the obstacles were just average and lacking the wow factor. Also, it was HOT on Sunday and there was only one water station on the entire course. It would have been great to have one more considering the heat and the fact that the course was 100% in the sun. I also think the timing devices used in the bibs were inaccurate. My time has still not shown up on the website but one of my girlfriend's time has. We crossed the finish line together so not sure what happened. Oh well! Luckily I ran with some great people and despite the heat, we had a good time! I planned ahead and brought jugs of water to "shower" off at the car rather than waiting in a ridiculous line to get hosed off. This saved lots of frustration and got us out of the sun fast! I HIGHLY recommend this for any future mud runs! read more

I've only done a handful of these muddy types of events, so I don't have a lot of experience comparing them. And, I was excited to get onto this course. My sis-in-law and my two nieces joined me in the 1230 Sunday wave. We were eager to start the fun. In hindsight, the most fun was standing at the Start giggling about how much fun we expected to have. I was very disappointed. The obstacles were crowded and backed up, which caused resentment from those of us waiting patiently, while others walked around and bypassed them. Some of the obstacles were fun, some were pointless. They had rebar posts stuck out of the ground at about waist high (without any of those mushroom safety hoods atop them) lining and marking the course, which was extremely dangerous given the amount of stumbling, running, tripping racers passing by them. I can't believe someone didn't get impaled. The one water station was inadequate for the day's weather and dusty conditions. The Trench which caused the first 20 minute backup was pointless. I wouldn't mind waiting if it was a thrilling, engaging obstacle, but sadly it wasn't. The final mudpit was extensive and a blast, but as others have mentioned, it seemed very dangerous due to the amount of racers sardined into it. Uncontrolled sliding into racer's ankles anchored in the mud is not good. The showers at the end were woefully inadequate, and I cannot stress this enough. Given the size of the facility and the number of participants, the showers could have been and needed to be 10 times larger than they were. Finally, I decided to indulge in my one free beer. I stood in front of the beer guy (covered in fresh mud, because the showers were an hour+ wait) who asked for my stub, which was supposed to be attached to my race number. I tried to find it on my bib, but couldn't. I figured it must have been torn off at one of the obstacles. I explained that to him, but he stated I needed the stub. I relented and decided to pay $6.00 for a chilly brewski and asked for the one wheat beer they advertised. He told me they ran out. I got my $6.00 back and ran out, too. I won't do this race again. There are so many others that do these mud events well. read more

The event was fun, BUT: - Pictures that you're told are free and that they take are an additional $17.95 if you want them - what a gip! - The showers afterward SUCKED - 45 minutes wait, freezing cold water, absolute sheer misery - 2 obstacles had 30 minute waits (no exaggeration) - I was running this for time and this totally killed it. Plus, who the hell wants to stand in the sun for 30 minutes just to do an obstacle they paid for? All in all, fun event, HORRIBLY organized. read more

Great event. Well organized. Friendly, helpful staff. Easy access off of highway. Ample parking.

Did the Lake Elsinore run 2017. Had the same mud pits through the course, no other obstacles, was nothing like the website showed. Not worth the entry fee, false advertising, never will do this mud run again. read more

I agree with both the positive and negative reviews of this "race". I feel for those who actaully wanted to make a good time... as for me, I was with an out of shape group who literally needed those backups at the obstacles for rest time. I actaully "trained" for this race, I'm not a runner but I started runnign every day liek a month in advanced to be prepared for this race... TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. If I had been running this race alone, I would have been pissed that I had to wait at all, let alone 20-30 minutes at the obstacles. The thick mud pit backup was at least 30 minutes in the super hot sun... just no fun if you ask me! I was fine with jsut one water station at the half way point, but many people were not. The shower wait time was ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS... all I wanted to do after I finished was to rinse off and drink a beer and enjoy the festivities but after waiting for about 45 minutes for the freezing cold shower, I just chugged my free beer real quick and bounced! Like others have said, they should have spread out wave times or had less people in each wave (and no, they wont do that cuase that would mean less people) and have the obstacles be 2 lanes... I had fun overall and really am looking forward to doing another mud run but I wont be doing the Survivor one again. If youare out of shape and looking for a fun, non-athletic obstacles course, this is perfect for you... if you want any type of challenge, go elsewhere. read more