Mud

[digitaldiscipline]

So, yeah, I got suckered/cajoled into doing a 5k Mud Run in... two weeks. (Locals who want in, here's the LivingSocial link to register).

Folks who've done this, what are your recommendations? I'm thinking of either ruining a pair of athletic shoes that don't get worn much, or going barefoot. No way am I doing the kilt thing (not trashing a decent one, don't think the crappy one will survive, and the drag of extra wet cloth and pockets full of mud does not appeal).

At least decent weather has finally arrived; got in three miles at lunch (8:55's); it can stay 68 and breezy for the next, oh, five months or so.

Comments

[mimerki.livejournal.com]

Based on my Warrior Dash experience, the best shoe choice is "that pair of gym shoes you should have thrown out last year but just keep kicking out of the way in your closet". That failing, a pair of shoes you do not mind destroying. If I don't feel like my current random athletic shoes are in bad enough shape to throw out by my next Dash, I intend to buy a cheap pair at Payless for it.

I would argue against going barefoot. It should be fine, but you do not want the things that may be living in that mud to be inside a cut on your foot. Do. Not. Want.

Similarly, wear crappy workout gear. My stuff washed fairly clean, but the white panties I wore under my two-layers of shorts are identifiable in the pile of white panties. (Welcome to overshare land, O random friends of etcet!)

You don't have to worry about it, but I am still trying to figure out if there's a way to get less mud in my hair and I got less mud in my hair than some people...

[miss-adventure.livejournal.com]

Old shoes and clothing that you would't mind trashing.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I have a large number of t-shirts about which no fucks are given, but I was planning on running without one anyways, for ease of hosing off. Honestly, it's the shorts about which no fucks are given that's vexing me (old pair of undergarments = sacrificial fodder).

I now wish I hadn't thrown out my mangy pair of Vibrams last year, because they'd be the perfect shoes to give up for this, since, I presume, it's going to be run entirely off-road. (slightly related, holy crap do my old asics running shoes feel heavy after using the vibrams for a year plus, and the nike frees for most of a year subsequent to that)

[ivy]

Yes. I made the mistake of running it in shoes I wanted to keep. It's been about a month of regular wear and having been washed twice and they STILL have visible mud in/on them. I won't be doing that again. Also, don't run it in any kind of sandal (like I did), your feet just slide around inside them way too much. I was getting a few inches of slippage. Unhelpful, on obstacles.

[ivy]

Yeah, my spandex biker shorts washed out fine, but... you will get mud up your shorts when going down the slide part, and it is very unpleasant. Even in spandex. Plan for next time involves longer and tighter Spandex. Down-to-knee compression shorts or something.

[yokes1971.livejournal.com]

Old shoes....they wont survive.

[poisongirl.livejournal.com]

All of running junkie pals swear against kilts and vibrams for the mud related runs.
They al swear by old tennis shoes with double knotted laces tucked into the shoes.

Clothes? Stuff you wouldn't mind just walking in the door at home and throwing away.

(Of course my favorite running junkie is a chick pal that runs in teeny boy shorts and a sports bra.)

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figure it is "burn after reading" territory for pretty much everything I'll be wearing.

[mighty-man.livejournal.com]

Old athletic shoes that you're ready to discard.
Duct tape into place for ankle support, and so you don't loose them.
Also does help against the occasional rock.
Don't know what the soil conditions are like down there, so just to be safe, wear something that you won't mind throwing away.
Well known tactics from Oozefest at UB.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, duct tape.

I'm thinking my old Asics running sneakers will be the victims.