It was Dirty Fun.

Oh yes it was.
The Dirty Dash 10K was on Saturday.
My sweet friend Gretchen rallied the troops and formed a team.
I was in from the word mud. Sounded like my idea of a good time.
But this was better than I expected.  These people did not wimp
out on the mud, the obstacles, the rough terrain. It was all there, and
I loved every stinky, sweaty, slippery minute of it. Especially since
Em decided to join us at the last minute because of a teammates injury.
Em makes all things a little more exciting.

We started the race @ 11:00 up a steep muddy incline with snow shooting down on us. Let it begin. I really had to concentrate so I wouldn't slip.  After that it was steady inclines up the mountain.  Our first challenge was hay bales.  Several hay bales in a row. We got in a rhythm, but then I mentioned how awesome it would be if someone just cleared one of these things like a hurdle.  Never one to dismiss a challenge, Em went for it. And cleared it.  There were cheers from behind.

Next challenge- the wall. Well, several walls.  Preceded by a mass of slippery deep mud. That kind of smelled "farmy".  You had to hoist yourself up with your arms then kick over. With feet that were weighted with a pound of stink mud.  We made it through the several sets of walls and continued on to the tubes.  They were fairly simple and we cruised through.

A deep ditch with a steep slippery exit brought Em's backside on top of my head.  I boosted her heiny and she pulled Gretchen and I up the bank.  This is where things got real ugly.  We approached the lake and a swampy area.  The mud smelled like putrid death.  My gag reflexes kicked in.  Along with jell-o legs which were not a result of the smell.  People were up to their thighs in thick black puke mud. I should've realized what could've happened here. After all I've known her all my life and she thinks like I do- just quicker.  Em came at me from the side with a quarterback sack.  I hit the mud and she was out of there before I could grab her ankles.  I pitched some stank mud at her and promised myself I'd get the last laugh.  Then she proceeded to do some "mud angels" out in the middle of the muck.

We ran into Dad and Mom at this point.  Mom cheered like a banshee and Dad proceeded to record...people besides us.

Up the hill we went to the gigantic slip and slide- 5 people wide.  It was a crazy ride that shot me out the end into a mud hole.  We waited for our teammates and then headed to the last muddy obstacle.  A giant mud pool.  We flopped in and I wasted no time grabbing Em around the neck and dunking her.  We finished. It was a mess. A brilliant fun mess.  After being sprayed with an ice cold fire hose and settling on my level of cleanliness we were homeward bound.

My first 10K mud run- a stinking success.

"No No Boo Boo!" She's been saying that all her life.

Forgive me Em.

p.s. This is not a time machine mud pit. Dad's camera is living in 2008.

Our team at the finish with me helping Emily resist the urge to smear my face.

Dad commented on our smell a time or two.

After being hosed off. Brrr. Miserable.