Gladiator Rock n Run 2010 - The Muddy Edition

Event: Gladiator Rock n Run - 5K Mud Run/Obstacles
Date: December 12, 2010
Location: Hidden Valley Park - Irvine, CA
Start: 9:00am wave
Finish: 37:17 (the time to beat for next year!)

I am still around. Just busy as heck but for the most part still exercising here and there. Since Thanksgiving a couple of events have come and gone and I will try to blog about them perhaps over the holidays when I can take a break and relax a bit. But here is a sneak peek at something fun I did recently.  

Remember this post I wrote a few weeks ago about doing a Gladiator style workout one Saturday morning at Innovative Results in Costa Mesa? Well, that workout was sponsored by the Gladiator Rock and Run Event that I took part in this past Saturday, December 4 at the Hidden Valley Park in Irvine. This was their inaugural event so a lot of things could have gone wrong but for the most part it was well organized, short of a few porta-potties and not enough showers. In their defense, the mud was really hard to rinse off. I was under the shower head for at least 10 minutes and barely managed to get the top layer off. This event is the brain-child of Dan "Nitro" Clark, and yes he was on that show American Gladiator way back when. He was very much a big part of this event. I saw him at packet pickup and out on the course the day of the race cheering people on. He is still a tough guy! Grrr! But so nice! During packet pickup, he told me that I might struggle with the 7-foot wall and sure enough that wall was high, covered in mud and I had to struggle a couple of times to get over it. I was pretty scared once I got to the top of that wall and realized that I had to jump down the other side. Now that I have frighten you, why not sign up for next year. LOL. I'm only kidding, it is a really fun event and I will surely be there next year.

The course itself was pretty fun! All kinds of people were there...young, old, tall, short, fit, fun-seeker, corporate folks, frat brothers, you name it, they were there. People in crazy costumes. Wave start beginning at 8am, occurring every half hour. One mile run to the Verizon Amphitheater stairs and then it was on to the muddy obstacle course. This is not so much a running event as it is a muddy event. The running part is just to warm you up for the obstacles. You do want to be warmed up because the obstacle parts are very muddy, slippery and unstable. It helps to have really good balance and strong arms and legs, oh heck having a strong core doesn't hurt either. I almost slipped many times but I suppose that is to be expected because of all the mud. If you don't believe me about the mud. Check me out in those photos below.

Here are some of my tips that will hopefully help you out if you decide to do this event next year. They are moving the date to May 2011. Good move because it will likely be much warmer in the Spring. Diving into that freezing muddy water actually made using the cold water showers afterwards seem like heaven on earth. 

Tips:
1) Bring lots of drawstring trash bags to store and take home all your muddy clothes and things. Bring more than you think you will need because mud will literally be everywhere on your person.

2) Bring at least 2 dark towels. One to dry off and one to cover your car seat. 

3) Try to start in the earlier waves because the shower lines will get long as the day progresses. This is especially true if they do not correct the shower situation.

4) They say to leave your bags and clothes in your car but bring it to the event site because they have bag checks and you will want your clothes right after you get out of that shower. Trust me on this one. I had to run back to the car to get my stuff after coming out of the shower and I was still muddy and now soaking wet and cold.

5) Do leave your valuables in the car though, because losing something will surely ruin your fun day.

Running through the Gladiator BBQ area. OMG I felt so heavy covered in all that mud!

 Finished!

Food trucks! The food tastes better when you are cold and muddy!

Affliction Clothing was a sponsor of this event!

People getting ready to rumble, unaware of all the mud that awaits them! Muhahaha!

Wild Rivers in the winter. Closed!

Even the food trucks were there.

Cookies!! So warm, gooey and melty. You know I had some! :D

This is the best race shirt ever! LOL, I couldn't get all the mud off! Haha, no, I just needed a "clean" mud mask after being in all that brown mud!