Reviewed By: talonraid
Date Reviewed: 04/23/2011
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 5 Poor
Location:
Muddy Mayhem 8k
5428 Cacias Road
San Antonio, TX
See map: Google Maps
This was the inaugural race for the Muddy Mayhem 8k race benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.
DISCLAIMER: I did NOT do this race barefoot. I considered it, but after seeing the terrain, I don't think I could have managed this one barefoot. I wore the NB Minimus Trail and was glad I did. Read on for more.
I picked up race packets for me, my wife and friends on the day prior to the race. I highly recommend this since the lines at the actual event looked pretty long. They did NOT give us the timing chips the day prior so we still had to pick those up at the event, but that line was pretty short and moved quickly.
They started the race in three different categories. First out of the chute was essentially the young males below the age of 39, then five minutes later they released the females below the age of 39...then five minutes later it was basically all the rest of the old geezers. There were quite a few people in costumes, but probably less that 15% according to my less than scientific visual survey. I wish there had been a few more costumes there just to spice it up. OK, back to the actual race.
The run started out in a pasture for probably less than a quarter of a mile. This was a grassy area and for people familiar with San Antonio terrain it was actually not too rocky. However, this year we are under drought conditions already so the ground was hard and there were some large cracks already forming in the terrain like you see when the Earth is parched. Also, I noticed a number of small 1-2 foot mesquite bushes in the field. If you haven't seen these before they have thorns about 1-1.5 inches and they puncture holes in hunting/ranching truck tires. I wouldn't want to accidently step on those damned things barefoot or in shoes for that matter.
Then we transitioned onto the road. This was some gnarly chip and seal I noticed. I probably could have done maybe a quarter mile on this stuff barefoot but it would have sucked. I run on chip and seal in my regular barefoot runs and have no problems. This crap would have been tough. Maybe some others could have handled it, but I definitely could not have done it. For once it was the road that would have kept me from completing a barefoot run and not the trail portion, for what it's worth.
Then we went back into a cow pasture for the bulk of the run. This was terrain much like the beginning but there were some sections that had quite a bit of limestone rock that would have made barefooting tough but not impossible. The ground was very unlevel and by the time we hit mile 2 my ankles were already tired and sore. I'm glad I do have good strong ankles due to barefoot running. I saw plenty of people struggling with this portion of the run. The obstacles were very easy and hardly worth mentioning really. A couple of round bales (cylindrical bales of hay about 5 feet tall) with small square bales for steps to go over. A low crawl of about 30-40 feet through mud (by which I mean wet cow shit), a steel culvert (2 feet high) to jump over, one log to jump over, a flatbed trailer that you could either climb over or go under, some tires that you run through (think football practie) and that was about it. Mostly it was a cross country race, which I loved but I heard some people b*tching about. Probably road runners who weren't used to the unlevel terrain. I would have liked this race more with either no obstacles at all or something more challenging, but I shouldn't critique these folks until I pony up my own ranch and build obstacles myself I suppose.
There was one (1) water stop, so if you like more hydration than this, I suggest a camelbak or whatever hydration system you like.
Then we were back on the road for maybe another mile. Same mean as hell chip and seal asphalt with a couple of decent hills of maybe a couple of hundred feet in elevation change (totally a guesstimate). People were dropping (stopping to walk, not actually falling) like flies on the hills because it was getting hot by this time and they're not superhuman like me. Anyway, thank goodness there were a few local residents who drug waterhoses out from their yards to the street and were spraying us as we ran by. That was awesome and was a great help for the final stretch.
We left the asphalt and went back into the same cow pasture where we started and hit the final obstacle. They had dug a fairly sizeable hole. I'm guessing about 40 yards long and about 3 or so feet deep and filled it with water. There were plenty of people hanging out there to cheer us to the finish line which was about 100 yards from the water/mud pit.
After the run there were hot dogs, beer, water, HoneyMilk(sp?) and music. Not a live band, but DJ style. That's about it. I think they could have used a few more porta pottiess since the lines were long. I just did my thing behind the my pickup. Also, there was a tent that I heard was hooked up to basically hose off, but the line was so long we just skipped it.
Suggested Items to Bring: Towel, garbage bag or plastic bag to dump muddy clothes into for trip home. Clean pair of clothes and sandals or shoes. Also, a couple of gallons of water in old milk jugs or whatever container to wash off with after the run. Sunscreen. Funky costume.
I will probably do this one again next year and I hope to see a few more costumes. After, all it's mud run!
Date Reviewed: 04/23/2011
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 5 Poor
Location:
Muddy Mayhem 8k
5428 Cacias Road
San Antonio, TX
See map: Google Maps
This was the inaugural race for the Muddy Mayhem 8k race benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.
DISCLAIMER: I did NOT do this race barefoot. I considered it, but after seeing the terrain, I don't think I could have managed this one barefoot. I wore the NB Minimus Trail and was glad I did. Read on for more.
I picked up race packets for me, my wife and friends on the day prior to the race. I highly recommend this since the lines at the actual event looked pretty long. They did NOT give us the timing chips the day prior so we still had to pick those up at the event, but that line was pretty short and moved quickly.
They started the race in three different categories. First out of the chute was essentially the young males below the age of 39, then five minutes later they released the females below the age of 39...then five minutes later it was basically all the rest of the old geezers. There were quite a few people in costumes, but probably less that 15% according to my less than scientific visual survey. I wish there had been a few more costumes there just to spice it up. OK, back to the actual race.
The run started out in a pasture for probably less than a quarter of a mile. This was a grassy area and for people familiar with San Antonio terrain it was actually not too rocky. However, this year we are under drought conditions already so the ground was hard and there were some large cracks already forming in the terrain like you see when the Earth is parched. Also, I noticed a number of small 1-2 foot mesquite bushes in the field. If you haven't seen these before they have thorns about 1-1.5 inches and they puncture holes in hunting/ranching truck tires. I wouldn't want to accidently step on those damned things barefoot or in shoes for that matter.
Then we transitioned onto the road. This was some gnarly chip and seal I noticed. I probably could have done maybe a quarter mile on this stuff barefoot but it would have sucked. I run on chip and seal in my regular barefoot runs and have no problems. This crap would have been tough. Maybe some others could have handled it, but I definitely could not have done it. For once it was the road that would have kept me from completing a barefoot run and not the trail portion, for what it's worth.
Then we went back into a cow pasture for the bulk of the run. This was terrain much like the beginning but there were some sections that had quite a bit of limestone rock that would have made barefooting tough but not impossible. The ground was very unlevel and by the time we hit mile 2 my ankles were already tired and sore. I'm glad I do have good strong ankles due to barefoot running. I saw plenty of people struggling with this portion of the run. The obstacles were very easy and hardly worth mentioning really. A couple of round bales (cylindrical bales of hay about 5 feet tall) with small square bales for steps to go over. A low crawl of about 30-40 feet through mud (by which I mean wet cow shit), a steel culvert (2 feet high) to jump over, one log to jump over, a flatbed trailer that you could either climb over or go under, some tires that you run through (think football practie) and that was about it. Mostly it was a cross country race, which I loved but I heard some people b*tching about. Probably road runners who weren't used to the unlevel terrain. I would have liked this race more with either no obstacles at all or something more challenging, but I shouldn't critique these folks until I pony up my own ranch and build obstacles myself I suppose.
There was one (1) water stop, so if you like more hydration than this, I suggest a camelbak or whatever hydration system you like.
Then we were back on the road for maybe another mile. Same mean as hell chip and seal asphalt with a couple of decent hills of maybe a couple of hundred feet in elevation change (totally a guesstimate). People were dropping (stopping to walk, not actually falling) like flies on the hills because it was getting hot by this time and they're not superhuman like me. Anyway, thank goodness there were a few local residents who drug waterhoses out from their yards to the street and were spraying us as we ran by. That was awesome and was a great help for the final stretch.
We left the asphalt and went back into the same cow pasture where we started and hit the final obstacle. They had dug a fairly sizeable hole. I'm guessing about 40 yards long and about 3 or so feet deep and filled it with water. There were plenty of people hanging out there to cheer us to the finish line which was about 100 yards from the water/mud pit.
After the run there were hot dogs, beer, water, HoneyMilk(sp?) and music. Not a live band, but DJ style. That's about it. I think they could have used a few more porta pottiess since the lines were long. I just did my thing behind the my pickup. Also, there was a tent that I heard was hooked up to basically hose off, but the line was so long we just skipped it.
Suggested Items to Bring: Towel, garbage bag or plastic bag to dump muddy clothes into for trip home. Clean pair of clothes and sandals or shoes. Also, a couple of gallons of water in old milk jugs or whatever container to wash off with after the run. Sunscreen. Funky costume.
I will probably do this one again next year and I hope to see a few more costumes. After, all it's mud run!
