No one said running was glamorous. And if you don’t like to stay clean, there’s a race this month that’s bound to get you dirtier than you’ve ever been in your life.
The Marine Mud Run shuffles mud, water and rough terrain into the Roanoke Valley for the eighth year. Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park is home to this slippery 5K race, held this year on Sept. 20.
It’s a run-at-your-own risk obstacle course. After a CH 46 helicopter drops off several U.S Marines to guard the starting line, runners take off, first fording the Roanoke River while racing against the current. They circle the park and bound up a steep hill named Mount Suribachi for the U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima. Some years, there are log barriers to jump over on the way down the hill. And you can’t dodge the mud pits.
The run was created to match a similar race at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California.
“Being a former Marine myself, we were constantly crawling around in the mud,” said Mike Shepherd, commandant for the Marine Corps League of the Roanoke Valley, which co-hosts the race with the Marine Corps B Company 4th Combat Engineer Battalion in Roanoke. “People seem to connect to it.”
It’s been a connection point for people throughout the valley and state. The race has grown from nearly 300 runners in its first year to about 1,700 finishers last year. Shepherd said he’s hoping for at least 2,000 this month.
Dirt and grime races are making their way onto more running calendars every year. Armed services units sponsor many of them. Others that are not military-focused, such as the Brooks’ Muddy Buddy Ride and Run series, which was held in Richmond in July, combine running, biking and other adventures.
The mud gives racing a different outlet.
“It’s a novelty race,” said Ann Hupp, race director for the Armed Services YMCA Mud Run in Norfolk, which was held for the third year in August and drew about 1,500 runners. “They will do this race for bragging rights.”
Bob Rotanz, who co-owns Mac and Bob’s restaurant in Salem and has run the Roanoke County race for the last two years, said the mud race draws all runners because it fits those “who run all year long or who run casually.”
The team competition brings the people out, from families to co-workers. Groups of five can enter in a separate race, and race rules require them to cross the finish line holding hands. For those who are serious about racing fast, choosing team members with equal athletic ability could be a top priority.
The finish line is one wild ride. Runners have to crawl underneath a piece of long yellow tape while wading or swimming through a large mud pit. Heed the special instructions— No diving headfirst into the pit. But that doesn’t keep runners from dunking each other.
Sound gooey? Veterans say they’ve had to throw away the shirts and shorts that they wore. Rotanz puts on an old hat that he already plans to throw away. And he wears the same pair of muddy shoes. “I don’t even bother to clean those things,” he said.
Finishers can wash off at outdoor community showers, which are decontamination showers from a Marine base in Baltimore, Shepherd said.
“We turn it into a big rowboat,” Shepherd said of the wet and mushy shower area.
Improving your 5K race time may or may not happen at the mud run. Times last year varied from 18 minutes to more than an hour. Runners do wear timing chips on their shoes, but for many, accomplishment lies in surviving the elements of the race instead of running fast.
Nonetheless, the morning’s a challenge that many aren’t afraid to tackle. Shepherd said one year a man wore a tuxedo and a woman wore a wedding dress. Rocks and other rough parts of the course create some risk for injury, he added, but there will be local medical services on hand.
“Some just do it for the fun of doing it,” he said. “They just want to say, ‘I ran the Mud Run, and I made it.’”
Details:
Marine Mud Run
Saturday, Sept. 20
Green Hill Park, Roanoke County
Individual race: 9:15 a.m.
Pollywog Jog for children: 10:30 a.m.
Team race: 11:30 a.m.
Early registration fees must be postmarked by Sept. 15.
Race fee: individuals: $19; teams: $95
Race-day registration: 90 minutes before the start of the race
Race day fee: individuals: $25; teams $125
Proceeds benefit Toys for Tots and Camp Roanoke
Awards: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place medals for individual and team categories
For more information or to register online, visit the Web site.
Local and regional races this month:
Sept. 8: All Comers Cross Country series, each Monday through Oct. 13, sponsored by Runabout Sports, Blacksburg, Va., 552-9339
Sept. 13: BB&T Greater Rocky Mount 5K Downtown Dash, Rocky Mount, Va., 540-489-3825
Sept 13: Pepsi 10K, Charlottesville, Va., 434-293-3367
Sept. 13: New River Trail Challenge (30-mile mountain bike, 13-mile train run, 12-mile paddle), Galax, Va., 276-699-6778
Sept. 20: Virginia Ten-Miler, Lynchburg, Va., 434-845-5338
Sept. 20: Great Eastern Trail Race 100K/50K, Charlottesville, Va., www.vhtrc.org
Sept. 20: Outback Big Lick Triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run), Smith Mountain Lake, Va., www.set-upinc.com
Sept. 27: Main Street Downhill Mile, Lexington, Va., 540-458-8965
Sept. 27: Creeper Classic 5K, Abingdon, Va., 540-676-7202
