Gettin' Dirty for Deb

On August 13th I got to run the MS Mud Run! It was out at the Miller Motor Sports Park. My cousins got the group together. It included (from left to right) Spencer, Andy and Forest in the back. On the front row was Jackie, Missy, Megan, Cassi and I. My mom has MS so my cousins, Missy and Megan, made us these tank tops that said- Gettin' Dirty for Deb, on the back.



The run was set up in two categories. There were people on the competitive run and then teams on the DGAP. We were in the DGAP category, it stood for Don't Give A Poop.
The run was 6.2 miles with 30 military obstacles in-between. No, that is not inmates from the prison sitting on the side. The volunteers wore orange T-shirts. Some obstacles were pretty simple, like a mud bog. The one above was a huge slide into the mud pit. Now you see us...

And now you don't. We all held hands. That backfired because Missy and I crashed on Cassi's ear.
We had to make our way out of the mud and then army crawl under a net spanning a foot of mud.

There were a few obstacles that were really hard. The one above was hard to cross. I tried it two times and ended up landing in the mud. We also did a version of monkey bars. Instead of bars it was rope. Missy was a super tough chic and made it all the way across. She tore a hole in her hand. I made it to 5 ropes, and then fell into the pit and went totally under. Yuck. The water was surprisingly cold. The temperature outside was sweltering, especially since it was out in the desert, so the water cooled us off for about 30 seconds.

We were SO dirty! When we would run to the next obstacle the mud would dry on our legs and it looked like we were wearing white tights. I did face one of my biggest fears on this run. I don't know how to swim. Years, and years of lessons when I was little, and I still don't know how. Well one of the obstacle was to jump off of a 7 foot high platform and jump into 7 feet deep pool of mud. That thought just turns my stomach. Missy and Forest jumped off first. Then Meg and Jackie. Cassi and I went together, but I had to warn the volunteers that they had to come save me if I didn't come back up. They counted down for us 5... 4.... 3.... 2.... and I took a running jump! I did it! I did it and didn't drown! I had mud going up my nose, but I made it out. It was so scary but I was able to just do it and survived. It was strange how strong I felt, being able to face a long time fear.
We crossed the finish line tired and dirty. It was so much fun. I loved being able to do this with my cousins and sister. I am planning on doing it again next year. I'm bringing Lew with me too!
I love to do races- running or cycling. I really enjoy doing races that are for a good cause, like this one. All money raised goes toward MS! And if it can help find a cure, so my mom does not have to suffer from MS, even better. If anyone wants to give it a whirl next year, let me know. The more people, the more fun it is! And thanks to my mom, grandma and grandpa. They brought the kids so they could watch us. I'm thankful for my Sweet Lew also because he supports me in all these adventures, even when it falls on our 12th Anniversary!