Dances with Dirt 2008

As always, DWD was a great time! We had only 4 members to our team this year, but we posted our fastest time ever. It helped tremendously that no one got terribly lost like in the past. It also helped that we were all very well trained for the race!

I had 4 legs. The first, Butt Kicker, lived up to its name. After 1.5 miles, I already felt like my butt had been kicked. Notable for this leg were the many downed trees and branches. I was hurdling them like a track star though!

The second leg, Stripper Pole, features an almost vertical climb. After Butt Kicker, it added insult to injury. But, I made it through the 3.7 miles in an okay time.

Next was my muddy leg, Where's the F'N Bridge. I've never really done a muddy leg before. It has been a dry year, but there was still plenty of mud to be found. For the first 3 or so miles, it is a pretty tame trail run. Then, you cross a canal where you have to watch for boat traffic. Then, the real fun begins. The trail gets muddier and muddier until you get to a mud pit where you can't jump in. You have to flop in on your belly and use ropes to pull you across the mudpit. I thought I was going to get stuck there. Then, after you make it out, you have several more muddy areas to cross. I heard from others that there was potential to get chest deep again if you stepped in the wrong place, but it didn't happen to me. My teammates were impressed with my mud when I got to the exchange, but I needed to clean up to be allowed back into the van. I headed to the lake for a quick rinse.

Finally, I did the last leg, Dirt's Revenge. It is a pretty standard trail run, but by then, I was pretty tired. I have to admit that I walked all of the hills. But then you get to the end, see your teammates and get to run in with them. Overall a very fun day! Oh, and my husband had a huge PR at the 50k and was our cheerleader and videographer at the end. Great job Matt!

The only blemish was that we didn't place in the top 5 for the spirit award. We tried to do it up this year. We had matching outfits (we were the Mardi Gras Mudhounds), so had a Mardi Gras theme. We had a male blow-up doll which we made into a tranny by adding a wig, Mardi Gras mask and teddy. Our van was decorated up and we wore crazy hats at the exchanges. I don't think we would have been as disappointed, but the judges actually interviewed and took pictures of us this year. Matt has the good ideas for next year, so hopefully, we will finally prevail.

I leave you with a video Matt put together of the footage we took that day. Enjoy!