Portland Terrain Mud Run

I love how many runs there are in Portland, and most of the events I go to are very well organized, but my major complaint is always how similar so many of them can be.  I know that’s sort of the nature of running – no matter how many bells and whistles you try to throw on to an event, you’re still just running… but a lot of the events are also running in the exact same place, for the exact same distance, in the exact same way.  Even on the exact same day – why are races always on Sundays?  Doesn’t anyone realize that some of us work on Sundays, and furthermore, don’t want to get up early?  I would like to see some nice Tuesday or Wednesday late morning races.  Maybe it would give all the Occupy Portland people a reason to get into shape.

So while planning my summer race schedule, I’m thinking outside the box (a pretty literal box, confined by Naito and Broadway, and Terwilliger and Marshall…ish), and finding some different kind of runs.  And so I have come to the perfect time to jump on the extremely dirty bandwagon that is the Mud Run.  Mud Runs are extremely trendy right now, and if you haven’t done one, you might as well get out your phone with a cord (what are those called? I feel like it should just be called a normal phone, but they’re not normal at all anymore) and play with your Pogs, because you’re super behind the times.  Embarrassingly, I currently fit into this category, and am desperate to change that.

My first Mud Run of the summer, and of my life, will be the Terrain Mud Run, on June 30th (a Saturday, so I’ll have a whole day to clean myself before work on Sunday).  I guess it’s an obstacle course too, because they promise at least 20 obstacles.  They also promise a t-shirt, food, and a beer, which is pretty standard for any event, but what I have never been offered is a “finisher woody.”  I have no idea what that is, but I can’t wait to find out.

I’m mostly excited for the Terrain Mud Run because I have so many old running clothes that I don’t want anymore but are too nice to give away to Goodwill.  Now I can put them to good use by destroying them in the mud run and then throwing them away.  Of course, that will only work if I end the race looking like the guy in the picture below.  The girl in the picture above looks like she did a terrible job muddying up her clothes, since she’s at the finish line and I can still see her skin.

If anybody else is feeling like their summer won’t be complete unless they can run around in a bunch of mud, let me know.  I would love to have a bunch of friends to do this with!  Or even just one friend.  Or one random person.  I even have a discount code to get you $5 off, and teams can get an additional $5 off, so leave a comment if you’re interested. EDIT: I received permission to post the code online, so for you deal-seekers, make sure you enter GetMuddy12 when you register for a special discount!

For those of you keeping track, my injuries are almost completely healed!  My arm bruise is almost faded, I’m sorry I forgot to take a picture at the height of its rainbow-ness.  All that’s left of my knee injury is a black scab that’s taking up all my energy to not pick it off and have it bleed everywhere.