My First Mud Run Experience

Mom’s Perspective

So several of us had been wanting to get healthier and exercise more, but we didn’t want it to be boring. Anytime the kids want to do anything health or exercise related, I try to encourage it.  We decided to find a 5k in the future to give us a goal to start training for. We wanted something a little more exciting than your normal 5k, and then we found the Emerald Coast Mud Run. It is a 5k run with nineteen obstacles and the proceeds goes towards helping orphans. So not only were we getting healthier, but we were contributing to a cause that is very dear to our hearts. 

The kids were excited.  We were committed to getting up early and exercising at least five days a week. Then a couple of months before the race, Jenna got a severe strep throat, and then a couple of weeks later we all got sick with the stomach flu. Throw in a surprise newborn foster sibling – I’m not getting any sleep. So it was a struggle at the end. We weren’t able to exercise like we wanted to so we were behind in our training, but we weren’t going to quit.

I am so glad we did it. We got to spend a lot of time training together. The obstacles were harder than we thought they would be – there was a lot of upper body strength required. Four days after, and I am just starting to get where I can move without pain. I have never had so many of my muscles hurt at the same time. The kids had a great time. They both are talking about doing it next year. There is something about challenging yourself and getting out there and doing hard things that stretches you. When you take a step and get out there and challenge yourself, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally; there is something inside of you that changes. It builds your self-confidence, and you learn more about yourself. What is out there that you can commit to doing to challenge yourself today?   

     Kid’s Perspective by Jenna

       So about half of our family recently did a mud run that supported foster kids. Let me tell you it was hard! The hardest part of the run was not the nineteen obstacles, it was running with shoes full of mud in the Florida humidity!  My favorite part of the run was being able to do the obstacles because it showed me that waking up at 5:30 in the morning was worth it. I also liked the fact that the race was raising money to help kids.

P.S. For more pics of us at the mud run go to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BeDaring.Life.