Remember when I told you about the Dirty Girl Mud Run, and how excited I was about it?

Well, it was last Saturday, and it was pretty. awesome.

My sister-in-law ended up not being about to go because of their summer travel schedule, but my cousin and I still got to participate together (thank goodness….neither one of us wanted to run it alone).

We had signed up for one of the earlier waves, which turned out to be a very good thing, because not only was it less crowded, but by the time we were done, it was already 90 degrees. Running it at 9:30 was plenty warm enough for us, and every mud pit turned out to be exactly the refreshing break we needed for our sweat-covered bodies.

There were 12 obstacles on the 3.1 mile course, and they ranged from climbing walls to inflatables to the mud pits that we crawled through. My favorite was, by far, the giant inflatable slide that dropped to a small, cool, muddy water pit.

Going in, my cousin and I agreed that we were going to go full bore into the obstacles and not worry about getting dirty. Because, um…that just seemed silly. We were THERE to get dirty! And get dirty we did.

It was a very different vibe from the last mud run that I did. The fact that is was a women’s-only event made it seem more relaxed and less competitive. And to add to that feeling, on every sign for every obstacle, it said “we won’t tell if you go around.” At the other one, people were booing at those that went around the obstacles without completing them.

By the end, we literally were cheering ourselves across that finish line (last mud pit) because it’s really no joke, physically. We were moving slowly with our ten pounds of muddy shoes on our feet and water-drenched clothes, and our muscles were fatigued from all of the climbing, pulling, and wading through mud. But I was smiling and chanting “we can dooooooo this!” for a little added push across the last stretch that I think we both needed. At least, I did.

Would we do it again? Well, I can’t speak for her, but I DEFINITELY will. It really was a blast…though I desperately needed a shower and a nap afterwards, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Plus, I’m pretty sure my skin is softer now from the “mud bath.”

If there’s one near you this summer or next, I’d love to cheer you on!

I was given a complimentary registration to write about the run, but all opinions and experiences are completely my own.