Mud Run

On most typical days, we remind the kids to clean up after themselves and to avoid getting dirty. Today, we pulled a 180 on them and gave them the green light to get as dirty as they wanted. Why the about face? Because we were headed to the Kids Mud Run!

When we bought the tickets, we selected the 2nd wave of the day (10:00) and considering it is supposed to be in the mid-80s today, we were very grateful for the early start.  The entire event was incredibly well organized and run... kudos to the event staff!

The poco-loco Olsons

 Soon after arriving, we got our color-coded wrist bands and the kids' participant shirts (which Eric very intelligently put in the car ... aka away from the mud!) We were told that if the wave ahead of ours was starting to dwindle, we could start earlier than 10. OK! That's exactly what happened and what we opted to do.

Wrist bands? Check!

 We hadn't realized the course was on the better side of 1.5 miles and that we'd run between the obstacles. It was a great family workout and, once again, we were grateful for the early start (cooler temps).

Annika running toward the first obstacle

 The first two obstacles were walls that the kids scaled. Our kids jumped right in and maneuvered their ways over the walls without even hesitating or struggling. They conquered the walls easy-peasy.

The big water barrels in the middle of the path slowed all of us down a smidge, but weren't much of an obstacle ... proven by the fact the kids are so far ahead of me in the photo below!

Zipping through the barrels

 Soon, the kids encountered a few fences that they could climb over, go through, or go under. Both of our kids decided it was over or bust ... and over they went!

Heading up....

Conor nailing his landing

 The tire obstacle made me smile because it was so darned colorful! Annika did a great job navigating the tires and getting her knees up high so she didn't trip. Conor decided just to walk on the tops of the tires because "it was just easier that way."

Mid-course, the kids had a few zig-zag balance beams to walk along. Life is all about balance ... and so was this portion of the course.

This tunnel was meant to be crawled through, but Conor decided to put his own spin on it. He rolled down the entire length of the tunnel! Silly boy.

Rollin, rolling, just keep rolling

Annika emerging from the tunnel (notice the "not crawling" approach she took)

One of the last clean obstacles were the rope walls and bungee maze. Once again, the kids did a great job navigating their path and figuring out the best approach for the task at hand.

Conor on the rope wall

Annika ready to start her descent

Bungee maze

Finally! Time to start getting dirty! The sand pit had ropes strung across it so the kids had to get down and in the sand. Once again, Annika crawled and Conor opted to roll. Rolling in hot sand didn't exactly sound like something we would choose, but hey, we're just boring adults.

Sand pit

The kids were thrilled with the "pool" filled with water and colorful plastic balls. It was splashy and refreshingly cool. Once out of the pool, Annika was ready to head to the next obstacle. Conor, on the other hand, really wanted to stay and play with the balls. It took a bit of enticing to get him to leave them behind and head toward the mud.

Splashy, splashy

 The mud Tarzan swing was definitely a highlight for the kids. They got to swing by a rope and then land in a big pit of muddy water. What kids wouldn't love that????

We always knew Annika would make a splash in the world...
we just didn't realize it would be so mud-soaked

Conor opting for the reverse swing splash landing

 Last and definitely not least was the mud pit crawl. Much like the sand pit, there were ropes strung over the pool to make sure the kids got nice and low ... right in the muck! I'm pretty sure this was the obstacle of all obstacles for the majority of the kids and ours were no exception!

Annika emerging from the muck

Conor living up to his "Mud Boy" nickname

Mud monsters

 After crossing the course's finish line, the kids were awarded medals of achievement. They couldn't have been more excited if they had won Olympic gold medals!

Showing off their medals

 The final results, dirty, tired, hot, and very happy kiddos. This was such a fun family adventure and one that we'll talk about for quite some time.

Annika's dirty legs ... her socks were white when we started!

Mud Boy's legs ... his socks used to be white, too!

Proud of her accomplishment and medal

Conor? You have a little something on your face. :)

 After completing the course, the kids asked if they could get smoothies. Now, if you think they would serve normal smoothies at a kids' obstacle course, you'd be mistaken. The kids had to pedal the blender for their smoothies!! In some regards, it was nice to have the kids enjoy cold, refreshing smoothies after finishing the obstacle course. On the other hand, were we just a bit mean to expect them to ride stationary bikes after running 1.5 miles? Hmm....

Pedaling their blenders

Soon, we were back at the car, stripping off the muddy shoes and socks, talking about our favorite parts of the day, and heading back home... grateful for a beautiful day and a fun adventure.