Ready for Grime Time: D.C. Area Mud Runs

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THE LATEST SMEAR campaign has nothing to do with politics. Everyone gets dragged through the mud during this race.

Make that races, plural — the D.C. area is host to a series of events that force participants to get more than their hands dirty: The RunAmuck Festival (a 5K obstacle course), Muddy Buddy (a 6- to 7-mile cycling and running relay) and the U.S. Marine Corps Run Amuck (a 4-mile race that ends in a mud pit).

"As kids we liked getting muddy and doing things we weren't supposed to do," says Bob Babbit, creator of Muddy Buddy, which hosts 13 events nationally. "We're basically saying come out and do all of that."

Both Babbit and Scott Johnsson, creator of RunAmuck, say those with an average level of fitness shouldn't worry about training too heavily if they're just looking to finish the race.

If you're more hardcore, take a cue from Jakob Wolf-Barnett, 26, who scored first place in the 25 to 29 age division in last year's Corps event. He developed a game plan to tackle the series of dramatically steep inclines: "You want to slam your heels sideways into the hill and take short steps so you can get up it," he says. "Otherwise all your weight will just cause you to slide right back down."

Arlington-based personal trainer Angel Stone, who won the Corps' women's 30-34 division last year, recommends sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups, plus some hill work.

"If you have a hill that takes you 20 seconds to get to the top, you want to run up there as fast as you can, jog down and then repeat 10 times," she says. Stone also suggests a few minutes of plyometrics — quick, explosive movements like jumping, which she says help simulate the action of running in mud.

The most important strategic technique, though, is not taking yourself too seriously. Babbit recalls a Muddy Buddy a couple years back in Boulder, Colo., in which he opted to wear a frog costume.

"This guy comes up to me and goes, 'Hey dude, I might have placed in my division — but on the inflatable [climbing obstacle], there was a guy in front of me and I might have lost 10 seconds.'

His response: "I'm like, 'Dude, it's called Muddy Buddy. I'm in a frog outfit. The last time I checked we're not in an Olympic program." And it's certainly more fun to go for the grime.

THE NITTY GRITTY
» RunAmuck Festival (April 25, 5K) Rock Creek Regional Park, Rockville
» Muddy Buddy (May 3, 6-7 miles) Pochahontas State Park, Chesterfield, Va.
» U.S. Marine Corps Run Amuck (June 20, 4 miles). Marine Corps' Butler Stadium, Quantico

Photos courtesy Muddy Buddy