Why did we volunteer to spend a chunk of time yesterday slogging through a muddy 5K course in a race that wasn’t even timed?
It just seemed like fun.
Founded in 2011 right here in Wisconsin, the Dirty Girl Mud Run has become a national phenomenon of social media marketing that features good, clean, girl power fun in a ridiculously dirty setting.
The female-only event draws cleverly named teams from all over the state; its inaugural run attracted more than 6,000 participants. To accommodate all of this year’s teams, the Wisconsin event expanded to two full days, and the increasingly popular Dirty Girl Mud Runs now stretch across 11 states from California to New York.
My team included family members from both sides as my sister Kathy, my husband’s sister Donna and my daughter Katherine all took off in the 3:15 wave.
Heckled early in the run for not being muddy enough, we all four cheerfully belly flopped into the mud after the seventh obstacle. With our shoes taking on weight from the accumulating mud and turf, we all got a good workout as we lifted heavy legs around the course. The obstacles challenged us, and offered levels to accommodate everyone.
We’ll all be feeling that second-to-last army crawl through a mud pit that led to the last army-crawl through muddy water that, finally, led to the pink arched finish line.
Dirty Girl Mud Run Race Director and Social Media Manager Jimmy Gohsman has a degree in psychology that has served him well as he built this lucrative event.
While it draws attention to breast cancer research, the Dirty Girl is not a fundraiser. Just 2.5% of all registration fees go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
It’s also not race, which my sister reminded me as I excitedly mentioned to her about a mile in that we were running first in our flight.
It is a well-run event, marketed by someone with a good handle on the female mind. It’s a reason for women to get together with silliness and strength. And, it’s an amusing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
We’re already planning our team for next year.
