After my first ever Spartan Sprint, first ever obstacle course race, I immediately started searching for more races. Just so happens, the following weekend after that first ever OCR, was a little race called Mud Endeavor 8. Mud Endeavor puts on races here in Florida mostly in Tampa/Surrounding areas.
After reading through their web site, scrolling through their Facebook, I signed up the night before the race. It’s about a 2-1/2 hour drive, one way, to the venue. I attempted to get someone to ride down with me, but with such last minute notice, that was impossible. I took a later wave time (start time) in case traffic took longer than expected. I left our house that morning, at 7:30am, and it was 85 degrees out. Once I reached the small town of Brooksville, Florida, where this race was located, the balmy, humid, 96 degree heat hit me in the face as I got out of my vehicle. I instantly had a moment of “Maybe I shouldn’t have came all this way, to race, in this heat, by myself” moment. But then, when I finally reached the top of the hill, I saw what used to be a quarry pit, with 3.12 miles of mud, water, obstacles and water slides, that thought quickly vanished.
It was like I was a kid again, walking up to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. I got my race bib, signed my waiver, and lined up at the start line, right on time. Oh, it was hot. Probably to this date, one of the most hot & humid races I ever did, thankfully their races are always 5ks, and they never skimp on water stations.
Mud Endeavor’s obs
tacles are very well built for being a small organization. Very safe, sturdy, no splinters and they offer racers less advanced options on some of the more difficult obstacles, making it great for anyone, from kids to weekend warriors to beasts. This is one exception to Florida Swamp/Farm Mud, retired quarries have tan mud, not black…And quarries make awesome viewing options for spectators, not many obstacles are hidden, if any, on the course. You are basically in a large bowl, and the spectators are on the rim of it. They also have volunteer organizations involving kids, supplying you with water at their water stations.
I crawled on top of culverts, walked through and kind of had to swim through some mucky water holes, go up and down a muddy and slick motocross track set up, swing from rings, go down LONG water slides, 3 to be exact, climb
cargo nets, tire walls, scale walls, and climb rope. Mud Endeavor has a forever customer/racer with me. They are very well organized, priced fair, and give out a super soft t-shirt for the event, and always a finisher’s medal. They have a great selection of races every year, and I am anxiously awaiting their 2018 schedule.
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