Monday, February 28, 2011

Earlier today, I was looking at some of my mud run competition photos, and they got me to thinking. Yes, it is fun to get down and dirty and push myself to extremes as I race these competitions. But that’s not the only draw to the races, least not for me.

I’m hooked on these races for the very reasons I used to spend mass hours creating intricate obstacle courses in my backyard as a kid, or later in my own backyard for my children and their friends. I compete in the races for the same reasons that I scaled every fence and wall that blocked my path as a kid. Every tree that cried out it needed to be conquered. Every pole that had to be scaled.

I suppose the biggest reason I adore these competitions is that they remind me of those fun times spent as a kid. When I cared not how dirty I got, only that I overcame the challenges placed before me, and that I triumphed in the process.

And just as when I was a kid, my adrenaline and endorphins get racing at such high levels that I never notice—at the time—the cuts, scrapes, bruises or removed pieces of flesh that I endure. It’s only after, when the mud gets scrubbed off, that my “ouchies” are revealed. And there are always those—“ouchies.” But they don’t bother me. Though I have permanent scars from some of them, I wear them with pride, recalling just how much fun I had in the process of earning them.

There aren’t many things in life that allow us the privilege of reconnecting on such a tangible level with the best parts of our childhood. Mud run competitions allow me to do just that—reconnect—and have a heck-of-a time in the process!