One Tough Mudder

Seriously. This is like nothing I've ever seen before. So much mud, fire, water, electrical shocks, walls, logs and more mud. And these people you see above braved it all (minus one who was smart enough to walk around a shock station - not naming names...). They were/are fierce, strong and brave and I am amazed by each and every one. I cannot believe some of the obstacles they endured only to receive an orange headband, a t-shirt and a beer. Oh, and well deserved BRAGGING RIGHTS!

It was such a cool day and such an amazing thing to witness!! The people that participated were so absolutely powerful!! They faced each obstacle as a team and got each other through it all. No one left behind. Ever. That, my friends, is what family is all about. My cousin Jesse is quite a veteran of these events - I believe he's done five of them already including the "Worlds Toughest Mudder". He led his team with such grace, support, kindness and fun. I swear to you that he looked like he was on a walk through the park the entire time.  

It was so great to be able to spend time with my "California" family who we just don't get to see enough. To be surrounded by love and fun and joy was the absolute best way to spend my week-end.

I would have posted some video as well but, well, there were some issues. First of all, I had never used the camera before so, apparently, I didn't know when I was turning if off or on. Lots of nice footage of my shirt, my shoes and the inside of my snack bag. Secondly, in hindsight, I probably should have muted the sound when I was taping them crawling on their bellies through muddy water while electrical shocks zapped their backs. Little bit of strong language that will most definetely require some editing.

Lastly, while being the primary videographer, I was also responsible for FIVE children. Max, Zoe, Lucy, Jack and Sam. I was also hauling along about twelve pounds of snacks and water, bug spray, sunscreen, ipods, phones, cameras, and extra clothes. Most of the snacks had been eaten within the first hour of the race (which lasted 5 hours). Sam was covered in mud from head to toe at the beginning of the first obstacle. I lost track of him at least four times. Jack was in tears from a wrestling injury which I did not witness due to filming so I couldn't even place the proper blame on the offender. Zoe was starving and upset that her pants got wet from the grass. Lucy was thirsty and kept asking "Can Zoe and I have a sleep-over tonight?" Two hours into it they were pretty much done. We made our way back to the finish line where I had to buy them each $5 nachos and $5 lemonades (Thank you Mom and Sue) just to keep them from completely falling apart. They were exhausted, sunburned, muddy and crabby. Then we had to do the 1/2 mile trek just to get back to the car. Whew.

I did get some decent footage, just not what I had THOUGHT I was getting. More importantly, I returned to the finish line with the five original children I started out with and they were all alive. I consider that to be a pretty good ending to the day.