Race Recap: Irvine Like Mud Run {Summer of Mud}

Irvine Lake Mud Run | June 21

Irvine, CA

I love mud runs. I really do - though I've only done Warrior Dash prior, I think they're a blast. I don't take them seriously (because I know I'd get hurt if I did), but they're a great opportunity to just have some fun and laught at yourself in the process. Doug and I (and a friend of ours) signed up for this a few months ago, but in the end it was just Doug and I than ran it. That's okay - all the fun for us! 

Pre-mud fun!

Our wave time was 10:12 am, since we were signed up as a team. The whole race wave system is set up for timed individuals, then timed teams, then untimed individuals and finally untimed teams. There were a ton of people signed up for this and I wasn't sure how the waves would actually work, given how specific the times were. But to my surprise, there were two people at the entry to the start corral to check that you were actually entering the start corral. We realized that, especially for the timed teams, the waves were quite small so you could actually get in and through pretty easily. 

The whole park is pretty awesome - the race starts and finishes into the same plaza that's outlined in trees and shade (and consequently completely taken over!). There are a dozen food trucks, booths, and tables and vendors to go check out. It was quite the race party! 

We didn't look at the race map at all until we saw a large, blown-up version at the start plaza. The course is sold at "approximately a 5K," but the board with this map noted that it was 3.93 miles - and check out those obstacles! 32! Even if they're all small little obstacles, I think I'd count that as a deal! 

Because I cannot obviously remember all 32 in order, I'll tell you this: of 32, I'd say 85% of them were mud, mud pits, or at least muddy water pools to crawl, walk, or swim through. The first three were all mud pits of nearly waist-deep mud water (at least on me, it's waist deep!). By far, the best obstacle was at the top of a hill, where three slides were waiting. These slides are probaby 50 feet long, and the bottom third of the slide drops even more, so you pick up a ton of speed toward the end and are promptly thrusted into a POOL of mud and mud water. Under water, like you've gotta come up gasping for breath... they had volunteers in the pool with inflatables just to help people get out. SO AWESOME.

The lake provides a great background, as the course follows all these off-road trails that are probably super awesome to ride on. However, being that it was June, the lake was rather taunting, as all I wanted to do was jump on. Several reminders told us we weren't allowed. Good thing there were other mud pits to cool off in! 

Second to last obstacle(s). 

Our posted finish time was 1:23:40, and we figure we spent at least 5 minutes in line at the slides, and another net-climbing obstacle towards the finish. So we probably could have done the course in 1:10 even had it not been for all those pesky lines!

Coming through the last mud pit! 

This company does 2 or 3 mud runs down at Irvine Lake throughout the year. I'd love to do one of theirs again, as they were super awesome and a pretty good deal. Apparently, they ran out of race shirts, so if you hadn't picked up your race bib and packets prior, there was a chance you got a shirt from a previous race (that sucks). They also didn't have enough of this race's medals, so there was a secondary version they were giving out instead. We got lots of offers to trade... um, no thanks. 

All in all, a great day! I had just gotten the news about my job the day before, so this was the perfect distraction for me and a great time with Doug! 

Are you a mud run fan? What's your favorite been?