Merrell Down and Dirty 5k Obstacle race

Last sunday I did the Merrell Down and Dirty - Atlanta

I showed up early, ready to go in my Spartan Chicked shirt!

This was a really fun race! I'll share here what I remember of my experience on the course...

Started off on a gravel trail through the forest. First obstacle was a (mulch?) bag carry, ala Spartan Race. Wasn't very heavy, but I had the misfortune of grabbing the one bag that was not closed. So I had to hold it a funny way to prevent the stuff from spilling out. Then there was this inflatable log thing that blocked the path. I totally messed this one up and it was pretty amusing - I tried to do a running jump onto it but just bounced off. Second attempt I just stepped up onto it and climbed over. One of my many silly moments in life. There was a ladder climb, followed shortly by a giant inflatable slide! I'd always wanted to do one of these! Rope climb up one side, slide down the other. Weeee!

The first half was pretty easy stuff. But at this point is where it started to get interesting. We headed back into the woods and approached a mat. Guy told us to drop and do 10 pushups. Ok, I like it! (Not really, push ups are one of my worst enemies - but the concept is pretty cool and Spartan-like!) Immediately following the pushups was a long ascent up a series of hills. Had to stop and walk a couple of times on that one. After the hills came the relief of a  low crawl under a net and through a pool. The water was cold but it felt great to me after that huge hill!

Next up was this big cargo net structure where you had to climb up the net and then climb across the top of it. Repeat x2.

The next part of the course was really cool. It was across a HUGE rock. I'm talking like 1/4 mile of the same rock. It was bumpy but smooth, not jagged at all. Then we passed under a bridge with a dark tunnel that was full of ankle deep water. It was a little weird, I kind of wondered if we had wandered into the sewers! After the sewer run came some climbing and mud pits.

The end of the course took us through the river with a rope climb to get up onto the bank. Then it was back into the festival grounds for the rock climbing wall and the slippery wall. I walked up to the slippery wall and was confused for a second because the ropes were all really short. Mine was especially short - like I could hardly reach it from a standing position. Volunteer guy tells me I have to get on my belly and climb all the way up... did it in one attempt, and now my back muscles are in agony...lol. Finally came the big mud pit, complete with a Marine shouting at me to get on my belly and low crawl. He kept shouting "Splash around!" I'm like nooo thanks... but the guy next to me pretty much did the Butterfly stroke through the mud, which was a good show.

And then the finish line!

I finished in 58:21, about 500th out of 1800 people. I'd say that's pretty good for 2 weeks of running after 6 months off.

What I loved about the Merrell Down and Dirty

• The course was fun! There were volunteers from the Marines and some of the obstacles had a Marines feel to them. The trail had alot of variety - forests, fields, the giant rock, going through the Yellow river, and even the weird sewer thing kept it interesting. There was a nice mix of obstacles - some challenging and some just for fun. I think most people would find this race challenging yet not frustratingly so. 
• The atmosphere is fun and motivating. The volunteers were great, especially the Marines who were there shouting at you like drill sergeants while doing the obstacles (in a good way)
• It's for everyone. I saw a nice mixture of what looked like more serious athletes and those who were just there to have fun, wearing costumes and such. I kind of felt like Warrior Dash was more of a "party" race, but Down and Dirty was a nice mixture of both styles of racers.
• Free stuff! No parking fee and NO bag check fee! I don't usually bag check, but the parking lot was really far away so I sucked it up and prepared to pay. Was a nice surprise to find out it was free. There were also little free goodies and giveaways at the expo. Plus the tshirt is a tech shirt! Gotta love that
• Well organized. Didn't have any issues with lines. The wash station was good and they had a changing tent.

The only thing that was kinda weird was the mud. They used a mixture of water and mulch! This had pro's and con's... it was kind of scratchy when crawling through it and had the tendency to get stuck in my bra and underwear, but at the same time it didn't leave you caked in mud and it was easy to wash out of my clothes. It was definitely different. Not sure if I prefer it though. I kind of like the real mud!

Also, not sure if it was just me but I only got 2 official race photos. I had no pictures for the other 2 obstacles, which wouldn't be so frustrating if I wasn't in perfectly clear view of the camera with nobody else around for both obstacles. Oh well, can't win em all.

In a nutshell - I had a great time and will probably be back next year!