Weekend warriors living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, take note! The autumn mud run season is underway. Over the next three months, there are opportunities to participate in mud runs and obstacle courses in North Texas almost every single weekend.
Regardless of whether you are an experienced professional with a dozen successful mud run finishes under your belt or you want to dart and dash through mud and slime for the first time, at least one of the following mud runs is perfect for you.
Run It Like Its Hot Miracle Mud Run
A bit of a trek from downtown Dallas but still accessible to mud run lovers throughout northeast Texas, the Run It Like Its Hot Miracle Mud Run will take place this upcoming Sunday, August 23. A 5k trail punctuated by more than a dozen obstacles and caked in mud, the Run It Like Its Hot Mud Run course presents plenty of challenges but is still a feasible option for the rookie mud runner. Held at the Lear Park Sports Run complex in Longview, Texas, the Miracle Mud Run has a full-length course for adults and teenagers and a one-mile course for children aged six to 12. All proceeds benefit the Miracle League of East Texas.
Autumn Daze Craze
Conveniently situated between Dallas and Fort Worth, The Texas Backlot Euless is a great place to for a mud run. The next mud run scheduled to take place in the venue is Autumn Daze Craze, a 21-obstacle event that kicks off on a muddy stretch of path nicknamed “the swamp” on September 13. Other obstacles found along the course include a mountain assembled from 210 tires that must be traversed and a 12-foot rope wall. Participants can stay hydrated with H2O from free water stations and motivated by the live music playing throughout the course of the day. Proceeds from Autumn Daze Craze go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Muddy Cheer Challenge
Mud runs tend to attract participants who are competitive by nature, but their novelty appeals to non-competitive individuals as well. If you want to participate in a fun mud run that is neither timed nor competitive, the Muddy Cheer Challenge is for you. A family-friendly affair, this event is open to runners of all ages and abilities. The goal is to bring families and communities together, and participants are strongly encouraged to move at a pace they feel comfortable with. The only prizes awarded are a finishing medal, which every participant receives. Discounts are available for children (little ones aged five and under can participate for free), and special needs athletes run for free. Spectators are kindly requested to bring a can or bag of pet food for the local animal shelter chosen as the beneficiary of the event. The 2014 Dallas Muddy Cheer Challenge will take place on September 20 in Edgewood.
Tough Mudder
Considered by many to be the seminal mud run, the Tough Mudder is one of the most popular events of its kind. The obstacle course and mud run is coming to the Dallas area on October 4 and 5, and it will be held at the Triple R Ranch in Seagoville. A 12-mile course with dozens of obstacles, the Tough Mudder is designed for experienced mud runners and first-timers who are in excellent condition. Obstacles you will encounter include a gigantic ice bath, a field of flames, and a patch of ground strewn with live wires that has been given the moniker Electroshock Therapy.
The Original Mud Run Obstacle Course
If there is a mud run that can give the Tough Mudder a run for its money where notoriety is concerned, the Original Mud Run Obstacle Course is it. This year, participants will have the option of running the traditional 5K fun course or a “sprint” that is only 200 meters long but contains 25 obstacles. The event will be held October 25 at the Bear Creek Nature Park in Lancaster, just 10 miles south of downtown Dallas.
Superhero Scramble
Think you have superhuman strength? Love superheros, the outdoors, and fierce competition? If you answered yes to one of these questions, Dallas’ Superhero Scramble might be for you. If you answered yes to both of them and you live in a DFW apartment, then the Texas Superhero Scramble is definitely for you. Scheduled to take place in March 2015, the Superhero Scramble in Dallas is another mud run with a child for younger participants, the Super Kids Scramble. If you want to support the superheros serving our nation abroad, you can take up the Team Forgotten Soldiers Outreach challenge and raise money for our servicemen and servicewomen protecting our freedoms and liberties overseas.
One of the reasons why mud runs have become so popular is adults of all ages still feel like kids at heart. If you want to get down and dirty like a kid in a sandbox in a rainstorm, a mud run is the perfect outlet for you. You don’t even need an excuse. But if getting covered head-to-toe in mud is your primary motivation for running a mud run, do your research and choose a course carefully (the Muddy Cheer Challenge is a great option). Most mud runs require some serious brawn, drive, and stamina, and many of them have a competitive edge to them.
Have you participated in a Dallas area mud run? Share the highlights of your experience below!
View All Posts by Jason Ernst