Muddy Buddy 2008, Gilberts, IL

Is it time for Muddy Buddy again!? It sure was. After placing respectable 9th in our divison in 2007, Nate and I brought our game to the 2008 table in Gilberts. Gaining some serious notariety, this year's Muddy Buddy was the largest crowd of participants for the organizers to deal with yet. More than 3,000 racers showed up to leave it all on the course.

A little different this year because of the dry conditions. Of course, there was still the infamous mud pit at the end, but it didn't storm the night before, leaving the course in a very doable state. For those of you not familiar with how Muddy Buddy works, there are two people racing and one bike between them both. One starts on bike, the other on foot and they do NOT race next to each other. The race is approximately 6-7miles long, split up into five different sections, with obstacles seperating each of the legs (a climbing wall, Army Ranger frame where touching the ground sends you back to the start, inflatable slide, etc) and a final waiting area where the teammates finally meet back up and enter the Mud Pit!

Angie, Connor and I picked Nate up at the Elgin Metra station and headed out to the farm and set up camp. This year's weather was a nice change from the previous year's, so enjoyed some relaxing in the lawn chair, nervously waiting for morning.

Nate and I said our goodbyes at the Start since we'd be splitting up for the race. We would see each other at every other checkpoint, trading the bike, trying to even out each other's speed. As in 2007, our combined age and weight kept us in the first wave to be let loose. Countdown done and cap gun fired, I was first out of the gate. Lucky me, the race director wasn't ready for me and was still talking to his crew at the road when I showed up to blaze down the dirt fireroad to the first checkpoint. I was pedaling myself silly behind this guy's Blazer, breathing in the dirt his tires were kicking up. BUT, I was first to the checkpoint and was soon running as fast as I could to the second CP.

There were some tough, still muddy climbs on the course which wet my singletrack whistle, and I took some pride in staying on the bike where other people were walking their rides up the hills. I love biking, and I love that feeling making it up a grueling hill that you see other people struggling with. It's that drive and using the proper gear that usually helps me get the edge on some of the faster riders, although I'm pretty quick myself!

Looking back on the race, I remember feeling more nauseous than the year before. It was definitely hotter, and I think I was pushing myself more on the running sections, but not finishing in the top five left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The mud pit though, was more fun this year for some reason. Maybe it was deeper, maybe there was an extra hump we had to get over, but I definitely enjoyed crawling through muck more in '08.