Race Review: Mud Guts and Glory – August 14, 2014

In Brief:

Mud, Guts, and Glory is a unique experience that is definitely worth the drive. MGG is held in the same location (King’s Domain), so it is unlike other obstacle course races that have events in different states. However, from a good course to comfortable accommodations I can see why the OCR world championships will be here in October.

Organization:

MGG is definitely a family run organization and has that type of feel to it. MGG is not a smooth corporate operation, but that is what makes this event so great. With that being said, everything went off without a hitch from checking in to my cabin to running the race. Some of the times were a little off on race day, and check in for the race was a mess, but none of these aspects were too egregious and can easily be fixed.  B

Registration:

As I mentioned, registration was a mess. Racers first had to get their packet and then pick up their chip timers, which was inefficient and created a pretty big back up. A few of us were running to the start line to make the start. With better organization this is something MGG can definitely fix. D

Venue:

MGG is hosted on a permanent course with a lot of really great terrain. If you chose to stay onsite you have the option or camping or staying in a cabin or cottage. I stayed in the cottages with a few other racers. The cottage had a nice bathroom, bunk beds, a little kitchen, a couch, and a porch. Pretty much everything someone at an OCR could want. Included with your stay are a couple of meals at the dining hall. The food is nothing to write home about, but it was decent and it was very nice to not have to worry about grub.

As a final note, staying onsite does present you with a unique opportunity to try out some of the obstacles and wonder the trails, which is really unique in the OCR world. Solid A

Course/Obstacles:

Speaking of course. This is what we are here for; so this one is a biggie, and MGG does a really good job with this. The course was 5 miles with 1,200 feet of vertical gain. MGG does a nice job of using the natural terrain to create a course that is challenging, yet very fun. MGG also has a few unique obstacles that include “the weaver,” a vertical rope climb up a cliff, and some repelling down hills. The course had nice transitions from climbs to flat trail runs to fast down hills, which they combine with challenging obstacles. Nice job here. A

Swag:

Pretty much the standard grab bag here of a free drink, quality T-shirt, and a nice medal. If you stay onsite you are also given tickets for some really good BBQ. Pictures leave a little to be desired as it was difficult to find your pictures and there seemed to be very few of them. Not a huge issue, but still worth noting. C

Spectator area:

Rather small, but they had a few vendors and good food. The finish line and most of the obstacles, however, were away from the main spectator area, which does not lend itself to a very viewer friendly event. Nothing special on this one, but also not terrible. C