RACE: Muddy Buddy Orlando @1:00:41, Disney's Wide World of Sports, Lake Buena Vista, FL

[Update #1: Click HERE for a link to the official results.]

[Update #2: For the official event photographs (by BrightRoom), click HERE (will open a new window/tab) then replace the "000" in the URL with your team's bib number.]

[Pre-Text Notes: pictures from disposable camera found below; my digital camera pics can be found on my fotki site HERE]

This past Saturday, Chuck and I did the 2008 Muddy Buddy Orlando. First of all, I want to say that the race was awesome and that I can't wait to do it again next year.

For those who don't know, the Muddy Buddy is a two-person race in which team members leap-frog each other running & biking. The race is done in waves according to team gender(s) and combined age; in each wave, the team members with the bike starts first, followed by their partners who start a couple minutes later on foot.

In Orlando, the course is five miles, and at each mile marker, there are transition areas where not only do the bikers become the runners and the runners become the bikers, but they are obstacles (how fun!). And at the end of the five miles, the partners meet up and crawl through "one mondo mud pit" to the finish.

For me, I though the coolest things, asides from the transitions/obstacles, was just seeing bikers and runner on the course at the same time. The fact that it was through the woods also added some extra charm, and granted, I could've done without the "trying to bike through sand", the race atmosphere was so upbeat that running the bike along parts of the course was amusing.

Even though it wasn't really a "Disney" event, there were plenty of "characters" out there with a lot of heart and humor. The mud pit brought out a lot of ha's and aww's, but even before the race started, you can see it in people's costumes, team spirit, and enthusiasm. I know that I was running around getting my picture taken with a number of these people. And it's all this positive energy that I love about these events.

This year's Muddy Buddy was memorable and fantastic.

Here are some pics from on-course (Announcer:"What is he pulling out?... a sandwich?"):

there's going to be some drag in the mud
pretty girls love funny men
team pud muddle
race start (for wave 1)
runners start with helmets
transition area 1, obstacle 1 = high wall
transition area 2, obstacle 2 = tall inflatable slide (woo!)
running and biking the trails
transition area 3, obstacle 3 = balance beam
chuck coming into transition area 3
transition area 4, obstacle 4 = over-and-under hurdle
last stretch back to the sports complex
(good mix of runners and bikers)
chuck in final bike drop area
mondo mud pit joy
my kitties are clean and i'm happy