Hey girlfriend, ready to ditch the gym and go out and get dirty?
Well here’s your chance. Mudderella lands in the Chicagoland area on Saturday.
The female-friendly challenges are held across the United States, Canada and Australia. The 5- to 7-mile obstacle courses were designed by women for women as an opportunity for females to Own Their Strong, as Mudderella’s motto encourages.
Oh, you’ll be using your muscles, and don’t be surprised if you end up with mud over every inch of you. Actually, the getting dirty is a big part of the fun. Remember how much you liked doing that as a kid?
Every course is different, but each includes about a dozen challenges such as climbing up walls, through tubes and under wires. All have catchy names (I particularly like Downward Dirty Dog) and are designed to give participants a full-body workout.
While Mudderella naturally attracts runners, organizers say you don’t have to be marathon material to participate. You go at your own pace and there are chances to take a break after each obstacle. But you might be surprised at how strong you really are and how many breaks you’ll skip right over. Just sayin’.
Start time vary, but because the course is in Richmond, which is a way’s away from the city center, plan to get there at least an hour ahead of time. Besides parking and stashing your gear at the designated area, you’ll want to have time to participate in the group stretch and strength session before you take to the course.
And don’t worry, you don’t have to drive home caked in mud. There are rinsing stations. Stop there first, then head over to the massage area. Sounds good, right?
Registration remains open; do that here. Males can participate on a team if the head of that team is a female. All Mudderella participants must be at least 16, although there is a one-mile obstacle course — the Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder — for teams of kids who are at least 42 inches tall.