When picturing a person climbing over obstacles just to jump down into a pool of muddy water, then coming back out just to run through some more mud and go over a few more hurdles, one might think of a military boot camp.
However the Volksaluf run is something that regular people train for and choose to run annually.
Held Oct. 11, this run features a series of strenuous obstacles, brown-colored swimming pools and muddy areas that the participants run in. Sponsored by numerous companies, the Mud Run has been going on for 11 years, and it has approximately 8,000 contestants. The Volksaluf consists of a 5-kilometer and 10K run for both individual men, women and relay teams.
So what would make someone want to put himself or herself through such an exhausting task?
For sisters Karen Carter, 37, Penny Eller, 38 and Tammy Tillsy, 42, this race was a chance to bond.
“It sounded fun and challenging. We wanted to push ourselves and feel a sense of accomplishment,” Carter said.
“Also, I was adopted and this was a chance for me to get to know my blood sisters,” Tillsy said.
The sisters ran the 5K individual but stayed together. They said that the race was surprisingly easier then they anticipated, but a few complications arose.
“The wire rope over water that you had to go across took a lot more arm strength then I realized,” Tillsy said. “And when I thought I was at least half way, I dropped, but when I looked back, I was barely a quarter of the way across.”
Eller’s problem was that little pebbles and rocks from the mud kept getting in her shoes and eventually caused the bottom of her foot to blister then pop.
The sisters thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were proud of their accomplishment and plan to run again next year. For anyone interested, they would recommend long sleeves and pants and lots of cardio workouts beforehand.
Like the sisters, most who run the race have no intention of placing. However, 25-year-old Giovani Perezchica’s objective is to finish first.
Including this year’s Volksaluf, Perezchica has placed first in the individual men’s 10K for the past four years. A former Renegade, Perezchica has been running his whole life and was on the Bakersfield College cross country and track teams in the past.
“I enjoy the challenge,” he said. “The obstacles make this race different and more difficult from the other races I run throughout the year.”
When running the race, Perezchica said that at first he was concerned with time, but then all he thought about was taking first and doing whatever it takes to achieve his goal.
Perezchica said that in order to train for this race successfully, one would need to do extensive cardio training as well as a lot of mileage.
“I would recommend training at least three months before,” he said. “This race takes more out of you, and you need a couple of months of training at least to do well in it.”