This Saturday, head on out to Otway Nordic Centre to witness a spectacle known as Mudd, Sweat and Tears.
The event starts at 9 a.m. for the racer heats. I will not be participating because I am not crazy like that.I will, however, be cheering on my brother and my cousins and their friends while they run around and get filthy.
Although I missed it last year, I am looking forward to observing the dirty participants as they stumble their way through an awesome eight-kilometre obstacle course.
In preparation for this article, I phoned my brother to ask him what I would expect as a spectator to this event.He told me, "Why would you watch?Just join in. It's fun."
Well, Prince George, I'm here to tell you that I said "No."
I said no to participating in this event because, quite frankly, the thought of running an eight-kilometre obstacle course in the mud, and then hosing off with icy, cold water from a garden hose at the end of it all, terrifies me.
I like to think that I'm an event joiner.I like to try new things and I enjoy being silly in public as much as the next person, however, Mudd, Sweat and Tears scares me a bit.
Anything that requires a waiver before you can join makes my stomach feel a little bit funny. Feeling conflicted, I asked my husband if we should maybe sign up for the event.To my relief, he told me there is no way in hell he was doing that.
Knowing that I would enjoy it, makes me feel a bit silly for being a coward and not joining in. I probably should try it but I'm just too nervous about it this year. Maybe next year.When I asked my brother why someone would do it, if they were looking for a reason to do so, he told me that there really wasn't a good reason to do it.
It was just really fun.
Plus, he told, at the end of the race, you are given a free beer ticket, a banana and a free T-shirt for your troubles.And, if you are very observant like one of my cousins, you could spy some abandoned drink tickets in a mud puddle that some poor unfortunate soul has dropped and you could score a few extra drinks.
I am not going to lie, for a beer, a banana and a free T-shirt, you may be able to count me in for next year.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to watching the more adventurous side of my family clean themselves off with glacier-cold hose water.
I might also steal a banana or a beer when they're not looking.
