Obstacle Course & Mud Run Racers

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Newbie clothing questions.

flashbacks
flashbacks Posts: 34 Member
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Hi, so I'm a new to obstacle courses. I did a couple non official mud runs ( One was to raise money for cancer and the other one was organized by our college ) and I did the Sprint in Fenway in november. So I signed up to 3 races this summer and I was wondering a couple thing mostly about clothing.

- Is it appropriate to wear just a sports bra if I'm not super fit ? ( Ok this one might be more of a self esteem issue, I'm guessing it would be just fine haha. )

- Will the mud come off of Polyester/spandex clothes or should I wear old clothes ?

- And what kind of shoes should I wear ? I want to buy new shoes I'm only going to use for mud runs since I know they will get really dirty. ( I don't want to spend more than 120$ on them though)

Thank you :)

Replies

  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    I was at the Fenway Sprint! If you're in the New England area, I highly recommend joining the NE Spahtens. Wealth of info, and you'll always have a friend at a race. https://www.facebook.com/groups/nespahtens/

    Yes, you can definitely wear just a sports bra, but personally I wouldn't because your body takes a beating. I even wear compression tights and knee socks, and still end up covered in scratches and bruises. But I have seen other girls in sports bras. And a few of my guy friends have sort of a "theme" going on that they only wear speedos to the races. It's hilarious, but they do get the hell banged out of them.

    Definitely wear spandex clothing. The mud will wash off, but also cotton would be so heavy you'd be miserable.

    I personally swear by my Inno-8 Bare Grips for Spartan-type races. There's little nubs for traction in the mud, but they have great drainage so you aren't wearing shoes that weigh 20 pounds when you get them wet. I rinse them with a hose, and throw them in the washing machine. I've worn them for at least a dozen races and countless trail runs, and they still look new.
  • taeliesyn
    taeliesyn Posts: 1,116 Member
    Everything Summertime_girl has said, twice over.

    Step away from the cotton... do not touch cotton! Unless you're doing a short fun focused run and even then, find something else! It will weigh you down and suck the body heat out of you once it's wet.

    Regarding shoes, Innov-8's are great (Though I am yet to take mine through an actual OCR) If you're used to running in normal shoes, the Bare Grips may be a little too 'barefoot' for you with a 0mm drop, but they have other lines that are almost as good. I use trailroc 245's which are a little less aggressive on the tread, but I've still read good reviews for them on course.
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    Regarding shoes... Reebock is coming out with their line of shoes designed specifically for mud runs that come out soon. I hear good things. I hear their Outdoor Wilds are pretty awesome too.

    I am really partial to my Speed Cross 3s myself.
  • weliveaswedream
    weliveaswedream Posts: 56 Member
    The Reebok Outdoor Wilds are great if you are not a minimalist runner. I also recommend Brooks Cascadias if you're looking for a neutral shoe. I don't recommend Inov-8s if you are not used to a minimalist shoe. They do have shoe that have a higher heel drop but they are still much different if you're used to running in shoes that are padded. As much as I really want a pair of Inov-8s for OCRs, I just cant run in minimalist shoes. Reebok's new shoes launched today but they're really pricey and I think they are more of a minimalist shoe, too. I haven't done a lot of research on them because I was turned off by the price.

    As for what to wear, the others have covered the most important part: stay away from cotton. Read this article written by Margaret Schlachter, who is one of the top female racers: http://dirtinyourskirt.com/uncategorized/day-78-cotton-stay-away/ She has a lot of really good suggestions.

    Mud will come out of pretty much everything. Another good Margaret tip is to take your clothes and shoes to a self car wash to use the pressure washer to clean the mud out of everything. I don't have a sprayer on my hose or a pressure washer at home, so this was awesome for me. It was $1 for 2 minutes of use and I ended up needing about 3 minutes to get all of the mud out. Then I just washed everything as usual at home and you'd never know it was all muddy.

    On another shoe related note, mud will wash out of your shoes, too. My shoes definitely don't look like they've been caked in mud as many times as they have. I've worn them in three Spartans and three or four other races and they just look like normally used trail running shoes.
  • nhradeuce
    nhradeuce Posts: 168 Member
    Spend a little money to get good gear - everything can be cleaned. Summertime_girl pretty much nailed it. I run in a compression top, dri-fit running shorts (yes, shorty shorts, they weigh less when soaked) and compression socks because you do take a beating. For shoes I run in Asics Fuji Racers. They are completely useless on hard surfaces but they kick butt for trail running and obstacle racing. If you don't mind spending $120, the new Reeboks look pretty sweet - http://shop.reebok.com/us/all-terrain-series/_/N-1z11jvv
  • flashbacks
    flashbacks Posts: 34 Member
    Sorry for the late reply but thanks for the replies, I'm running tomorrow.

    I'm excited :)

    I'm wearing Speed Cross 3's and definitely no cotton.

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