HYDERABAD: Participating in a mud run may not get the ‘wows’ and ‘oohs’ that many other adventure activities may garner, yet ask any mud runner and he is sure to tell you that he will attend the next edition of the Hyderabad Mud Run.
Class V student Aditya has the answers who put the experience very aptly, “It was awesome! Mummy let me get dirty from head-to-toe.”
While activities like marathon would require proper training, the mud run organised by the Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club(GHAC) offers a platform for the adventurous and not-so-adventurous as well. “ It is a break from the sedentary lifestyle we lead; a way towards the nature, where you are one with it, “ says Dayanat Ali, organiser GHAC. Though the obstacles appear to be simple, participants will vouch that there is more than what meets the eye.
Over two dozen different obstacles stretching across a muddy terrain of two km included slippery slides, tunnels, water pits, mud swim, tunnels, cargo net climbs, under wire and skirmish crawl, tire field, burma bridge and much more. “These look easy but are not so easy. I completed all hurdles except one in where you had to walk over bamboos to cross over to the other side. It was so slippery that I let go of it. But it was so much fun. I will come for the run next year as well, “ gushes Pujita Bandaru, a public relations officer in Genesis.
Though the obstacles are a little challenging, the GHAC and its 100 volunteers worked on the planning and execution for three months. Once the planning was done, the hurdles were constructed and the members took a trial run to rule out any misgivings. “Apart from volunteers, there were 25 marshals at each hurdle point to guide and motivate the participants, if the need be. A group of four doctors and an ambulance had also been pressed into service,” informs Amardeep, a marshal and a ‘self-proclaimed motivator’. He adds that the challenging nature of obstacles give the participants a sense of accomplishment when they finish the run which is further increased when they receive certificates and medals from the adventure club. “Our lives have become so mechanical and stressful. We try to give fitness freaks, adventure lovers and amateurs an opportunity to forget everything and relive their childhood, “ believes Amardeep.
Children between eight to 13 years had to be accompanied by parents and anybody with basic level of fitness could participate. What makes this run unique is that the focus is not on winning the run but on finishing it. “The non-competitive nature of this ‘mad rush’ offers scope for helping each other and building camaraderie between strangers,” says Pavitran Fedrick, a two-time participant of the event. Inspired by Fedrick’s fun at the last run, a bunch of friends joined him this year.
The slushy affair which saw over 700 muddied bodies with a wide grin plastered on their faces, chatting and clicking pictures was a successful event. The aches and tiny bruises that will show up eventually, surely will not deter them being a part of the next mud run in 2015.