Hundreds of runners headed out to Vala's Pumpkin Patch Saturday, but not to pick out their fall pumpkins. They were there to participate in the Mud Factor 5K.
It starts like any other 5K. Runners line up at the start, cross the line and head on a 3.2-mile run. But the run is filled with obstacles. It's the Mud Factor 5K and Joe Wendel and his team were up for the challenge.
“I heard about the Warrior Dash a couple of months ago. I missed out on that and this was coming back so I figured I’d check it out and do the challenges."
The finish line is challenging enough, a 15-foot wall rope climb, but it took a lot for the runners to get here. “The crawling through mud is always an interesting challenge,” said Wendel.
First, four wall obstacles 20-feet wide, 4-feet high and 2-feet beneath. Then a 15-foot rope climb that involved a lot of teamwork. “I could have not have made it without these two. You need a lot of upper strength to climb a wall and you need teamwork to get through it,” said Cathy Hewett.
“Everyone was coming together, there were teams out here doing their own thing but then they helped other people,” said Wendel.
Others, like Francico Perales, traveled from Kansas to run the race. “There's a part where you hit a lot of mud and you can't even walk, that was pretty difficult." He was racing against the clock. “It's a great way to be competitive."
It’s a competitive and fun 5K that left everyone crossing the finish line feeling accomplished.
Mud Factor 5K isn’t the only obstacle run this weekend. The Dirty Girl Run in Lincoln raised money for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
