Camp Pendleton Mud Run 2016

Saturday, I kicked off June with one of my favorite mud runs – the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.  This is my seventh year in a row doing it, so obviously I like it.

They’ve added a 5K distance, but I continue to do the 10K distance.  After all, after I drive two hours one way down there, I’m going to spend as much time as possible doing the race.  Yeah, I still run it, but I do so many 5K mud runs it’s nice to do something longer.  Plus it makes me train more, which is always good.

They added a few new elements this year, mainly involving us carrying things out and back.  When I first started, it was a run for the first half, so it is nice to break it up more.  They keep adding more elements every year.

Of course, there is mud – four pits along the way, three of them in the back half.  It’s always fun to roll through the mud and see muddy I can get.

The course is beautiful.  Yes, it’s dry, although the burned portions are beginning to grow back.  No new trees, but bushes, and it’s not nearly as obvious where it burned out a couple of years ago.  Anyway, I enjoy the hills and the views.  There’s something special about being out in nature like this for the run.  Plus, it’s a rare opportunity to be on a military base.  It may be the only one I’ve been on.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day weather wise.  I was worried when I got up because my hotel was foggy, but the sun was coming out by the time I got on base.  It was perfectly sunny and in the lower 70’s.  Warm enough that the mud felt nice but not too hot.

Of course, afterward, I went into Oceanside and grabbed lunch at Pit Stop, a restaurant that Ian introduced me to a couple of years ago.  Their Chicken Strip Wrap is so delicious.

On the way home, I stopped by Downtown Disney for a little pin shopping.  I wound up finding some I wanted to buy.  No fun new ornaments, but there was a mug I had to get as well.

I made another stop on the way home – a LA Aviators game.  This was the first of their games I’ve been to this season.  It was a great game, with the Aviators pulling out a win in the final quarter of the game.

All told, Saturday was a very tiring day, but it was a great day.