* From: michael downey
* Event Details
parking was close and free for the event. not much in the way of vendors. typical event tee shirt for all runners.
* Race Details
did you run muckfest 2014? if yes then you already know the course because it was the same exact path as last year first of a few negative notes on this event.
this year they decided to change some of the previous obstacles up or introduce new twists but the first 4 obstacles were in the same exact postion as last year . first was the merry go round but this time they changed it up and removed the ropes and had rings instead. right after that was the rope traverse and the change up was it was 2 lanes going north south and 2 lanes going east and west meaning you had 2 points where you crossed path with others. after that was the first of the new addations the zip line over a water pit and the fun part was the end point was still a good 5 feet from the shore so even if you made it to the end you took a little swim right after that you went into what has been the final obstacle for a few yrs into a artic cold water pit that the swim in snowshed pond at the beast seem like a jacuzzi after that it was a bit of trail time and you got to the over under logs in the water pit and then down the steep path to bring you back to the festival area and t
he up / across / down and this obstacle was the next negative mark due to the giant back log it created of easily 50-100 people then was over to theA frame cargo and a quick switch back and to the last and most exciting new obstacle climbing up on a platform and jumping into a giant stunt man airbag. there were two platform levels to choose from and this obstacle also caused a giant backlog. then was skidmarks and the muddy tunnel crawl.
Overall i was unimpressed with this event and its further slide to the event its becoming. i understand its for charity and all but still i think they can do better
the big negatives for the day were
this event would be a LOT better being placed in june/july. april is just to early to have events with quiet a few water pits the weather at this time is still so hit and miss and the evenings still get close to freezing causing the water pits to be dangerously cold. being this event is geared to new people getting in that cold of water and then walking at a slower pace is a recipe for causing hypothermia.
course is at best just touching 3 miles
the backups at the final 2 out of 3 obstacles easily ate up 20 mins
the lack of any real originality of course design and just using the same path and obstacle layout as previous years
and the fact it was for the most part a clean even and they put the only 2 muddy obstacles in the last 100 feet. i am guessing this was due to they wanted the festivle area to be fully of ” mucky” people and try to sell it to spectators that everyone got nice and muddy. but reality is for 2.99 miles the only thing people were is wet and cold
i will put it like this if they had a future reg tent and offered 2016 registration for $40.00 i would have told them ” thanks but no thanks”
* Rating
Below Average
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* From: Teri Perry
* Event Details
Event Details: I was part of an earlier start time so parking was easy and right across the street from registration. Vendors were minimal but that wasn’t surprising since this was a fundraiser.
Swag: T-shirt for all, cup for being part of a team over 10 people, also got a medal/bottle opener for raising over $100.
* Race Details
Course details: I did not do MuckFest last year so I cannot compare. Most of the obstacles themselves were nothing too crazy – tube crawling, over under, merry-go- round, rope traverse, cargo nets, skid marks, 3 water obstacles, etc. Long story short – If it had been July or August and you were able to pick start times all of this would have been much better.
Unfortunately, the day was seasonal 45 degrees.Fully submerging in water of equal temperature was very, very cold – it took my breath away & made it hard to breathe when I first came up out of the water. I been able to control my asthma for years and haven’t had an inhaler on me for at least 10 years but that water constricted my lungs and gave me problems for hours after. The final water obstacle, for me, was the hardest obstacle all day. It wasn’t hard physically but mentally. You had to jump off a platform into 6 ft of water – I knew I was going to go under & I was already freezing. I’ll be honest – I did not want to do it. This is the first 5k race I have ever done of any kind in which I never got hot. Heck, only briefly was I feeling warm & that was early in the race.
The water obstacles made me very nervous for the children, people who were doing this for fun and those with MS. They didn’t seem smart – they seemed dangerous for a ‘fun run’. With MuckFestMS races all over the country and through the fall it seems like they could move this to mid or late summer.
I feel bad because this was a fundraiser & I have many friends, family members, former co-workers, neighbors & friends parents who suffer from MS but unless there is a change of date, next year I will donate to someone who is running rather than run myself.
* Rating
Below Average
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* From: Ann Priestman
* Event Details
I got there pretty early and parking was a snap. And also free, as was bag check. I didn’t see a lot of vendors in the festival area, but the set-up was nice – by the time I finished there were spectators sitting all around the hills near the course.
Swag: T-shirt and a bag of snacks (banana, granola bar, and a cookie). I forgot to pick up one of our orange cups after the race.
* Race Details
I think the obstacles were great for a more casual race – lots of fun but not too challenging. The jump off the swing and the zip line were great and the huge balls at the beginning were a blast with so many people going through at once. There were also some crawls, cargo nets, and a rope traverse.
And now on to the problems – the cold weather and the backups. I looked up average temperatures and we were a bit lower than normal but really not by much. The water seemed close to dangerously cold, though I felt ok as long as I kept moving. Which was impossible in some places. Almost every obstacle had at least a small backup and the final jump onto the crash pad at the end had a massive one — over 20 minutes of standing still, soaking wet, in under 50 degree weather. It was scary just climbing the ladder after the wait. It was a fun idea, but they know how many runners will be coming through and should have gone with something higher capacity.
Personally, I might go back next year – I was having fun up until that crazy wait at the end. But if it’s cold I’m going to skip any long waits for obstacles. If they could push it back even a couple of weeks into May I think that would help a lot with the temperatures.
* Rating
Average
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* From: Heather Gannoe
* Event Details
-Free parking close to the venue.
-T shirt, goodie bag with banana, cookie, and granola bar.
– Free beer (Traveler Co. Shandy…a nice change from the usual cheap light beer you see at most races).
– And my favorite: free hot food…a voucher for a free hotdog and bag of chips OR veggie burger (thank you from all of us vegetarians!) and a bag of chips.
– There were plenty of festival events going on, from log rolling to cornhole to what appeared to be a giant game of beer pong, except you substitute beer and solo cups for giant garbage cans full of water (don’t worry, you didn’t have to drink it).
-Other than the official race merchandise, there were no vendors that I saw. (Though the race sponsors had a few tables set up)
* Race Details
I’ve already read a handful of disappointed reviews for this race, and I’m going to have to say that I mostly disagree with them. If you show up to Muckfest looking for a brutal course with challenging obstacles, then you will be sorely disappointed. However, if you show up with the mindset that this obstacle course race was designed to be a FUN fundraiser, designed for people of all fitness levels, then you will have a blast. We sure did.
The website describes the course as “the fun mud and obstacle 5K for everyone. If you can laugh, you can do it. No special training required.” And the course was exactly that. Easy, rolling trails with a handful of hilarious obstacles along the way. Not a single one of the obstacles was overly physically challenging.
Of course there was plenty of mud. But instead of physically or mentally challenging obstacles you would see on a Spartan or Tough Mudder course, the Muckfest MS obstacles were reminiscent of the show “WipeOut”. Zip lines, giant swings, even a spinning merry-go-round type of obstacle that promised to drop you into freezing cold water if you fell off. They were all so fun, I couldn’t stop laughing.
In the end, the only complaint I had was the weather. It was cold, making the water obstacles more painful than fun. This could easily be fixed by pushing the date back by a few weeks for the New England event.
For a more in-depth review as well as pictures, please visit my blog post: http://relentlessforwardcommotion.com/2015/04/2015-muckfest-ms-boston/
* Rating
Above Average
