What is a “Real” Run?
By Jessica Balanza
Me, back row, fifth from right, with my Dirty Girl team in Tampa
A run, is a run, is a run, right?
For some this statement isn’t necessarily true. You add mud, colors, tutus, glow sticks or anything somewhat adventurous and it is no longer a “run”.
Die-hard runners question the necessity of such incorporations into running events. I have heard it time and time again from some of my friends, “I won’t run at any of those events, they aren’t real races.”
Who defines what a “real” race is? And why does it matter?
I will admit that I don’t typically sign up for a mud run such as Dirty Girl or a color run with the idea of breaking a personal record or racing my little heart out. But I do run and play around with my friends. These events are meant to be fun, which is why they’re great.
And for some, these events are races. A mud run like Dirty Girl might not be a race in the traditional sense, but it could be a personal race to get healthy or to conquer the entire obstacle course. Just because a race isn’t a pure run from start to finish, or because it’s untimed, doesn’t mean it isn’t a race of some sort.
Actually, the fun appeal is what may have gotten a future runner off the couch and out the door for the first time. Often I think of these fun runs as a lure. They promise a workout in an entertaining environment surrounded by friends and sometimes lots of families. Some of my family members who never even fathomed running in public are now training for a run, thanks to the idea of mud runs, obstacle runs, and events that others might call “novelty.”
There are all kind of runners these days. Running is no longer a sport for just men or skinny people who have “runners’ bodies.” Running is an activity that allows anyone –your mom, grandmother or child– to enjoy, even if the run gets muddy or glows.
Visit Jessica’s blog, Cuban Running Crisis, at http://www.cubanrunningcrisis.com/
May 13th, 2013
Dirty Girls & Dirty Moms: Happy Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, and here at Dirty Girl nation it’s a holiday we take very seriously. Why? Because there would be no Dirty Girls without Dirty Moms!
For years we’ve been saying that a Dirty Girl event is like a day at the spa, only better—and we’re sticking to that. It’s always great to see moms and daughters using Dirty Girl as a chance to spend much-needed time together. We also salute the ladies who are happy to forego their lazy Saturday watching Bravo for a few hours of heart-pumping dirty fun. To show our appreciation, we asked our fans to share pictures of themselves participating in Dirty Girl events with their mothers.
Tera Domaradzki (below, left) was eager to share hers. She did the mud run in Buffalo, NY last fall with her mom, Pam Tinti. They proudly conquered the obstacles side by side and took this amazing picture, their bright pink shirts barely showing through all that mud. “We have always had a close relationship, and mud brought us even closer,” Tera writes.
Brittany Abrams Megois (below, right) and her mom, Kathy Abrams, participated in the Dirty Girl Mud Run in the Atlanta area a few weeks ago. “It was a day full of fun, laughter and triumph!” Brittany writes. Mom and daughter completed all the obstacles together – and when Brittany became apprehensive about completing “Get a Grip” because of her fear of heights, Kathy was right there to cheer her “up and over” the ropes. Brittany says there is nobody else she would have rather had by her side that day, and she can’t wait to do another Dirty Girl with her mom again next year.
Becky Wallace (below, left) and her daughter Amanda got muddy this year in Virginia Beach. It was Becky’s first time doing any kind of an organized run, and she’s really glad she stepped up to the challenge and took the plunge (quite literally, based on her picture). “It was great mom-daughter bonding!” she says. “I can’t wait until my youngest can run with us, too.”
Andrea Gehrke (below, left) and her mother Karen Orser “walked, crawled, splashed, skipped, slid, and laughed through the entire 5K!” in Wisconsin last year, as Andrea puts it. It was Karen’s first time doing a mud run, but she’s now a convert and tells everybody she’s a Dirty Girl. The duo is excited to participate in the Wisconsin mud run again this summer. “I am so blessed to have my amazing, wonderful, supportive, fun-loving mother in my life all year round,” says Andrea. “But I feel especially honored that I got to share this experience and these memories with her!”
Here at Dirty Girl, those are the things we like to hear.
May 6th, 2013
A ROLE REVERSAL YOU COULD GET USED TO
By DIRTY GIRL
One of the best parts of a Dirty Girl Mud Run is the support system the average participant brings with her. There are husbands, boyfriends, mothers, fathers, dogs, and entire families. What always gets me, though, are the little kids waiting at the finish line for Mom, ready for a big muddy hug and kiss, and jealous that they’re not allowed to play in the mud with her, let alone do a mud run of their own.
Seriously, ladies, when else do you get a chance to get gloriously, dripping-wet dirty while your kids stand by, clean as a whistle? Think about that for a minute, and if you haven’t yet gathered the nerve to do a mud run, the satisfaction of this awesome role reversal might put you over the edge. You definitely deserve it. Be warned, though: once you get dirty while they’re watching, you might not have much leverage keeping them out of that tempting mud puddle in the backyard the next time it rains…
Here are some photos we’ve taken of adorable spectators waiting for their Dirty Girls to cross the finish line. The first two weren’t too keen on having their pictures taken, but their Dads were! We hope to compile more of these, so if you have any photos of your #1 fans waiting for you to complete a Dirty Girl Mud Run, leave a comment on this post to get in touch.
We can guarantee Mommy pushed herself just a little harder with this great encouragement!
There’s a fan base we’d be proud to have.
She stopped crying as soon as Mom came out of the changing station, unmuddied.
April 29th, 2013
It’s Never Too Late to Be a Dirty Girl
by Melissa Kirkham
Me in 2010 Me in 2013, at Dirty Girl San Diego
This summer I will turn 40. At this age, I’ve found, life has settled into somewhat of a groove. We are identified by the various hats we wear as wives, mothers, and working women. You have kids, and life just sort of takes over. Everyone else becomes a priority and you do what needs to be done. The kids are young and keep you busy, so it’s ok. The pounds slowly creep on, but you’re still getting things done and taking care of business. Fast forward a few years later and you wake up one day with the realization that your little ones are not so little anymore. In fact, you weigh what you did nine months pregnant with the son who has outgrown you and is on the verge of starting his own life. You have two choices. You can continue on this path and no one would fault you, it’s just part of the aging process. You look at the women in your family and while genetics don’t determine all things, you can get a pretty clear picture of where you’re headed. Or you can choose to change your life.
I can’t say I “chose” to change my life, but ultimately, that’s what happened. I was the inactive, asthmatic, allergy ridden, anemic girl full of excuses for not liking exercise. I made one choice. In January, 2011, I decided I would run – ok, walk/run – the one mile to my office and back. It. Was. Awful. But I did it again the next day. And again a few days later. That June, I ran my first 5k race and the experience flipped a switch in me and I was hooked. Just about a year later, I ran my first half marathon and wrapped up 2012 by running my first full marathon! Early this year, I kept up the momentum by doing a Dirty Girl Mud Run in San Diego. That’s the drive-by version. The main question is: how do you get started when everyone else is half your age and twice as fit?
1. Make a choice. Today. Just one. It didn’t take you overnight to get in the shape you’re in (yes, round is a shape, too!) and a healthy body isn’t going to happen overnight. Start with something simple like parking your car on the other side of the lot. Skip the soda today. Take the stairs. I promise you that while it may not seem to make a difference, it’s a start and doing one easy thing for your health will make the big picture less overwhelming.
2. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, including yourself. What you “used to be able to do 20 years ago” is irrelevant.
3. Enjoy the journey and make it fun! Get sweaty trying something new, whether it’s lifting weights, rock climbing, or getting some girls together to do a Dirty Girl Mud Run!
4. Celebrate the victories with non-food rewards. A massage, new workout clothes, or the perfect little black dress!
Live your life, don’t just survive it!
Almost 40 and still awesome!
Visit Melissa’s blog, Melissa Running It, at http://melissarunningit.com/
April 22nd, 2013
Ready for Mud
She’s definitely ready!
by DIRTY GIRL
This past Tuesday, the new reality dating show “Ready for Love” premiered on NBC. It’s partially a typical dating show: young, talented, and attractive bachelorettes compete for the attention of a very eligible bachelor. But this time, there are 3 guys (one is a singer from the band the Plain White T’s, and the other two are businessmen), and the women didn’t just apply to be contestants on the show; they were hand-picked by three expert matchmakers. In this sense, you could say that “Ready for Love” is “The Bachelor” meets “Millionaire Matchmaker” (just without Patty’s potty mouth!).
But what does it all have to do with us? Well, we have reason to believe that in the second episode of “Ready for Love,” airing on Tuesday, April 16 at 9PM EST, Dirty Girl Mud Run will make a special cameo appearance. We’re psyched to see which candidate participates in a Dirty Girl event, and whether she loves getting dirty as much as our 300,000+-strong Dirty Girl alumni base has in the past few years.
Are you planning on watching “Ready for Love” this Tuesday? If so, keep an eye out for one or more of your favorite obstacles, and be ready to tweet us (@GoDirtyGirl) about what you think. We’ll be tweeting all throughout the show on Tuesday (starting during “The Voice” at 8PM EST), so don’t be shy: come chat with us… and get Ready for Mud!
April 12th, 2013
