WNBC takes on the Mud!

You've heard the stories, now see the pictures. Last month the WNBC crowd took a rare journey away from the relaxing waters of Lake Travis to the treacherous hill country of Johnson City to test endurance, speed, and tolerance for dirt in the 2008 Muddy Buddy.

The Setup:

For those of you who haven't heard of a Muddy Buddy race, here's the background. Teams of two race over ~7 miles of trails, divided up into 5 legs. The race starts w/ one teammate on a bike and one running. The biker finishes the first leg, leaves the bike, completes an obstacle, and takes off running on the second section. The runner finishes after the biker, completes the same obstacle, picks up the bike and bikes the second section. The teammates alternate back and forth for 5 legs finishing by crawling through a 20 yard mud pit at the end. Why would anyone do this? Take a look.

The Teams:

The WNBC crowd fielded 4 teams in the muddy buddy. Here you can see each team in the beginning of the race, looking competitive, optimistic... and remarkably clean.

1) The Veterans - "SOBs" (Slow, Old, and Bald)

This veteran team had been favored in the early polls to dominate the Muddy Buddy competition. Early in the pre-season, the SOBs were planning to challenge the younger, but less experienced Rack 'Em Willie team. But a late season training injury to Olympic Triathlete Miller Time sent T-bone helmsman Captain Mac in search of a first mate. Always ready for a challenge, and wanting to test out his own recovery, Pride of Detroit Peters jumped in to fill the big shoes of Miller Time.

2) The Beasts - "The Lug Nuts"

While most of the WNBC crowd entered the Beast Division (combined weight over 400lbs), The Lug Nuts had the safest time meeting weigh in requirements. When asked about their goals for the race, Seven C's captain P-Cast was heard stating "(1) Survive, (2) Finish, (3) Not embarrass my self... in that order." Suzy Queue Commodore, Slade the "Arm Bar" Foster threatened to submit anyone that tried to pass him with a rear-naked-choke as soon as he had a clear shot at their back!

3) The Mismatch - "BAD" (Better At Darts)

After some dedicated carb-loading the night before, the BAD team decided they could make the Beast Division as long as they could weigh in fully clothed after they had soaked up a lot of mud. Looking like more Robin Hood and Little John than Hans and Franz, the Ahoy Madeys and Irish Wake combination set a lofty goal.... not to get passed by the "kids."

4) The Kids - "Rack 'Em Willie"

Oh, to be 18 again. These two soon-to-be high school graduates decided to show off their youth and athleticism competing against the rest of the veteran teams. Unable to "make weight" in the Beast class, "Singletrack" Casterlin and "Jack Johnson" McCarthy decided to talk a big game at the start. As the kid division started 7 minutes after the Beast Division these two were quickly talking about how fast they would "make up the stagger" on the rest of us. Truthfully, I expected they'd catch us by the third leg! For now, take note that their team number is 131.

The Race:

The Beast Bikers took off first in a tight crowd winding through the narrow course. Arm Bar Foster proved to be a strong mountain biker picking up a solid lead through the biking phase with Gordon and Mac in hot pursuit. Runners were sent out a minute after the bikers. Madey, Casterlin, and Peters ran together for a while before separating.

The Bikers got off their bikes, completed the first obstacle, a set of balance beams, and took off running. Enjoying a 20 lb weight benefit on the next lightest Beast competitor, Flash Gordon took the lead from Body Triangle Foster with Oh Father Mac right behind. At this point, the Kids are on our tails and it's a race to keep from getting passed.

Maniacally-focused Madey gets the bike to the 2nd checkpoint first and the BAD team departs in the lead. The third leg features a tall rock retaining wall that forces all of the bikers to carry their bikes. The fourth leg is even more troubling with a half-mile hill, straight up. The kids are beginning to catch up. Swings-from-Trees Casterlin passes Madey in the fourth leg, but Bike Pusher Madey gets his revenge pushing a bike up the monster hill and re-passes Casterlin.

By the fifth leg, all of the teams are exhausted. Fortunately, a strategically placed camera is ready to capture all of our faces as we go up the last BIG hill of the race. EVERY WNBC BIKER was forced to get off the bike to go up the hill.

The MUD:

After getting up the big hill, the bikers waited for their runner teammates before entering the mud pit. The racers had to duck under a big cargo net and then military crawl through the mud to ensure the got well covered. For this one, a few pictures are definitely worth 1,000 words.

The Finish:

After all the pain and suffering, all four teams finished strong. The Kids had the best overall time besting the BAD team by 26 seconds (not the 7 minute stagger!). The Lug Nutz came in a strong third with the SOBs right behind. The Kids of Rack 'Em Willie also came home with medals for 5th place in their age group. But after checking the pictures, it seems like the Kids of team 131 actually got some help from a grownup to get across the finish (below).

Reactions after the race (while in the beer "garden") were varied. Masochist Madey was heard to say "I could do this again. Let's sign up for October." While Petered-out Peters said, "I will never, ever, ever, do anything remotely like this again. I hate you guys." After an incredibly strong performance, the Seven C's head said, "This was fun and all, but can we go back to boating?" And finally Full Mount Foster was overheard grappling with the last person to pass him saying, "Tap or snap... Tap or snap."

A great tradition. We'll see you again next year. But for now, as Paul requested, we'll go back to boating.