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Race Date: November 5, 2007
Event: Muddy Buddy
Where: Los Angeles, CA.

Team Muddy Buddy: Jonathan Tessler & Josh Futterman - 2nd In Age Group (86 to 95)

If you have never heard of the “Muddy Buddy”, then now is the time. If you have heard of the “Muddy Buddy” then sit back, read on, and enjoy.

About 4 months ago Josh and I talked about doing the Los Angeles Edition of the Muddy Buddy. We decided that since it falls at the end of the cycling and triathlon season that we would enter, and if we got hurt doing something dumb, oh well, we had the winter to recover. Well it just happens to be that we also signed up for the Silverman 1/2 Ironman the following Sunday. So much for the Muddy Buddy being our end-of-season race.

I really did nothing to prepare for the Muddy Buddy other then pull my mountain bike out of the garage, give it a quick tune-up, ride it the one mile to my office for a test ride. We had no idea what the course would be like, so we were pretty much flying blind.

The event is described on the Muddy Buddy website as the following:

Race Description - Each race features a 6-7 mile course and 5 obstacles. At the start of the race, one team member will run and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider will drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and begin running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike, and begin riding. Teams will continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course. At the end of the race, racers will crawl through the infamous Mud Pit crossing the finish line together!

So what you just read above is about all Josh and I knew before the event started. As we were driving the 45 minutes to the Frank G. Bonelli Park we agreed that it would not be much fun if we hurt ourselves so we were going to go at a easy 80% (so not to roll an ankle, etc.). Once we get to the park we get checked in and change into our race clothes. Me, well I am going in a pair of rock climbing shorts, and dry-fit shirts, a old pair of running shoes, and my very old helmet with a swim cap attached (LA TriClub swim cap I might add). Josh, who has decided to race in a “costume”? Huh, I am not what he is dressed as, but he is wearing a pair of thermal ski pants, some kind of S&M plastic looking sleeveless shirt get-up, and a Santa hat taped to his helmet, and not to be to normal he is wearing a par of ski goggles. Okay, so now that we are suited up and ready to race we go and get staged in our age group. They group you by your combined ages, us, we have a combined age of 86 years old. Do we really look that old?

As I am waiting with the bikers (Josh decided to run first, thus I bike first) Josh walks about 20 feet back to line up with the runners. The thing about being in a large group of athletes waiting for the start of a race, is that they all seem to have gas. The kind you get when you are nervous before the big race. And today’s race is no different. Damm did it smell. All I keep thinking is start this thing before the smell makes pass out. And then I hear it, the totally unnecessary, super loud cannon goes off, and so do we.

As we start to leave the staging area I am about 8th place. We head only about 100′ before we make a hard left turn, hit the dirt, and hit climb. My first thought is NICE, I am on the bike and Josh has to run this monster. Seems like I got the better deal. Once the first climb is completed I am now in about 4th place, and we are head down some very steep decent in which I have this internal battle erupting in my head. Use the brakes, go slow, don’t crash, or what the hell, banzai the thing and take my chances. So much for going at 80%, I hit the decent, and scream, look mom no brakes. At the bottom is a sandy beach in which we have to dismount to get around pole that makes you carry the bike as you wade knee deep in water. So as I prepare to dismount so, so to be nice, lets just say, oh hell with being nice, some idiot hits me from behind, cutting my ankle, and crashing me into the sand. I now how a mouth full of sand, my wrist is hurting, and I smacked my jaw into the handlebar. So much for not getting hurt. After I yell at the dude, I get my self going again and get to the first obstacle.

Both Josh and I are pretty good at the obstacles and seem to be able to navigate them all with ease. We are able to gain a few places at each and every obstacle. The best was the balance beam. Watching people who are completely out of breath try to balance on a 2×2 was a pretty funny sight. As they kept trying, falling off, and starting over, we started on one of the beams and walked diagonally across all seven of them to get to the other side. No falling off!

In the end we ended up taking 2nd in our age group. Not getting too hurt, and having an absolute blast.

They even have a “Mini Buddy” in which my two girls (age 6 & 4) were able to go over a few obstacles and then walk through the mud pit.

It was fun for all.

Next year we will go back, but going for 1st place in our age. We’ll be 88 and it’ll be our last shot to win as an octogenarian team!