Gladiators

I've known my friend Malia since the UCLA days of neuro and trauma action. We also worked at Olive-View together as travel nurses. Although we've pretty much been occupied with our own busy lives, we always make time for each other for special occasions. So when she invited me to join her and some friends at the Gladiator Rock'n Run Mud Run at the Rose Bowl on October 1, as intimidating as the idea was, I couldn't say no.

We started the run with the odds already against us: we were hungry, thirsty, and the sun was glaring. We slowly made our way through the players' tunnel and were discouraged to find six rows of bleachers that we had to sprint up and down on. With our thighs burning we somehow managed to crawl through the mud tunnel, hopped over giant spools, climbed over a mountain of tires, and slithered under a muddy web. Caked with mud, we persevered over an 8 foot wall, dashed through giant swinging balls, and conquered several other obstacles before finally scaling a large wall, called the beast, with a rope.

The Birthday Girl and I, pre-Mud Run.

Group shot right before scaling The Beast!

The Gladiator Run kicked our butts but it sure was satisfying to cross the finish line and claim our medals!