Backyard mud run fun for the whole family. That’s the best way to describe the 4th Annual No Turning Back Mud Run held this past weekend in Picayune, Mississippi.
Picayune is the definition of small town America, about 45 minutes northwest of New Orleans. The event takes place in the backyards of the Moeller family and comes complete with a backyard, family feel to it. Of course, their country backyards are large enough to hold a 5K mud run, much larger than my city backyard.
It’s a charity event, raising money for student missionary trips and scholarships, in honor of Jake Moeller who was killed by a drunk driver in 2014. In addition to honoring him, it extends his legacy, growing every year.
Obstacles/Course
Each year the event has grown in terms of participants and obstacles. In the inaugural year, the toughest obstacle might’ve been the monkey bars across a creek bed. This year, participants were challenged 20+ obstacles, including Battle OCR’s trademark #Triumph obstacle. As seen in this year’s NORAM OCR Championships, this obstacle starts with a ramp climb on to an elevated platform, followed by a jump to the next platform, jump once more on to another platform, then rope swing on to a cargo net before climbing a rope. Luckily, the only obstacle after that was a slip and slide to the finish line.
The course traveled through backyards, wide open grassy farm fields where the obstacles included too many to count cow patties and muddy creek beds. Beyond #Triumph, there were plenty of muddy trenches to conquer, walls to go over and under, including a warped wall and much more.
Shout out goes to the volunteers. At every obstacle, the volunteers were cheering on every racer without fail. It was the kind of family, small town feels that you can’t find any the national races.
Festival Area
Two thumbs up for the festival area. It was located right in the middle of the action with plenty of obstacles to watch racers tackle. Plus, the local branch of the Spartan Race street team had a ninja killer rig set up for anyone that wanted to test their skills. Beyond their obstacle that was part of the race, Battle OCR had a salmon ladder for anyone that wanted to try the obstacle out for themselves. For the younger kids, their obstacle was an inflatable water slide to keep them entertained.
In addition to the physical activities, there was also plenty of post race rewards which included delicious BBQ tacos and refreshing New Orleans style snowballs, free for every racer. The retired coffee blogger in me loved the iced coffee and my sweet tooth loved the Chantilly cake in a cup. Not sure, which was my favorite post race treat, but they all hit the spot.
If you’re looking for a fun mud run and you happen to live in Mississippi, Louisiana or maybe even southwestern Alabama, this is your race. It has a few challenges, but mostly the focus is on having fun with your friends and family. The 4th Annual No Turning Back Mud Run, definitely delivered that. I can’t wait to run next year’s event.