Life hacks are popular across the board. In our busy world, looking for ways to increase our experience while decreasing the time and effort is the norm. Mud Run Guide consulted with the obstacle racing community to bring you some of the best hacks to help out for your next obstacle race or mud run. Here are some of the hacks the community has come up with.
1 – Pre-pack Everything.
Get an extra large ziplock and pack race clothes into them for each day and label them. Also, pre-pack your hydration pack and have another Baggie for post race to put your backpack or ruck so it's a no brainier after a long day. All bags are labeled to make a two day race weekend easier as well.
2 – Plan your race day wear.
Plan out your race day wear ahead of time. Place everything you need out the night before and pack your race day kit. Most race days are early morning, and the less you have to think about on race morning the better.
3 – Race Day Gloves
Cheap gardening gloves make great race day gloves, just cut the finger tips off for added grip on obstacles like monkey bars.
4 -Tie Your Shoes
Heel lock and runners knot for the shoes. No losing shoes in the deep mud and no blisters from loose kicks!
5 -To Avoid Blisters
One reader told us they use deodorant for your feet and in between your toes. Other options include Trail Toes or other brands of chafe lube. Also look into toe socks for the blister prone runner.
6 – Get an early start
Arrive early and not feel rushed about anything.
7 – Garbage Bag At the Start
A garbage bag to wear at the start line. Usually, it's much colder at the start for early morning events and it's always great to stay warm before.
8- For Those With Long Hair
Slather your hair with coconut oil. Helps protect your hair and mud cleans out easier. More than one racer said they coat their hair and then braid it for almost every OCR. Helps her hair stay frizz free and keeps it in place without excessive knots! Also, helps slips off obstacles like barbed wire.
9 – Yellow Mustard Packets
Pack a mustard pack or two in your bag, like the ones from the fast food places, as an aid to help stem off cramps during hot races.
10 – Zip Lock Bags
A zip lock bag of nicely folded grocery bags for my wet clothes and a zip lock bag of travel shampoo, conditioner, and face wash.
11- Jugs of Water
Jugs of tap water in case there is a wait or no water pressure then wash off by the car. Bonus if you keep it in a warm car while you are racing you might even be able to take a warm or hot shower after the race.
12 – Q-tips
Q-tips for cleaning out ears.
13- Baby Wipes
They have so many uses trust us and just pack some!
14 – Contact Fluid or Eye Drops
Contact fluid or eye drops help clean out your eyes of any mud after the race.
15 – Bring a Blanket
Other than to keep you warm on a cold day after a race they can be draped over your car seat to keep them clean, just in case there is some mud you missed. If you want to get fancy, you can purchase seat covers for your car, but a blanket often works well too.
16 – Wear a Buff
A buff helps protect you from the elements on both warm and cold days. It protects you from the wind and other elements.
17 – Carry What You Need
Stick a gel packet or other accessible nutrition in your waistband or sports bra to have calories with you on the course. It's a good idea to have at least one packet even for a 5k distance obstacle race or mud run.
18 – For Women
For some women, they choose front closure sports bras for after the race as they are easy to pop on after running. Bring a tank top with a built-in bra so that you don't have to put on a regular bra post race.
19 – For Men
For the longer races, liquid bandaids can avoid nasty chaffing on nipples.
20 – Car Wash
For extra muddy races head to the car wash to rinse your clothing before throwing them into the washing machine, saving you time and your washing machine.
What did we miss?
What are your favorite race day hacks?
Leave A Comment