Rockin the Desert obstacle races, mud run, and OCR information, distance, cost, dates, calendar, discounts, obstacles, reviews, and more

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Rockin' the Desert Mud Run is awesome. While it wasn’t a 100% perfect down-home, family friendly mud run, it came close. Very close. Call it 98.2% perfect. And I must proudly admit to an apparent 3rd Place finish in my old man age category (50-101). Overall a job well done but there were a couple of ticky-tacky things one might want to fix, review, or rethink.

THE COURSE:

This traditional 5k obstacle course sat in the comfy confines and surrounding rocks and canyons of Horseman’s Center in Apple Valley. For those unfamiliar with Apple Valley think Blue Cut Fire in San Bernardino, proceed West and South: Hesperia, Victorville...Apple Valley.

I mention the Blue Cut Fire due to its fierce flames and fire rampage and closure of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. Unfortunately I live on the wrong side of the Cajon. For a few days one wondered if the event would happen and, perhaps more importantly, if one could actually navigate the Cajon Pass. As fate would have it, both things occurred.

Yet again I digress...

The Rockin' the Desert course sat on a flat plan with slight elevation gains. With 20 or so obstacles, the course ran fast. Very fast. Top male time came in just of 23 min.

The start of the course features a foam pit. For the uninitiated a foam pit is just that...a pit filled with foam. I cannot verify the type of foam, other than white fluffy foam that delighted everyone. Except me. I must admit that I am no lover of foam, at least not in a race, but this is not a knock against the event rather a confession of my own intractability regarding foam.

With only a few climbing features the course relied on cut-outs and natural terrain for obstacles. A number of mud pits, quad burners, and crawls were well placed throughout. Toward the end runners had to run up the slight elevation climb.

And here lay my first ...um...concern.

There is a tube slide that ends somewhat short of the water basin designed to catch the runners...eh...sliders. Not so much. At least for me. I fell short. There is also a long slide that did not have enough slip. I went down on my ass and scooted an inch or two. That may be poor technique on my part but a number of other runners didn’t even attempt a slide. More water, which, in California, may be asking too much.

On a positive note there were a number of balance beam crosses, essentially long plastic 6” irrigation tubes spread across a water filled pit. A nice obstacle. Runners did not really back up but you really had to go one at a time due to bounce. A couple of people on the beams at once made for a more interesting challenge to be sure.

I must also mention the Powder Toss or, perhaps, the Powder Gauntlet. To be honest I don’t know how to properly refer to this “obstacle” other than colored powder is tossed on and at passing runners. I had purple in my ear for at least a day. A quirky home-town touch.

Another nice aspect goes back to use of terrain. Horseman Center is a beautiful area and runners cover a nice chunk of land.

FESTIVAL AREA:

For some the festival area is a big deal. The music, the band, the food, the vendors and so on...Not so much for me. As a visitor from 80 miles away some of the local vendors were not so local. But...it worked. They had food and drink, the usual sponsors, and the local Fiat dealer.

Also, the MC, Eric Camarena, did a great job.

CHALLENGE LEVEL:

While this is not a Spartan Race it is a nice challenge. Definitely an all-ages event. every member of the family will enjoy this event. Whether you walk, run, and crawl, Rockin'’ the Desert Mud Run is a great event. I will bring the family next year.

Oh...and bag check? Maybe a bag check...if only for keys. A very kind event organizer held on to my keys. And showers? Maybe a hose? Maybe I missed that...

OVERALL:

I love hometown anything. Hometown parade, hometown fairs, hometown picnics...all of it. And a hometown OCR is the best. The organizers of the Rockin'’ the Desert Mud Run should be proud. Well done, overall.

This was my first 5k run and I loved every bit of it. Getting soaked in the mud pools actually made it a cooler run than I expected. The obstacles were so many and interesting. The rocky climb uphill was the most challenging bit for me. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.