We Got Down and Dirty at the Jailbreak Mud Run
This past Saturday the Chatham County Sheriff's Office hosted their second annual Jailbreak Mud Challenge consisting of more than 50 obstacles and five miles of mud with all proceeds benefitting the Georgia Sheriff's Youth Homes.
With obstacles that were tougher and muddier than ever, the Jailbreak Mud Run proved to be the toughest mudder in the area.
Boom! And they were off. The 2016 Jailbreak mudrun started with a literal bang as each wave was sent running by the sound of a gun shot. The different waves included competitive male solo, competitive female solo, competitive tethered teams, noncompetitive male solo, noncompetitive female solo and noncompetitive teams. Runners began by diving under a fence through a mud-filled pit, then grabbing a sandbag to carry for a few miles, but that was only the beginning of a long stretch of strenuous challenges.
The competition continued with obstacles such as dangling electric lines that would shock you, crawling through mud-filled tires, and the freezing cold ice pit that poured you over into a heap of foot-sucking mud. Just as your feet were getting over the numbness from the cold and the clods of mud squishing your toes, the course took a turn and had the runners sprint up a skating ramp and jump to the top. From there the runners would grab onto a rope and climb across it as a bottomless mud pit loomed underneath.
Deputy Robert Lipovsky said this year's mud run was definitely designed to be more challenging; they wanted to do something different. "We had a committee that did research from Spartan runs, Tough Mudders, and American Ninja Warriors and took ideas from that," notes Lipovsky. The research combined with some revamped ideas added for a new warp wall, rope climbs, monkey bars, and "under, over, unders." Their hopes were to do something more intensive than other mud runs; with the obstacles and longer running course, they believed it would stand out in the Savannah area.
It certainly was a hit for the running community. With more participants and more sponsors than last year's race, it not only created a fun and unique running environment but also raised more money for the youth home. Lipovsky said the preliminary numbers are at almost $19,000, which is a huge jump from last year.
South magazine's own Mary Thomas Pickett competed in the race and said it was more difficult than anything she had ever done, but it was a fun experience. Pickett placed second overall in competitive female solo and is hoping to bring home a win at the upcoming JCB Mud Run.
For more information on both mud runs, check out the latest issue of South. For scenes from the Jailbreak Challenge mud run check out our gallery.
