Mud runs are great. Just don't open your mouth.

Just don’t open your mouth.

On June 20 – just over a week ago – 8400 people gathered in the south of France for a mud run. It was called “The Mud Day” in the Côte d’Azur.

Since the mud run, over 1000 of the day’s participants have been reporting some pretty awful symptoms. Diahhrea. Vomiting. Nausea. Fevers. Stomach pains.

French health officials have since had to confirm that racers likely contracted norovirus from the mud run (norovirus being a seriously unpleasant cause of gastroenteritis that can affect patients for days).

While only one runner needed to be hospitalised, the situation has made headlines around the world, with reports that some runners complained of sections of the course smelling of horse manure. And while it’s unconfirmed how exactly the runners may have contracted norovirus, mud run participants in other countries have previously contracted similar illnesses after accidentally ingesting “mud laced with cattle or swine feces.”

It’s not exactly a surprise that a mud run participant might come down with some kind of stomach illness after such an event. After all, there is a lot of mud. More mud than you ever thought possible. And no matter what you do, some of that mud is invariably going to get into your mouth while you’re crawling through tunnels that are half-full of muddy water/dragging yourself through bog pits/commando-rolling through mud piles to avoid snagging yourself on barbed wire.

Of course, this whole mud-in-mouth situation is not ideal – particularly if your mud run event is held at the kind of place that is also host to some animals. And considering the amount of space that’s required for an event of this scale, it’s not entirely unlikely that your mud running venue also has some horse/pig/cow residents or visitors.

So with all this in mind… why would anyone ever want to do a mud run event? After all, they’re hellishly difficult, potentially painful and you now have the added bonus of worrying about contracting a gastric virus.

Having done two of them myself, here are some of the reasons why – despite everything – I still defend the mud run.

1. It’s unlike any kind of challenge you’ve ever done before.

Scrap paddleboard yoga, HIIT classes and that weird (but surprisingly challenging) mechanical surfboard thing. Any kind of mud run – whether it’s Tough Mudder or something a little more low key – will be so very different from every other kind of fitness experience you’ve ever had. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to try it to find out. And you might just be surprised at how you feel.

2. It’ll restore your faith in the human spirit.

I come from a big city where people are mean and never offer to give up their seats on the bus, no matter how much you look like you are struggling. No one ever smiled at me in those city streets and no one ever helped me if I fell down. My heart was cold and bitter… until I did a mud run.

Suddenly, strangers were holding out their hands and helping me scale 12-foot walls. They were encouraging me to step off 6-metre-high gangplanks into pools of dirty water. They were catching me as I attempted to launch myself up and over the side of a half-pipe. Such great vibes. All the time.

3. It’ll teach you a lot about yourself.

Before I did a mud run, I never thought I could run 20km, let alone 20km that is littered with obstacles designed to kill you challenge you. But funny things happen to you when you’re covered in mud and you know there is a beer and a shower waiting for you at the other side of the finish line.

4. It’ll teach you a lot about your friends.

Like who is willing to wait on the other side of the electrical wires until you’re brave enough to run through – and who has already buggered off to collect their free t-shirt at the end.

5. It’ll teach you a lot about other things, too.

You will be saying “how did mud get there…?” for days afterwards.

6. You get bragging rights for weeks.

Months, even. I always wear my free t-shirt to extend the silent brag out for weeks on end.

7. And honestly? You can get sick anywhere.

I was pretty paranoid about doing a mud run – after all, you sign a pretty extensive waiver that lists many of the terrible things that can happen to you over the course of the race. But I kept my mouth shut as much as I could, I washed my face with clean water as often as possible and I didn’t contract anything more serious than a couple of scraped knees and elbows.

And then a year later I picked up norovirus somewhere in an airport or a plane between Sydney and Brisbane… so there you go.

Would you take the risk with a mud run?