Cooperative Living August 2022 - 11

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Left, Meagan Hall running
the 1-mile Mud Run
with her sons, Vance and
Grayson, who is helped
by volunteer Nia Jones.
because ofall the obstacles, but I like
when you run through the mud, " says
Zimmerman, a KingGeorge resident.
Parents and their children weren't the
After the runners finished, they
returned to the race course to help
their walking teammates through the
obstacles and over the creeks. Riggs, who
placed second in her age group, says after
the race, " I feel wonderful about myself. "
Matt Crawford, who lifts weights
at the same fitness facility in King
George, also participated to enjoy
the event with friends. " I saw it was
at 7 a.m., but I still did it, " he says.
" I would do it again tomorrow. "
Crawford's friend, Christian Jenifer
ofKingGeorge, first-place male finisher
in his age group, also enjoyed the
experience. " I loved it, " he says.
SERVING YOUTH
Here's a rare case where parents
encouraged their children to get dirty.
Following the 4-mile Dirty Lion
Mud Run for adults, youth 13 and
under could participate in the 1-mile
LeoMud Run, an abbreviated version of
the adults' event. Meagan Hall ofKing
George, who completed the 4-mile run,
also ran the LeoMud Run with her two
sons, Grayson and Vance. " Participating
was Vance's idea, " Hall says. " We live
in the neighborhood. Vance saw the
sign for the race and wanted to do it
with ol' Mom. "
Grayson's favorite feature ofthe race
was climbing the wall, while Vance liked
the mud. " My mom screamed because
it was cold, " he says with a chuckle.
All three agree they would " absolutely
do it again. "
Dad Pat Skelton ofBealeton also
completed the 4-miler, only to add
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August 2022 ● Cooperative Livingve
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another mile with his 5-year-old
daughter, Alisa, who placed second in
her age group in the Leo. Her favorite
part was getting to go in the river,
while her father enjoyed the mud.
While many ofthe runners say they
did little to no training in preparation
for the event, Milo Zimmerman, who
placed second amongmales ages 11
to 13, says he and his friends " practiced
by running our road, " a 1.2-mile route.
" Today was harder than normal
only ones completing the mud run with
family members. Jones' sister, Cniyah
Turner ofFredericksburg, who placed
second in her age group, ran because
" My big sister was like, 'Uh, I'm doing
a mud run Saturday. You wanna come?'
So I was like, 'Yeah, I'll try it.' " This was
Turner's first mud run, and her favorite
part was the mud. " The mud pools
were so nice and cool, " she says.
Although participants are already
eager to sign up for next year's Dirty
Lion, Cawthon expresses concerns about
its continuation. " This year might be the
last year unless we get some young blood
in to help organize.We're looking for
someone to come in and carry the torch
so we can have the race again. " 
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Cooperative Living August 2022

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