Team No. 958, one of several Polk County High School teams that competed in the U.S. Marine Corps Mud Run in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 15, won the All-Female Division.
Team captain Jenny Wolfe, a teacher and running coach at Polk County High School (PCHS); Rebecca Elliott and Maggie Phipps, both PCHS students, and PCHS alumni Elisabeth Elliott completed the course in 1:01:45. That time placed them first among the female divisions competing and 28th overall against all divisions.
“I knew we would be good, but I never dreamed we would win,” Rebecca Elliot said. “This was the best event and most fun day of my life.”
Elliott chose the Mud Run as her senior project for graduation and selected Wolfe as her project mentor.
“This is the ultimate test of stamina, perseverance and strength,” Wolfe said. “Everything pulled together; with pacing, strategically attacking obstacles, coaching members through and pushing through to the end.”
The USMC Mud Run is the largest adventure/obstacle race of its kind in North America, with a maximum of 9,600 competitors. Participants can enter one of six categories: military, homeland heroes (firemen, policemen and medical personnel), JROTC, corporate, all female, all male and co-ed. Each team must have four members. This year, there were 2,013 four-person teams or 8,052 competitors.
Teams of four must complete the 5.2-mile all-terrain course complete with 36 challenging obstacles, competing over walls, through mud holes and in trenches.
Several other Polk County High School teachers and students competed in the U.S. Marine Corps Mud Run. Other PCHS teams included:
• Team No. 1288 – Cindi McFadden, a PCHS teacher; Lacey Bloom, Sharon Orr and LeShae Rogers. This team’s time of 1:34:36 put it in 38th place in the female division and 748th overall.
• Team No. 705 – Heather Claussen, PCHS teacher and coach; Craig Claussen, PCMS teacher; Krista Overholt, PCHS coach, and Jeffrey Bontrager. This team ran the race in 1:35:04, finishing 239th in the co-ed division and 767th overall.
Proceeds from the Mud Run assist injured or fallen Marines and their families in the Columbia area.