Photo By Staff Sgt. Jesus Sepulveda Torres | A marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 3 sprays a water hose on participants of the...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii - The 22nd Annual Swamp Romp 5K Mud Run was held aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Feb. 6, 2016.
The race is open to the general public and all military. This year’s Swamp Romp gave out medals to everyone who finished the race.
The 3.2 mile course consisted of 16 obstacles, from low crawling in mud to sliding down a water slide into a pond. The Swamp Romp is one of 13 races per year hosted by the units here on base.
Beckie Page, the athletic director for Marine Corps Community Services, and Combat Logistics Battalion 3 worked together to coordinate the event.
“CLB-3 basically built all the obstacles and put everything together and supplied volunteers to help out,” said Page, a Delmont, Pa. native. “We started to advertise the Swamp Romp during the Bay Fest at the air show this past year.”
Marine 1st Lt. Ian Dickenson, a combat engineer platoon commander with CLB-3 said they construct obstacles in creative ways to challenge participants.
“The race challenges you physically and mentally,” said Dickenson. “Either the obstacles or the nature of the mud will make you struggle the most.”
As the sun started to rise, runners were guided to the starting line. They readied themselves doing stretches and putting on their race numbers. At exactly 7 a.m. the race official sounded off to begin the race.
“The race was challenging, but not too hard to the point of not finishing, said Courtney Compton, a race participant. “You just have to keep pushing yourself.”
The racers underwent obstacles ranging from running through knee-deep mud pools to climbing over nets that were laid across five kilometers of swamp terrain.
“The mud water itself was the biggest challenge for me because it smelled horrible and it was really deep,” she said. “But overall, I thought the race was amazing, challenging, and fun. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”
Cpl. Travis Liechty, a general equipment mechanic from CLB-3, volunteered by handing out fruit and making Powerade for runners and spectators.
“I have ran the race for the previous four years,” said Liechty, and a Portland, Ore., native. “We tried to make the course more advanced by adding or changing obstacles from the previous year’s race. We ask for feedback from the public and they say, ‘hey let’s try this obstacle next year’ and we try to implement it”
Liechty said CLB-3 tries to see what they can improve on so they can get more people to attend for the following year.
“With the help of MCCS and some of the sponsors, we were able to set up these events to help raise money,” Liechty said. “Some of the money is used to help pay for CLB-3’s Marine Corps ball and it is a lot more fun than cleaning mud off cars at car washes.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2016 22:56 |
| Story ID: | 188279 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Hometown: | DELMONT, PA, US |
| Hometown: | PORTLAND, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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