Man vs. Mountain race brings runners from all over mid-Michigan
About 400 runners from across Central Michigan completed the fifth annual Man vs. Mountain obstacle 5k race on Saturday.
During the race through scenic Mount Pleasant parks, participants ran through the snow and tackled 14 different obstacles.
Participants aged as young as 10 years old raced to climb over snow mounds, crawl under and over ropes, tug Christmas trees a certain distance and other obstacles.
Some participants had been training to prepare for the race for a few weeks, while others were used to obstacle races and wanted the additional challenge of running in the snow.
“I wanted to try this race because I’ve done a couple 5k races before, but not one with obstacles,” said Mount Pleasant resident Nichole Rein. “It was really fun and kicked my butt, but it was a great experience.”
Shepherd runner Shaun Koski was excited to put another race under his belt.
“I’m used to running races, but the slippery snow was more difficult than I thought,” he said. “It was hard, but I felt great to get over the climbing wall at the end of the race and finish.”
Some runners had never ran in a 5k race before.
“Oh geez, never again,” Rachel Mallet, Mount Pleasant resident said. “This was my first race, I did it on a quick decision with a friend of mine. I thought I was going to die, but I guess it feels good to finish.”
Man vs. Mountain was Rosebush resident Lelah Bettar’s first 5k.
“Yeah, it sucked while we were running, but I kind of get why people do this now,” she said. “Toward the end, I got really excited for the end and to finish. It felt great to finish and after I recovered, I realized that I kind of love it.”
