Contracting Flight Gets Dirty in Uff Da Mud Run

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Seven members of the 319th Contracting Flight here took a break from the demands of their daily schedules to take part as a team in the Uff Da Mud Run Sept. 7, 2013, in Grand Forks, N.D.

"It was just something cool for all of us to do together outside of the office," said 319th CONF Commander Maj. Scott Schofield. "It was a great way to boost our morale and unit camaraderie in the middle of a very stressful time for us--the end of the fiscal year."

Schofield explained that that Saturday began for them as a half day of work at about 5 a.m., and lasted until about 11 a.m. when they left the office to take part in the run.

The 5K course challenged participants with 20 obstacles and mud as deep as four feet in some places.

"I loved the whole thing, I couldn't pick just one favorite part," said Tech. Sgt. David Sanders. "Wading through the chest-deep mud was probably the hardest obstacle for me, though."

The entire event was about an hour and a half from start to finish, but ended up taking twice that long due to delays with other participants completing some of the tougher obstacles.

"Some of those obstacles were so hard, you needed some extra help from other people around you just to get past them," Sanders said.

One thing the team determined from the outset, though: they started as a team, and they were going to finish as a team.

"Any time any of us would fall a little behind, we'd always help them catch up, even when we were right there at the finish line, we wouldn't cross until all of us were there to cross together," Sanders said.

The team didn't just participate in the event, however; they were even prominently featured in a story run by the local television station WDAZ.

"I didn't even know we had been on TV until someone stopped me at the chow hall and said something to me," said Airman 1st Class Jeff Karingithi.

Tech. Sgt. Jonathon Zolnai said he thought a mud run would be a great way to even get different units to come together for resiliency day and wingman day activities.

"I think it would be a lot of fun to have different units form teams and have a friendly competition for a mud run," he said.

Schofield summed up the day by highlighting the importance of balancing mission and morale.

"We put the mission first that day, but we ended it on a high note," Schofield said. "It was a great way to end the day, and bring us all a little closer together."