Family mud runs are a serious amount of fun for the whole family. If you are lucky enough to attend one of our NJ mud runs or even one our family mud runs held in another state, you know how dirty your shoes can get. Last month I wrote about picking the right shoes for a kids mud run, well if by chance you wanted to keep your running shoes after the family mud run here are some helpful tips to get them back to (almost) new!
TIPS FOR CLEANING YOUR MUD RUN SHOES
If you are anything like me, then your running shoes will very rarely remain white for very long after you begin running in a family mud run race. You probably even ran outside in all sorts of conditions with your running shoes to train for the mud run, no matter what the weather or terrain happens to be that day. On some runs, you may even get home to discover that your shoes are just plain dirty. No matter after that mud run race, your running or trail shoes will need a serious cleaning if you are ever going to use them again!
daddy daughter mud runThe first thing that you should do after you take off your shoes from the family mud run is clean them. Having perfectly clean shoes isn’t a very big deal, and with the groups, I run with it can often get you teased. However, caked on mud or stones caught in the tread are things that should all be removed before you store your shoes.
There are a few reasons for this. First, your shoes will dry faster if there is not a layer of moisture between the fabric of your shoes and the air outside. The sun and air are your best friends because they can help the water evaporate.
Second, and more importantly, you will not have to worry about any chemicals in the mud (or other “dirt”) that could break down the fabric or the soles of your running shoes. You will prolong the life of your shoes if you minimize all the bacteria that would love to feed off of them.
Third, by removing the mud and any stones on your shoes, you will have an easier time of getting out for your next run. You will not have to waste your time before your next run cleaning them off, or else suffer the beginning of another mud run with very heavy and off balance shoes or with a stone clicking on the road and throwing off your stride.
The easiest way to clean your shoes off is to just hose them down after your next family mud run. Just remove your shoes and spray water right inside them to make sure any mud that got in the shoes is washed out, and then spray the outside of the shoes until all the mud and rocks have come loose. Dump any loose water out and then dry the shoes out before your next mud run race.
If you rotate your shoes between runs, then they should have plenty of time to dry off before you need them again. You may not have squeaky clean shoes, but at least there won’t be any rocks in them and they’ll be easier to put on when you next need them.
Tags: mud run tips
ABOUT AUTHOR: JD