Wanna Get Down and Dirty for a Good Cause?

Yesterday, one of my favorite charities, Operation Gratitude, announced that they've partnered on the National Mud Run Series to support the troops.  You know how I love to combine running with supporting our troops, so I'm very excited about this series!  The Down and Dirty Mud Run Series features 5k and 10k off-road courses filled with military-style obstacles, commanding cargo climbs, wild water crossings, mud, mud and more mud, and a post-race barbecue, along with an awesome tech tee.  You can race alongside local military personnel, public safety officers and police academy trainees, all while supporting our troops through Operation Gratitude - what could be better?

They've got four dates and locations, including:

Los Angeles, California: April 25, 2010 at Castaic Lake State Recreation Area
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: July 18, 2010 at Fairmount Park, Belmont Plateau
New York, New York: October 3, 2010 at Pelham Bay Park
Sacramento, California: October 31, 2010 at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

The entry fee for the 10K is $70 and the 5k is $40 (with late registrations costing more).  There's a military discount for active military personnel or public safety officers, which you can learn more about on their site.  $2 of every registration goes right to Operation Gratitude (whose mission is to send care packages to deployed military personnel around the world) to pay for 100,000 care packages. 

Also, Paul Mitchell is a race sponsor, and they'll be onsite in their own booth to cut and style your hair, with all proceeds donated to the Challenged Athlete Foundation.  So you can get all dirty, then get your hair cut for a good cause!

There's no time limit to finish the course, so if you don't want to run it, you can walk and take your time - just come out to support our troops!  You do have to leave your dogs at home though (and I would guess that goes for strollers as well.  And iPods, unless you want to be cleaning mud out of it later). 

The New York race might fall during my European conference, so I'm going to plan to do the Philadelphia one in July (yes, yes, despite the heat).  I'd love to have some company!  (And advice from any of you who've done a mud run before, particularly because this one seems a bit of a challenge - just what I need I think!)

To learn more, check out the links I've posted above, or you can also become a fan on Facebook.  You can also follow Operation Gratitude on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or check out their YouTube videos (though you might need some tissues for that one).