When we asked 12WBT event manager Anita Roditis if she’d crawl through a pool of mud and be on the receiving end of a colour cannon, we thought she’d make a beeline straight for HR. Luckily for us, this basketball-loving trooper was up for the challenge.
“I’m not going to lie,” she says. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into!”
Once she’d showered (several times), we caught up with Anita to talk about mud, slippery slides and getting across the finish line.
What on earth did you agree to?
My lovely colleagues signed me up for an obstacle course called Miss Muddy in Ballarat, Victoria. Our fitness guy Daniel was leading all the warm-ups for the day, and they thought I should have a first-hand taste of what it was all about. And boy did I have a taste!!
Warm up with our fitness dude Dan!
Give us all the dirty details…
It was actually a lot of fun! The course was set up with a heap of different obstacles, from monkey bars and spider nets to jelly, mud and ice pits – luckily it was a scorching day!
Nowhere to hide from the colour cannon!
If you had to pick a fave obstacle, which one would it be?
I LOVED the inflatable water tunnels – they were on a slight slope and you had to take a dive as fast as you could. They were kind of like those slip ’n slides we used to have in the backyard growing up, before anyone had ever heard of water restrictions! I felt like a kid all over again … it was just annoying I didn’t have Mum to clean my clothes like she did back then!
What does it feel like to get mud in places that no one should get mud?! Did it all clean off?
It felt sooo weird and it took me ages to get squeaky clean. Even after showering, I was still finding mud in random places! Sadly, my socks were catapulted straight into sock heaven that day.
It’s just like one of those fancy mud-bath beauty places, right?
How did you feel when you crossed the finish line?
Once I managed to get past the sumo wrestlers guarding the line, it did feel pretty awesome! I felt like I’d conquered the course!
Anita just frickin did it!
Did you have to train for the event?
I’m pretty active with basketball and our office Hump Day Workouts anyway, but I didn’t train specifically for the event. It’s not as crazy as some of those other obstacle courses that try to electrocute you (now that would have sent me to HR!), and it wasn’t timed, so there wasn’t any pressure on the day. There were lots of people walking it with their mates.
Would you do Miss Muddy again or recommend it to friends?
This time I went for work, but I’d definitely do it again on my own free will! The obstacles were awesome and it had such a good vibe. You could tell everyone was having the best time. I love anything that doesn’t feel like ‘exercise’, and it would be so much fun with a big group of mates, so it gets a big tick from me.
A big thumbs up from Anita and her crew!
Awesome stuff Anita!