Click here to download the Course Map.
The obstacles
in the USMC Ultimate Mud Run are named for battles, places and items that are
significant in Marine Corps history and lore. Distances are approximate
since the route of the course may be changed slightly from year to
year.
Start - 0.15 mi of flat, open terrain
1- Belleau Wood-
0.46 mi wooded terrain, with 3 sets of 6-10' rolling hills, 2 sets of "stairway
to heaven" ladder climbs, and five 6-9' drop offs.
The Marines were
first called Devil Dog (Teufelshunde) by the German soldiers of WWI, during the
Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918. It is also where Dan Daly made his
now-famous battle cry, "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live
forever?" Sergeant Major Daly is one of only two Marines to receive the
Medal of Honor for two separate acts of heroism (Major General Smedley Butler is
the other).
2- Mt.
Suribachi- 45% incline, 90'
long.
Mt. Suribachi, on Iwo Jima, is where AP photographer, Joe
Rosenthal, took one of the most famous photographs of WWII. The photo of 5
Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising the U.S. flag was taken atop Mt. Suribachi
on 23 February 1945.
Funchilin Pass (includes obstacles 3, 4, 5,
& 6- 0.75 mi of wooded terrain, 10 culvert obstacles, 2 sets of
"stairway to heaven" ladder climbs, 7-15' high, mud hole with fallen log
obstacles.
Funchilin Pass is a 4,000' high pass, which was held by
Colonel Chesty Puller and his Marines, during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir
(known as the "Frozen Chosin" for the extreme cold) during the Korean
War.
7- Water obstacle with fallen logs- logs over water hole,
participants go under logs.
Bunker Hill (includes obstacles 8 & 9-
0.17 mi, 20% incline with 9 plateaus (#8), 3 sets of culverts (#9).
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on 17 June 1775 as part of the
Siege of Boston, during the American Revolutionary War. It is where
Colonel William Prescott is known as the officer who said, "Don't fire until you
see the whites of their eyes!"
10- Heartbreak Ridge- 0.27 mi. ridge
terrain, 5 sets of 6-8' zigzag ridge crossings.
Heartbreak
Ridge is a fictional movie about Marine
Gunnery Sergeant Highway (played by Clint Eastwood). The actual Battle of
Heartbreak Ridge was fought during the Korean War by the Army's 2nd Infantry
Division.
A Shau Valley (includes obstacles 11, 12 & 13)- 0.40 mi
open terrain leading into wooded terrain, water filled "rice paddy" (#11),
Hamburger Hill water hole (up to 5' deep) with dirt mounds leading in to and out
of (#12), Light Armored Vehicle Trench (LAVs straddle 3' wide trench filled with
water, participants crawl through the trench, under the LAVs)
(#13).
The narrow, 25 mile long, A Shau Valley was one of the strategic
focal points of the war in Vietnam. It was an arm of the Ho Chi Minh
trail, funneling troops and supplies toward Hue and Da Nang. It was
the sight of many fierce battles, including one of the bloodiest, which was the
fight for Hill 937. To those that fought there, it was known as "Hamburger
Hill." The LAV is the armored fighting vehicle around which a Marine Corps
Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion is built. Fox Company is part
of the 4th LAR Bn., 4th Mar Div (Marine Division).
Ho Chi Minh Trail (obstacles
14-21- 1 mi, wooded terrain, "Monkey Bridge" (#14), mud pit with rope
wall (#15), rope swing (#16), log crossing (#17), culverts (#18), 10' vertical
walls (#19), cargo net climb (#20), culverts (#21).
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a
complex web of different jungle paths that enabled communist troops and supplies
to be moved from North Vietnam to areas close to Saigon. It was the most
vital supply line for the Communist forces and was, therefore, of vital
strategic importance. Many U.S. servicemen from all branches fought, bled
and died there.
22- "Heartattack Hill"- 0.25 mi, 30% incline
23-
Rice Paddy- water filled
24- Perfume River- 40' low crawl/swim covered
with cammie netting, dirt mound leading in to and out of.
The
Perfume River (called Huong
River in Vietnam) is a 30 km long river leading to the
c ity of Hue,
in the central Vietnamese
province of Thua Thiên Hue.
25- Hellfire Valley- 5 hills
(8-15')
Hellfire Valley was a strategic battle during the Korean
War.
26- Pusan Perimeter- "Z" shaped trench, varying depth, water
filled
The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, during the Korean War,
was a textbook example of teamwork and its use in infantry tactics. It is
still used as a case study today.
27- 10 Log Hole- water hole,
with 10 fallen logs, must be negotiated in an over/under manner.
28- Rice
Paddy & Low Crawl- 24' Rice Paddy, 24' low crawl covered in "cammie
netting"
Rice Paddies dotted the landscape of Vietnam, making the
movement of men and material difficult. The Low Crawl is a tactic used for
movement under enemy fire.
29- Litter Carry- 100 yards, Three team members
carry the fourth team member on a stretcher over the FINISH line.
U.S. Navy Corpsmen are
non-combatant combat medics that risk their lives to save the lives of injured
Marines. They have been in every battle in which Marines have fought since
1814.
Finish