San Diego 5k Mud Run

While most videographers prefer keeping their equipment pristine and mud-free, sometimes the best stories require getting your cameras dirty - literally. At the 2010 San Diego Mud Run in Rancho San Diego, I captured 3,000 enthusiastic participants who decided that a regular 5K just wasn't messy enough. Between protecting camera gear and trying not to become part of the mud-splattered spectacle myself, I documented the gloriously chaotic event that turned ordinary joggers into mud-covered warriors for Skyline Church. The course was a symphony of splashes and squeals as runners navigated hills, mud pits, hay hurdles, and tunnel crawls - all in the name of raising money for after-school programs. The resulting highlight reel, which premiered before the church's 2,500 weekly attendees, transformed Sunday morning worship into a mud-splattered testimony of community impact. To this day, I'm still finding dried mud in some of that equipment's carrying cases, but capturing this unique blend of community service and controlled chaos made it all worthwhile.