With eyesight as clear as mud

August 9, 2013 5:42 AM

I'm participating in my first 5K mud run tomorrow. I am useless without my glasses, but I also don't own contacts. How can I make this work? Also, any other general tips and advice on mud runs (what to wear, etc.) are appreciated.

I'm a 30-year-old woman, in pretty decent shape, running with a male friend of mine. I have had terrible eyesight since third grade and wear glasses at every waking moment. I've never worn contacts. When I told a friend that I was going to do a mud race wearing my spare glasses, she looked at me horrified, but I don't really know what other options I have. I worry about my safety attempting obstacles when I can't see what I'm doing. How can I pull this off? Is there anything I can carry with me to keep my lenses relatively clean?

Anything else I should wear? For those of you who have done these, what do you wish you'd taken with you and what do you wish you'd left home? Thanks for your suggestions.

posted by girlmightlive to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (18 answers total)

How about a cheapo swim mask over the glasses?
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:43 AM on August 9, 2013

I bought prescription goggles (too late for you I guess) so I can swim and see. They aren't exactly my prescription but close enough my eye doctor is okay with them.

I'd get some eye protection goggles at a hardware store. They make kinds that strap on over your normal (SPARE!) glasses. I used to use them back in the day when I worked in light industrial manufacturing.
posted by tilde at 5:45 AM on August 9, 2013

I would think the one hour lenses place in the mall could have a set of safety glasses ready by the end of the day - and maybe the prescription goggles too if you buy frames they have in stock.
posted by COD at 6:04 AM on August 9, 2013

I ran with my glasses on and one of those $2 drugstore glasses tiebacks. Worked great, they never budged.
posted by Setec Astronomy at 6:17 AM on August 9, 2013

motocross googles overtop with the layers of tearaway plastic covers?
posted by srboisvert at 6:26 AM on August 9, 2013

Look for a beach-supply type store (scuba, swimming, etc) and see if they have an eyeglass otterbox. I used to use one to keep my glasses safe when I went diving. It wasn't waterproof at depth, but it was crushproof, and you could use it to keep your glasses put aside during the muddiest of the events. I guess the question might need clarification - are you trying to keep them clean and scratch free, or keep them from getting smooshed during particular obstacles but wear them otherwise, or are you just hoping to keep them from falling off but if they get a little bit banged up it's no big thing?
posted by Kyol at 6:30 AM on August 9, 2013

are you just hoping to keep them from falling off but if they get a little bit banged up it's no big thing?

This, mostly.
posted by girlmightlive at 6:38 AM on August 9, 2013

I don't do mud runs, but I try to keep my sweat and funk off my normal glasses by using my previous prescription as my sacrificial "running" glasses. Like Setec Astronomy, I put a lanyard on them to keep them on my face. Maybe a lanyard and wrist/sweatbands to wipe the glasses if they get some mud.
posted by jason6 at 6:43 AM on August 9, 2013

FWIW, you could probably get contacts in time, which are easily the best solution if you can wear them. If you can get an exam appointment today, they'll give you samples.

However, croakies (the ties) will work just fine if you just want to keep them on. The main reason to get swim/safety goggles would be that mud won't stick to them as readily.
posted by susanvance at 6:44 AM on August 9, 2013

If you can get to a sporting goods store, you might be able to find off-the-shelf prescription swim goggles that are close enough to your prescription to let you see. I can barely make out objects a few feet in front of me without my glasses, but I found some swim goggles made by Speedo at my local City Sports that made all the gross things I'd really rather *not* see on the bottom of a pool come into uncomfortable sharp focus.
posted by rebekah at 6:45 AM on August 9, 2013

I had no idea they made over the counter corrective swim goggles! I think this is exactly what you want.

Second best option would be backup glasses + head strap thing.

You don't want to wear contact lenses around sweat and mud. That's a bad idea for someone who is completely comfortable and adjusted to wearing them, and insanity for someone who doesn't have time to get adjusted to wearing them.
posted by gjc at 7:05 AM on August 9, 2013

If you really feel the need, there are single-serving size lens wipes that can be purchased at your local drugstore to keep them clean. But that will mean stopping or slowing to wipe them, so I dunno if that's what you want.
posted by Night_owl at 7:38 AM on August 9, 2013

Did tough mudder. Wore croakies and a wrist band. While waiting at obstacles I used the inside (mostly clean part) of the wrist band to clear them. Wear an older / sacrifice pair if you do this - wiping mud can/will cause abrasions.
posted by bleucube at 7:59 AM on August 9, 2013

depending on the mud run type (tough mudder, spartan, warrior dash, etc), do you know what the obstacles will be, and where on the race-course they are?

Having done a few warrior dashes, the only "crawl in mud" part was at the end, and you could reasonably keep your face/head out of the mud. (Those races did not have the "waterslide into a muddy pool" obstacle, but did have several water obstacles, only it was river/pond, not mud-pit water).
posted by k5.user at 8:42 AM on August 9, 2013

I did one of these last year. I wore my old glasses with a strap, and it worked well enough. If you can find a way to attach the back of the strap to something like your shirt collar with a safety pin, that's even better, since if they do come off you won't lose them in the mud. Most annoying part was that it was very hard to find something clean to wipe them with after a while.
posted by smackfu at 8:49 AM on August 9, 2013

I've never done a mud run, because running in general sounds terrible to me, but I watched one recently, and I can tell you I cheered way harder for people in awesome costumes, or homemade t-shirts, or outfits generally with personality. If you have time to do this, you should!

Good luck!
posted by jenlovesponies at 2:42 PM on August 9, 2013

Definitely use some strap/lanyard to keep them on.

Maybe carry a water bottle to rinse them with? Just throwing clean water on your face will probably help.
posted by jclarkin at 3:42 PM on August 9, 2013

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I ended up wearing spare glasses with a strap bobby pinned to my hair. It worked out perfectly fine.
posted by girlmightlive at 5:53 AM on August 11, 2013