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Fun with Marines ... is never really much fun

Marines are crazy.

If you don't believe me, check out a list of just a few of the things they do for "fun": wade through pluff mud, climb obscenely high rope ladders, run up and down stadium stairs, scale huge walls — all while carrying 20-pound sandbags on their backs.

"What a bunch of idiots," you're probably saying. Not me. I would never say something like that. But you say what you want.

"What would possess them to do stuff like that?" you might also be saying. Well, they are preparing for the 2008 Citadel Bulldog Challenge, a six-mile endurance course composed of various terrains, stations and obstacles on which about 300 people will compete on April 12.

On Tuesday, I spent the day trying out the obstacle course for myself. Somewhere between attempting to carry my guide for the day, Capt. Matthew Kutilek, up a hill and being discharged from the hospital, I had a chance to check out some of the photos taken by staff photographer Mic Smith.

As I looked through the pictures, a brilliant idea came to mind: I should tell my column through photos. (Translation: I should skip writing a column and make Mic do all the work instead.)

So that's what I've decided to do this week. Be sure to check them all out. (Click on the photo to the right to view a slideshow.)

Once you're done, if you still think the obstacle course looks like fun, see a doctor. Just kidding. You should totally enter the challenge. After all, it's for a worthwhile cause (it raises money for a scholarship in the name of 1st Lt. Almar Fitzgerald, Citadel class of '03, who was killed in Iraq), it's good exercise and, most importantly, it's a great way to see what you're made of.

Me, apparently, I'm made of 8-year-old girls.

Bryce Donovan is probably going to smell like pluff mud for the next two to three weeks. Reach him at 937-5938 or bdonovan@postandcourier.com.

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