The Camp Pendleton Mud Run has become a popular tradition in San Diego. Part 10K run, part obstacle course, it’s a battle with the elements that included soaring temperatures this year and a mud filled course. It was truly a test of both mind and body. Among the top finishers this year, one team name stands out — the eighth place “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” team, who finished the course in 1:10:40, less than fifteen minutes behind the first place team.

“That first place team was actually the Navy Seals.” Mark Weis, the captain of team Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “To finish so close behind the Navy Seals, that’s not so bad!”

In signing up for the race, the team knew that they wanted to make a statement about their competitive nature and the military’s policy banning gays.

“It’s something that Billy Van Raaphorst and his boyfriend Brian Heers came up with,” Weis said about the origin of the team’s name. “They were tossing around ideas for the name and Billy came up with the name ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’ The funny thing is Brian is the one that actually followed through with it because once Billy thought about it he didn’t actually want to wear the shirt. He was a little nervous being on base wearing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell shirt.”

Heers and Van Raaphorst were able to talk eight more of their friends into taking part in the race, to create two five-man teams wearing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell uniform. According to Weis, who recently competed in a half marathon, many of the team members are avid runners, so they did very little training to prepare for the mud run.

“As far as physical difficulty, a half marathon is twice as far, but the Camp Pendleton Mud Run was very difficult,” Weis said. “Because of the obstacles and the fact that you had to slow down and take a break to get across these obstacles it actually gave you a chance to rest, so it helped break up the race and made it much easier…. Doing a 10K in that heat would be very difficult.”

The course included mud pits, walls, a lake that runners had to swim across, two major hills — one that was a steep two mile climb and the other nicknamed slippery hill because water was being poured down the hill while runners tried to climb their way up.

“People were just slipping and sliding all the way down it,” Weis said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Making up the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell team along with Weis were Rich Merit, Tim Moran, Alberto Medina and Milo Bravo. All of the members wore the same uniform, a white tank top with the team name printed across the chest.

“I think the female Marines were a lot cooler than the male Marines, but we had a good response overall,” Weis said. “We had a lot of people grab us and want to take pictures with us.

“I’m sure people [knew what the team name represented] because it’s such a well-known phrase at this point in time. So I think people did know that there was some meaning behind it,” Weis added. “It wasn’t just some random phrase. And the fact that we were on the Camp Pendleton base — we weren’t carrying banners or anything, but I think the t-shirts alone were enough to make a bold statement.”

The second Don’t Ask Don’t Tell team, captained by Heers, finished the run at 1:18:33. The Mud Run is an annual charity fundraiser that raises money to benefit programs and services offered to Camp Pendleton military personnel and their families at low or no cost, by the Armed Services YMCA.