This past weekend, my friend and I volunteered at the Taylor Shellfish Bivalve Bash--an ode to clams, mussels, and oysters harvested here in the Pacific Northwest. We had a great time hamming it up at the oyster shuffle board. Yes, folks, slide your oyster shells along the board without it going through the hole at the end of the table. (The secret is to select a shell that easily slides, but still has some heft to stop short of going through the hole.)As with any other festival, they had food and music. The Bivalve Bash, however, had a twist. Unique features included a shell sculpture competition (like building a sand castle with oyster shells), crab races, and my favorite...the mud run. I had a chance to see the kid's race.
At low tide, the sea recedes and leaves mud flats. A course is then laid out in the mud. Challenged by running in knee deep mud, many people loose their shoes. 
Veteran runners improve their odds by duct taping their shoes on.
Everyone who passes the finish line 
wins a golden oyster shell.
As you can imagine, runners end covered in mud....
