She's also big on the swamps, the fire, and the bumps and bruises that come with the high-energy, off-kilter world of adventure racing.

    "Growing up, I was a total tomboy," she says. "Now, as a mom and a professional, it allows me to return to that tomboy."

    Her 11-year-old daughter thinks it's "hysterical" that Boudreaux, 39, has embraced the nation's latest athletic challenge phenomenon, a team experience that combines off-road trail running with physical obstacles that include everything from hay bale walls to cargo net trapezes.

    This weekend, Boudreaux and her Run Tampa teammates will plunge into the 12-mile Tough Mudder Florida. Designed by members of the British Special Forces, it's considered one of the rougher challenges in this still unsanctioned fitness genre.

    'It goes back to running obstacle courses back when I was in the military, says Air Force veteran Torami Williams, one of Boudreaux's teammates. Completing an adventure race – with demanding obstacles such as a 10,000-volt jolt of electricity -- makes you feel like more than an athlete.

    "I just want to see if I can push myself beyond anything I've ever done before," he says.

    That passion is typical of adventure racers, says Ryan Lamppa, a racing industry researcher with Running USA. Some of the estimated 13 million Americans participating in road races in 2010 need more than a run on pavement. "They want something different to keep their running fresh and unique," he says.

    The races cropping up across Florida range from locally organized jaunts like last month's Filthy Fun Run in Spring Hill to corporate extravaganzas like the Columbia Muddy Buddy event at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. About a dozen events have been scheduled in and around the Tampa Bay area through the spring.

    The events appeal to both athletes and pub crawlers looking for a little adventure. Many require a basic level of endurance to run or walk three miles, and enough strength and balance to handle rope ladders, scale walls or piggyback a teammate for a set distance. Oh, and be prepared to crawl through mud before enjoying the post-race beer party.

    Debbie Voiles, founder of the Run Tampa club and a longtime advocate of trail running, says adventure races are a perfect change of pace for people training for marathons and half marathons. The obstacles are a challenge, and the competitors dressed in costumes are exceedingly entertaining.

    "When you're crawling through mud with your friends and laughing the whole time, that creates memories," says Voiles, 58.

    Phil Russell, 41, signed up for his first adventure race to break down the boredom he experienced training for 5K races. It tapped the core and upper-body strength he was developing during intense Cross Fit workouts at Tampa's Body Construction gym.

    "You can't train by climbing over hay bales, but you can get a strong core," in the gym, says Russell, who is competing in this weekend's Tough Mudder on the Dirty Naked Mudders team. "If you can do this, you're a strong athlete."

    The dangerous appeal of these races makes the possibility of injury very real, Voiles says. Ankle injuries or cutting your back while crawling under barbed wire can happen to anyone.

    "There's much more room for injury," she says.

    But that's part of the thrill to adventure racing, Boudreaux says. She knows that as many as 30 percent of the participants at this weekend's Tough Mudder won't finish. She's determined to make it.

    "For me, I will crawl to the finish line if that's what it takes to be able to finish," she says. "We can all get hurt doing anything. But this is fun."