Date – June 10th 07
– Description – Trail run/obstacle Run 10km
– Location – Clairville Conservation Area Brampton, Ontario
– Race Name – Toronto Mud Run 10km
– Sport – Trail running
– Race web site – http://www.adventureracingcananda.com/mudrun/
The Mud run is one of those one of a kind events that put the fun back into racing. The organizers promote it as the “Permission to get Dirty” race and I can guarantee you that you will get wet and dirty without trying too hard. The event starts in the middle of a somewhat abandoned conservation area in the middle of Brampton just off the 427. Parking was easy but it seemed that registration took a little longer than it needed to. With the great marketing and word of mouth that this race got from last year, registration for the event almost doubled from last years numbers. What this meant was that the start of the race was delayed almost a half hour.
The race started with a sprint down the road and around the gate house and back towards the start area. The first obstacle was the tires. The tires were a typical army style setup where you had to step lively through a good ten paces of tires. This was particularly fun because you were in such a tight mob of runners that you dared not fall into the ditch that you were also running through. The race course continued along some road and trails mixed with trampled grass “pathways”. At one point the teams portion of the event (who started 5 mins after the main group) caught up to us and did their best to try and pass us. Most everyone around us moved over to get out of the way because it was obvious that they were running at a faster clip. Most of the team runners were courteous and went by in a timely fashion. The staging may have been better if the teams (who were obviously more competitive) had gone out first onto the course.
The next obstacle that we had to go thru was a series of two ramps and a wall. We had to scale and jump over these onto the hay bales that were waiting after. 
Other highlights of the run were running in some swampy areas, wading thru a river as well as crossing thru a few brooks and going thru a culvert. There was even an option to take a bridge or barrel thru the river (guess which one I took?).
The highlight of the race came at the finish line where the organisers had made a 30 ft pile of mud and muck. They had spent the better part of the morning injecting water into this mound of topsoil that they had brought in. It made for the deepest, stickiest pile of shoe (and sock) sucking mud that you have ever seen. Participants were urged to crawl, roll, dive and slop around in the goop. Some people took licence to tackle their friends and just play like pigs.
The best part of the day came when the kid’s race hit the mud. They were sliding, rolling and swan diving into the ooze. Some of these kids hit the mud and were frozen in place, unable to move. I am sure that there were plenty of shoes and socks lost in the race that day. But I am also sure that the talk around the dinner table that night included being hosed down with a fire hose.
The post race was a little disappointing. The provided hydration after the race was a cup of the sponsors electrolyte beverage and a dry (yet tasty) bagel. There was no fruit, water, cookies or anything else provided. Last year, the shower was a guy with a pressure washer in the parking lot hosing people down and cleaning them instantly. This year five showers were provided but they didn’t amount to more than a garden hose of cold water. It turned out to be a very long wait while watching people really doddle while getting their hands clean. After we all cleaned up and were heading out it hit us how much we had really done that day and how much fun we all had had. After all this was not a Personal Best kind of race, this was an experience.
