A messy affair

A common concept in the US and UK, a mud run is an obstacle course usually between 5-10 kms long that sees thousands of racers run, crawl and walk through a specially-designed muddy terrain.

Soon India will have its very own – The Mud Rush – which will be held on February 9, 2013 in Kolad. The 7-km long run has been designed by the Indian Special Forces. Jay Goradia, marketing director says he and his friends wanted to hold an event for fitness enthusiasts.

“While the course is physically tiring, it’s not just for sportspersons and is a lot about teamwork and building camaraderie. The different obstacles are designed by the military cadets helmed by Capt Swaminathan so while it may test your grit, it’s also a lot of fun,” he says, adding that one has the option to skip a few of the obstacles.

Runners have to get past 30-foot stacks of hay, water bodies, a 10-foot wall, tires, fire and of course, much mud. Participants can enroll in teams and the course takes anywhere between one and a half to three hours to complete.

“The sense of achievement after completing the course is incomparable. Further, everyone can warm-up with trainers beforehand and after the run, participants can relax at the party area by the lake that will have live bands, food stalls, a flea market and games,” he adds.

The event that starts at 8 am will have runners in batches of 350 take part every hour. Also part of the proceeds from the run go towards an army related NGO. “People hardly ever give to the armed forces so we hope that what we collect will be able to help the war widows or Kargil heroes in some way,” says Jay.