NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Aug. 2.
PORT ANGELES — Billed as the “wildest mud dash on the Olympic Peninsula,” the Run A Muck Obstacle Course Challenge returns to Port Angeles this weekend.
The down-and-dirty revelry gets under way at 9 a.m. Saturday as the first wave of weekend warriors plunge into the muddy 5-kilometer course at the Extreme Sports Park, 2917 W. Edgewood Drive.
Gates for the second annual all-day event open at 8 a.m.
Tickets to participate are $50 today and $60 Saturday. A $10 discount is offered to active military and students.
“Every 20 minutes, we’ll let out a new group of runners,” said Kelie Morrison, event organizer and Extreme Sports Park co-owner.
“There are 50 to 100 people in each group.”
Lots of obstacles
The mud runners will encounter more than two dozen obstacles along the way, including muddy bogs, tunnels, balance beams, concrete pillars, haybales, large tires and a 90-foot-long water slide.
“We always add a couple of surprises,” Morrison added.
While the Run A Muck is not a chip-timed event, a digital clock will be positioned near the finish line for those who want to compete against their friends.
“There’s going to be business-to-business challenges,” Morrison said.
Each participant will receive a “mucky” headband and medallion, along with a beverage and snack. Primitive showers and dressing rooms will be available for the mud runners.
A disc jockey will perform at the Extreme Sports Park throughout the day, and a beer garden will be open throughout the event.
Prizes will be awarded to the “muckiest” runners and to those who show up in the most creative costumes.
Last year’s inaugural Run A Muck drew close to 500 participants and about 150 spectators.
“This year, we expect another 100 to 200 people,” Morrison said.
Morrison reported a “big surge” in registrations in recent days.
“We’re on the phone all day long,” she said Wednesday. “There’s lots of last minute-ers.”
Morrison said the Run A Muck has quickly gained a reputation as being one of the top mud runs in Western Washington.
“Everyone absolutely loved it,” she said of the feedback from last year’s challenge. “They couldn’t say enough good things about it.”
Tickets
Tickets are sold today at the Port Angeles locations of First Street Chiropractic Center, 1217 E. First St.; Lincoln Street Station Shipping, 403 S. Lincoln St.; Pen Print Inc., 230 E. First St.; RoundUp Alatte Espresso, 3231 E. U.S. Highway 101; and Sunset Do it Best Hardware, 518 Marine Drive, as well as Dog House Powder Coating, 503-C S. Third Ave. in Sequim.
Event-day tickets will be sold at the Extreme Sports Park.
Those who would prefer to stay dry and cheer on their friends can purchase a $10 spectator pass.
All passes come with a $5 discount for those who bring a specially marked Pepsi can. About 30,000 such cans were distributed on the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas and throughout the Olympia area for the Run A Muck and the upcoming sprint boat races at the Extreme Sports Park.
Video clips of last year’s Run A Muck challenge are available on the Extreme Sports Park website, www.extremesportspark.net.
Next Saturday, Aug. 10, the Extreme Sports Park will host the first of two sprint boat racing events of the summer.
The second race will be the national finals Sept. 7.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
