Mud Mania, a boot camp style 5K run embedded with 23 obstacles, occurred Saturday, March 23.
The race was located at Fad J Farm, nine miles outside of Auburn's campus. Participants ran in 30-minute heats of 300 participants for a total of more than 1,400 participants.
Obstacles throughout the 5K race included creek runs, hay bales, climbing walls, mud pits and even a muddy Slip 'n Slide. Registration for the event was $45, which included a T-shirt and access to candid photos taken during the event.
Proceeds went to the Hudson Family Foundation, an organization whose mission is to make an impact in the lives of children with a genuine need for assistance.
The 5K's first obstacle was a stretch of ankle-deep mud, removing all illusions that participants could finish Mud Mania without getting dirty. Still, guys and girls alike tried to skirt the mud, only to face other obstacles later that forced them to get muddy.
Others embraced the dirtiness, finishing the race caked in mud.
"We were just trying to finish as muddy as possible," said Morgan Hall, senior in graphic design.
Mud Mania provided wash stations for participants who did not feel at home covered in mud, but Gabe Gotthelf, event coordinator, encouraged participants to remember it was only mud.
"You can go home and take a shower, and then you're clean again," Gotthelf said.
In the 9 a.m. heat, conditions for Mud Mania were cold and rainy, but participants said the conditions set the mood.
"I was psyched up," said Will Frye, doctoral student in clinical psychology. "It set the atmosphere for the mud run. You have all these wild dudes running shirtless and it amps you up."
Frye had the fastest time for this year's Mud Mania at 18:18, beating last year's time of 24:06 by Nathan Rouse.
Frye said he looked up times from last year and set his expectations around them, training for Mud Mania like any other race.
"I just did my normal stuff. I ran and worked out," Frye said. "I went to a sorority formal last night and didn't get a ton of sleep; that may be the training trick."
Mud Mania is different from other mud runs because the event is tailored to a wide range of athleticism. While other mud runs are designed to test, or even break participants physically, Mud Mania is designed to be challenging, but not impossible.
"The long treks through the mud were hard because of slippery mud, and running up the river in waist-deep water because it was so cold," said Abby Carr, senior in graphic design.
Harper Power, participant of the race, duct-taped his shoes so the mud would not pull them off.
The final obstacles of the race were a 15-foot climbing wall and the deepest mud pit of the event.
"You're tired at the end and you've gotta climb that," Frye said. "That and running through the last mud pit; it was waist-high deep and you had to crawl through it."
Costumes were a major part of what made Mud Mania so fun to watch.
James Bradley and Garrett Hyatt, participants of the race, were part of a group that dressed like the Avengers. They had about 19 in their group. Bradley dressed and painted himself like the Hulk, and Hyatt dressed as Batman. Members of their group also included Robin, Wonder Woman and Superman.
Other costumes included tutus, business attire and even six people dressed as William Wallace.
Melina Sevlever, doctoral student in clinical psychology, said the biggest challenge was the smell.
"The mud kind of smelled like manure if I'm being honest," Sevlever said.
For people who wanted to stay mud-free but still have a good time, there was a spectator area that overlooked some of the muddier obstacles of the race.
The event staff said planning for the event was an arduous and involved process.
"It takes six months of planning for one day of racing," Gotthelf said.
Gotthelf said the event went much better than last year's Mud Mania.
"Last year was a nightmare," Gotthelf said. "We learned so much that contributed to the success of this year."
Participants and staff alike are looking forward to next year's Mud Mania.
"Next year I'll be ready," Hyatt said. "I'm going to show that mud who's boss."
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