Tough Mudder style racing comes to Chilliwack in September with the first ever Unbridled Mud Trials.
The event will be held Sept. 28 at Island 22, featuring tons of mucky mayhem.
“It’s going to be a five kilometre course with 22 obstacles,” said Andrea Meister, secretary for the Island 22 Equestrian Park Society. “We’ll use some of the horse jumps, because they’re really big. We’ll have mud baths and climbing and ropes, and hopefully it’s successful and we can turn it into annual event.”
Tough Mudder is the template, but the Chilliwack event will have its own personality.
The course will be tough, but not Tough Mudder tough. There won’t be ice, fire or (sadly) electrical snakes.
It will be an alcohol free event for ages 14 and up. There will be silly-costume competition and lots of prizes up for grabs.
“We wanted to make sure it’s female and kid friendly,” Meister said. “An event like this promotes people getting out to exercise, doing a sport and having fun. It promotes Island 22 as an exercise area and everyone we’ve talked to so far has said, ‘That is so cool!’”
“Everyone knows Tough Mudder. It has gotten so huge,” she added, referencing the hardcore stamina-testing events designed by British Special Forces. “But we didn’t want to just bring a Tough Mudder event to Chilliwack, because the money doesn’t stay in the community.”
Money raised through the Unbridled Mud Trials will stay in the park, going towards maintenance, improvement and expansion.
Concessions will be run by local sports groups. Paid parking will be run by local charities.
“We have the facility plus the full backing of the city and Fraser Valley Regional District,” Meister noted.
Protecting Island 22 is a top priority for organizers, who will do much of the course construction after the last horse event is run.
“We know exactly which areas will get a little mucky, and that would happen anyways with the rain,” Meister said. “There won’t be any trenches or holes dug. We’ll be building up, not down. We know the park well and we know what we can do without damaging it.”
Tickets are on sale now.
Adults can enter for $52. Youths ages 14-18 get in for $35.
Parking is $5 but spectator admission is free. The course layout will allow watchers to see 80 per cent of the race.
Contact the organizers by email at unbridledmud@gmail.com
