Mud Mash 2010 Super Success!

All Out Events closed out the season this Halloween Weekend with its first annual Laguna Lake Mud Mash. 

Why read this when you could see it? Check out our video here:

The event was a huge success! We had about 400 entrants for the 5- and 10-k races. Our event staff took four full days to build the obstacles and dig the mudpit, but when all was said and done, Laguna Lake park was transformed into SLO's newest and coolest venue. Folks from as far away as Florida came out in droves, both big and small, to compete. We had everyone from age 8 to 77 in the race, and everyone finished!

A Mud Run, if you didn't know, is much like it sounds - a running course with obstacles, heavy emphasis on mud. Some mud runs are marketed as being hard core - but we know that we already do "hard core" well with our adventure races and mountain run, and this was supposed to be more fun-core. Participants showed up in full costumes, stoked about life, about the day, and eager to get on with the challenge.

The day started out with a heavy fog over the course which gave it a mysterious, beautiful air to it, but it slowly lifted to reveal the venue. Everyone was super charged up to start, cheering our announcer, eachother, and the volunteers that showed up to make it a great day. As the blast went off, they trotted out to the first obstacle, Laguna Lake itself. Giggles and shouts of amusement were the dominant sound until one of our surprises got going - we placed a bagpiper up on the top of a hill and his tunes could be heard from all over SLO! As racers made it down the mountain, they had to slop through our mudpit and then evade our vikings set to stop them to make it to the finish.

We also had a great kids' run after the races with 20+ kids really giving it a go through the mud pit and past our vikings. They were heaving pretty hard but happy to get their free goodie bags.

Lots of spectators came out to the event, too. The parking was full at Laguna Lake and our exhibitor booths really got a lot of traffic. One of the most fun aspects of the race was that rather than handing out swag in race bags, we made the racers trick-or-treat for it on course . . . sponsors that sent us product (like Nuun, Raw Revolution, and some leftover Hammer Gel) or coupons got extra exposure as our racers "earned" their samples.

Lots of kudos is pouring in, the city is thrilled with the event and has asked us to come back next year, we are getting tons of testimonials and promises to bring friends and make it a Halloween tradition, and in true All Out style, we've managed to make the Mud Run both a totally fun and organic experience.

Race results are available here: http://mudmash.com/results.html

Professional photos of the event are here: http%3A//www.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=7377818&h=5f66c

All photos attached were taken by Josh Cohen of Foothill Cyclery.