All the mud leftover on local roads, alleys and fields from early May's miserable weather almost seems like a prelude to the third annual Community Learning Campus Mud Run coming this September.Organizers are already in preparation mode for the filthy-fun event that sends slop seekers out onto courses of dirt-drenched obstacles and muck-filled pits behind the CLC and this year's run will have a few new elements.While proceeds from the event support the CLC's various sports camps and activities for young people and last year's run gave participants the chance to donate the footwear they used on the course to local charities and non-profit groups, part of this year's Mud Run will focus on helping animals.Brittany Ehmann, the run's event coordinator, said the CLC is holding a donation program ahead of the run that benefits the Wild Rose Humane Society and the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society.Through the Mud Run's website at www.mudrunclc.com, participants can donate to the societies and donations of $10 or more entitle the donor to a free gift that can be picked up the day of the event, as well as a tax receipt.Ehmann said the donation page on the website is now live and as of May 1, $1,500 was pledged.The ultimate goal, she added, is to collect $3,000 before the date of this year's Mud Run on Sept. 6.The Olds College Teaching Brewery will also offer all of its beers at the Mud Run beer gardens this year and Ehmann said event organizers and the brewery's administration are looking at the possibility of a Mud Run-themed beer for the event.She said if the beer concept goes ahead, participants can take part in a contest to name the brew.All of the proceeds from beer sales will go to the Mud Run, Ehmann added, but event organizers would then make a donation back to the school's brewmaster program.The Mud Run will also again feature the footwear donation program where event organizers have partnered with DeliverGood, an organization that connects charities and non-profit groups needing various goods with people and companies that have such goods.Organizers will collect and clean any donated shoes and then give them to local organizations in need.At last year's run, more than 200 pairs of shoes were collected and distributed to local non-profit organizations such as the Olds Boys and Girls Club.People can now register for the 2014 Mud Run online and the current fee is $55 per individual adult or $45 for adults planning to participate in a team.Teams must have a minimum of four members.The registration fee for people between the ages of 14 and 18 is $40 per individual and $30 per person in a team.For the Filthy Frog run, an event for children, the registration fee is $12 per participant between the ages of five and 13.All fees go up on May 31 and the registration deadline is Aug. 31.Roughly 1,500 adults and 300 young people took part in last year's Mud Run and this year organizers plan to register 2,000 adults and 500 young people, Ehmann said.The course for adults and young people between the ages of 14 and 18 is five kilometres long and the Filthy Frog course for participants between the ages of nine and 13 is 2.5 kilometres.The Little Frog course for participants aged five to eight is 1.5 kilometres long.For more information, visit http://www.mudrunclc.com/[email protected]
