Indian Mud Run drawing people from more than 30 states
COSHOCTON – The Indian Mud Run will have more mud and more obstacles ready to greet competitors from around the United States and the world.
“We will have approximately 70 obstacles, but we’ve only had one mud pit in the past unless it rained,” said Hubie Cushman, race director and creator. “With having mud in our name we decided we needed to fix that. This year we will have four mud pits.”
The eighth annual Indian Mud Run will be held Saturday, June 22 at Lake Park. Parking for spectators and participants is available at Lake Park by the ball fields. Shuttles will take you up to the former Hilltop Golf Course where you can view athletes taking on many of the obstacles. Cost for parking is $10 and admission to the event is free.
“Every year this keeps getting bigger,” Cushman said. “At first I just envisioned it being a glorified 5K, but now we are seeing our name posted on obstacles all over Europe and people are coming from there and other states to participate in our race. That’s a testament to a lot of people’s hard work and support of this event.”
People from more than 30 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already pre-registered for the Indian Mud Run. The numbers are already higher than in past years and Cushman believes they can easily draw 900 to 1,000 people.
“Last year we had 167 people register on race day,” Cushman said. “If that happens this year we will easily hit 1,000. We are worried about running out of shirts and medals (for competitors).”
On race day cost for the open wave 10K will be $90 and the 5K will be $80. Money raised from the race is divided between first responders who volunteer their time at the event and the park district. Cushman said they have raised more than $100,000 over the past seven years.
Anyone interested in volunteering can send a message to organizers on the event Facebook page, visit www.indianmudrun.com, or e-mail Cushman at hubie3@roadrunner.com.
“One thing we really need help with is course marshals,” Cushman said. “You don’t have to know anything about obstacle course racing to do it. It’s a really easy job and entertaining. When you have athletes coming from L.A. and Seattle you know they are serious about this and you are getting to watch them up close.”
The Indian Mud Run starts at 8 a.m. with the first wave of pro competitors. The men go first and the women follow at 8:10 a.m. There also are age group waves and open waves for both men and women. The last wave goes out at 12:20 p.m.
Spectators can walk all around the course and view the athletes in action.
“One of the reasons we moved the Indian Mud Run up here (to the former golf course) was because it’s more spectator friendly,” Cushman said. “Many of the obstacles are within an easy walk. Many people like getting pictures of themselves on these obstacles. We encourage local photographers to come get pictures and share them.”
The day also includes games, competitions, a beer garden featuring the Wooly Pig Farm Brewery, a course just for children and inflatables.
“At first we thought about just doing a 5K to raise money for the parks but no one is going to come from another state to run a 5K,” Cushman said. “This is bringing people from all over to Coshocton and that is special. There is a good chance that this land would be sold if we weren’t doing the Indian Mud Run here. Our main goal is to raise as much money as we can to keep this land from being sold.”
Category: People & Places
