Back at home in Saudi Arabia, UNBC accounting student Abdullah Alshuaibi says there's no sporting event that comes close to matching what he went through Saturday at Mudd Sweat & Tears.
"We don't have that, it's too hot there," said the 27-year-old, who decided the night before to enter the eight-kilometre obstacle course mud run event at Oway Nordic Centre with his friend Courteney Luff. They train together at the Northern Sport Centre gym.
"It was actually really fun," said Alshuaibi, "I didn't know it would be like that."
The mud on Luff's forehead and cheeks looked like war paint. Alshuaibi purposely applied it early in the course to help his partner get her game face on.
"The water hole was the funnest part, my pants were starting to fall down from all the mud," said the 22-year-old Luff. "But then you get muddy again right away. I was sweating a lot, you can't run that much without sweating. I got the mud, got the sweat, but I haven't cried yet – maybe when I go under the (cold) water to hose off."
The second annual event at Otway drew 1,075 competitors, ranging in age from 13 to 68. While the gender breakdown wasn't available, the women far outnumbered the men.
Robert Deasley, 27, a visitor from Scotland, joined the Muddy Cougars team with his Prince George cousin, Mel Ramsay, having competed in the Tough Mudder event two years ago near Edinburgh.
"This was excellent, that was great fun today," said Deasley, in his thick Scottish brogue. "You surprise yourself just how much fun you have, it's brilliant."
Ramsay, 43, was looking for another challenge after running up the Nechako River cutbanks with the Climbing Cougars team in the Climb For Cancer event a month ago and formed a team of 11 for Saturday's mud slog.
"We had a lot of good laughs," said Ramsay. "The highlight for me was swimming through the (pond) because I was so muddy and I just wanted to go for a swim. I'm not a swimmer so I had a bit of a panic, but I made it. We were looking forward to it to get the mud off of us, we were pretty heavy."
Dee Epp, 45, got to the top of the 20-foot rope climb, rather than have to get down on the ground and perform six-step burpees as the alternative.
"I haven't done that since Grade 4, when we used to do those rope challenges," Epp said. "My son did this last year and I think next year we'll recruit our husbands and kids."
There were a few minor injuries, mostly twisted ankles and wrenched knees, but nothing too serious. A lot of competitors had trouble running over the V-shaped wood obstacle, made slippery by the constant parade of muddy feet and light rain which started later in the morning. The mud-caked monkey bars were also tough and some of the male members of the teams took the ladies on their shoulders to lessen the weight as they hung off the bars.
Kerry Ellison, 47, said the worst of the obstacles came after she collected her finisher's medal and beer ticket.
"The hosing off at the end was the worst, it was freezing," said Ellison. "The mud pit at the end was the best because it was nice and soft."
Tim Clough, 38, a teacher at Southridge elementary school, just made it back Friday from a five-day, 42-kilometre (one-way) backpacking trip with his Grade 7 students at Mount Robson and he was bagged after finishing the course Saturday.
"This is my first time – I wanted to see if I could handle it, we just wanted to come and get muddy and have some fun," said Clough. "It was pretty deep mud at the midpoint, I was up to my waist."
Scott Bellavance, 40, who placed sixth at the 2002 Olympics in freestyle skiing moguls, is also a Southridge teacher and was with Clough on the Berg Lake trail. Bellavance's presence on the course at Otway proved invaluable.
"I really think he brought the mental game to our team," joked Clough. "He knew what it's like to persevere and he was our anchor."
Wearing his Go-Pro to record it, Curtis Blanchette, 34, couldn't wait to see the video highlights of what his three-member Kaiten Mixed Martial Arts team endured.
"I'm going to rub this in all the faces of the ones I tried and couldn't get out here and show them what they missed," said Blanchette. "The hardest part was running between the obstacles, running uphill. This was the second time I've done it and it was way colder last year."
His wife Briese wasn't too impressed with the smell coming off the water hole they had to swim through, which Curtis jokingly referred to as the pond/bathroom break.
"If you found a warm spot, you knew someone was just ahead of you," he laughed.
Megan Clark, 16, was covered head-to-toe in dirt after getting into a mud fight with her mom, Karen. Clark plays on the volleyball and rugby teams at Kelly Road secondary school and she vows she'll return to the mud next year.
"It's a fitness thing, I just love running and getting my heart going, it's just a lot of fun," she said
The host Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, which provided site access and a large team of volunteers, received $12,000 from the Trail-based event organizers. That money will be used to support the club's youth cross-country skiing and biathlon programs.
