It's become an annual summer rite of passage.
Every year since 2015, people have flocked to Otway Nordic Centre to conquer the challenge of Mudd Sweat & Tears.
The endurance event, which starts Saturday at 9 a.m., leads contestants over eight-kilometres of the Otway course along ski trails to stations blocked by barbed wire, walls, ladders, monkey bars, tire traps, mud pits and a shoe-sucking makeshift pond.
The event is privately-run by its Rossland-based promoter, John Reed, but depends on a volunteer army provided by the host Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. Volunteers help with setting up and dismantling the course, registering contestants and monitoring the obstacles at each station.
In return, the ski club gets a portion of the entry fees and uses that money to fund its junior racing programs and help with other youth athlete initiatives.
The Caledonia club still needs more volunteers to help create a crew of about 35 for the event and is asking volunteers to show up at the Mudd, Sweat & Tears course starting at 7 a.m. Saturday to help with registration or serve as course marshalls.
All volunteers will receive a Mudd, Sweat & Tears T-shirt and a pass to participate in the event. For more info, contact the Caledonia club at [email protected].
