Hey adventure racers – here's mud in your eye.
That's not the official motto of Mudd, Sweat & Tears. But it could be.
MST events take the basics of adventure racing and throw in lots of mud for good measure. "Here at Mudd, Sweat & Tears we’re all about Mother Nature and organic course design. We use the best of each site's natural features to create the most challenging, interesting and kick your a.. style mud run obstacle course possible," organizers note on their website.
"We believe that mud running is about taking on Mother Nature and everything she has in store, in order to challenge body, determination and readiness. Rewarding, heart breaking and menacing – the way Mother Nature and Mudd, Sweat & Tears are meant to be."
MST Vancouver Island was held Aug. 17 at Mount Washington Alpine Resort, and Comox Valley native Maxfast Dallamore was one of hundreds to challenge The Misery Mile.
"It was basically a run to the top of Mount Washington then back down the side of the mountain," Dallamore said of the 5K course. "It was arduous. In between all the ski runs they have bike trails. They had us run up one. Just climbing up rocks and logs. Before that they get you soaking wet through like a swamp and after it they get you even more wet. So the whole time you're just like soaking, miserable, thinking 'This sucks, what was I thinking signing up for this?' But in the end it was worth it," Dallamore said.
The 23 year old did well in his first-ever MST, placing second in his heat. "I passed a whole pile of runners. There were profuse amounts of water drinking," he noted.
Encouraged by his performance, Dallamore wasted no time signing up for his second race, MST Victoria (Halloween edition) on Nov. 2. He's also got his eye on Tough Mudder in Whistler and The Zombie Run in Portland, Ore. where participants can register either as humans (the hunted) or zombies (the hunters).
Dallamore, who earned the tag Maxfast at university where he was noted for doing everything faster than everybody else, says he entered the MST on Mount Washington primarily to challenge himself.
"A few years ago I started changing my lifestyle. This is kind of the culmination of all my efforts. I got into eating healthier, going to the gym, swimming … I think to date I've lost 100 pounds from where I was.
"Now I'm pushing myself further. 'OK, I've put all this effort into getting healthy. Am I healthy? Can I compete and measure up?'
Dallamore says he really enjoys running, which he got into about eight months ago. He runs 8K six days a week and notes the Comox Valley offers many great trails and running opportunities for all levels of runners.
He enjoys the people he meets while running, in the gym or at MST events. "Everyone's extremely friendly."
His goal for MST Victoria is to finish first in his heat, the only way he can improve on his debut. After enjoying great weather at the Mount Washington event, he is somewhat concerned about conditions in Victoria.
"It's going to be in early November and probably going to be miserable. It will be mind over matter. I go for runs in the rain and sleet and snow, so how hard can it be? It might be cold, but it's just cold … 5K of gruelling cold…
"I lucked out on the last one. It was beautiful up there. It was perfect. I'm hoping that i'll luck out again and keep on lucking out. Positive thinking…"
Rain or sun, there is guaranteed to be plenty of mud in Victoria, and Dallamore says MST is for anyone who wants to not only have a good time, but see what they're physically capable of.
"It's for all ranges of people – fun groups and others like me who are pushing themselves. It's like a $100 investment in yourself. And after the race you get free beer. They definitely put on a real good event."
At their Canadian races, MST donates five per cent of net profits to Breakfast Clubs of Canada, a national charity that supplies healthy breakfasts to children who are not fortunate enough to have breakfast guaranteed every day.
For more info on MST, check out www.muddsweatandtears.com.