By Nataly Tavidian ntavidian@nebraska.tv / Facebook / Twitter @NTVsNatalyT
Hundreds showed up at Stuhr museum this morning, to get in their cardio. It's all for a good cause.
Unlike a marathon race, or 5K/10K, these obstacle course style races with mud, water, and more, have gotten pretty popular. They're even getting people who aren't fans of working out, to get up and move.
It took some encouragement and support from family, friends, and volunteers for runners to test their limits. Instead of hitting the pavement to run, they hit the obstacle courses instead.
"Encouraging people to get up the wall and get out of the water," one volunteer said, about pushing the runners to climb up the difficult route instead of getting an easy way out. She said "people have been enthusiastic the whole time, from little itty bitty to old people.
One family came all the way from Colorado, to Grand Island for the run. "It's three generations," the Colorado mom said about her family's participation. The youngest participant in the family was their 5 year old son.
‘The Prairie Sludge Trudge,' isn't about competition, so runners didn't have to hold back on having fun.
Jon Rosenlun said "When you make it fun like this, everyone comes out. It's not about distance, not about metals; it's about getting in, getting dirty and having a good time."
So no awards at the end, but the runners (of legal drinking age of course) got beer, and everybody had pizza. There was also the joy of being dragged through the mud, literally.
Shoes, not tied tight enough, were lost in a mud pile.
Runners had to be prepared to toss their shoes out after the race, or attempt to clean them, but that's all the preparing many say they did for the run.
The options for the race were a 2.5 mile obstacle course, or a 7.5 mile obstacle course.
Event organizers don't know yet if they'll organize the same race again, but with over 700 people signing up and another 100 showing up this morning, it may be safe to say there will be a demand for an encore.
The profits from the first ever "Prairie Sludge Trudge," at Stuhr museum went to the Salvation Army, and Stuhr museum.
