What better way to get some exercise and have some fun than to run through a mud pit and navigate down an obstacle called the Slippery Slope?
These are just two of the many things featured in the inaugural Into the Mud Challenge race being put on by USM’s Sport Event Management class.
The race is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. on May, 7 at Gorham Middle School. It will feature the Slippery Slope and a two-and-half-mile course full of mud obstacles such as the muddy cargo net crawl, a tire run, a muddy hill climb and plenty of mud pits to go around.
The idea of a mud run dates further back than this semester, though. Jo Williams, an associate professor of sport marketing, began planning the race last spring in her Sport Marketing class.
“We wanted to create an event that we could own outright; something that the students could work on and have control of everything they were doing,” Williams said.
Her students conducted research and brainstormed events, but always found themselves back to the idea of a race. Then they found out about mud runs.
“Mud runs are actually growing like crazy in the United States,” Williams said. “There isn’t an official mud run in Maine, so we felt it was a great opportunity for us to hop on and not just do another 5K.”
From that point on, Into the Mud Challenge has evolved into a professionally organized event, but it wouldn’t be where it is if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication Williams’ students are putting toward it.
Over the summer, Williams and Heidi Parker, an assistant professor in the Sport Management Department, visited a number of different potential sites for the race and with the help of Gorham Recreation Department, decided on Gorham Middle School as the best location.
In the fall, Sport Marketing students began developing marketing plans, and students in a Sport Facility Management class visited the site and came up with obstacle and mud pit ideas. But it is Williams’ 27 Sport Event Management students that have really spearheaded the project and transformed it into a real professional event.
“The students have been fantastic,” Williams said. “We talked a lot about the commitment inside and outside of class we would have to make to put this on, and they have been very proactive and energetic.”
The students were split up into four departments and have done things like buy the domain name for the event, create a web site, conduct promotions and have dealt with risk management.
Williams says that putting together an event like this as an undergrad is “incredibly valuable and challenging,” and can “push you out of your comfort zone a bit.” The students have stepped up, though, and are learning a lot about event management.
“It has really been a hands-on experience for us, and although we’re having a great time, we treat this like a job,” said Andrea Lapointe, the race’s co-director and operation manager. “We’ve all been working together and are showcasing our skills and talents we’ve taken from class to put on this great event.”
As of April 18, there were 150 people registered, and there is still plenty of time to sign up. Until April 30, an individual runner can register on the website for $25, and teams of four can register for $80. There will also be registration the day of the race for $35 per individual and $100 per team. All proceeds go to a Sport Management Scholarship.
Another thing Williams and her students stressed is that it’s a fun event. There will be a kids’ race, a costume contest and Into the Mud Challenge T-shirts for the first 250 registrants.
“The best part of all of this is that the students were able to take control of things and step into roles to take major ownership of it,” Williams said. “At the end of the day on May 7, it will be a satisfying experience.”