Muddin’ around

The weather was perfect Saturday morning for people to run in nature and tackle obstacles for a good cause.

After a 2020 hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crooked Creek Wild Mud Run made its return Saturday.

“Everyone had a really good time,” Crooked Creek Christian Camp program director Saralyn Murray Oyer said. “We don’t have the final numbers yet, but we estimate that we had about 90-100 people come out.”

The event is an annual fundraiser for the camp.

Executive Director Heather Bender said that the money raised helps fund camp scholarships for kids unable to afford to attend camp, as well as summer staff stipends and other programming activities.

The course was over three miles long, and runners faced obstacles like mud crawls, steep steps, water hazards and even a waterslide.

Runners finished the course swinging on a rope into the pond to clean off.

“It takes them through the timber, and we even use the pond,” Murray Oyer said. “We use the landscape of the camp.”

Many of the obstacles were staffed by volunteers to help runners negotiate their way over, under or through them.

Given the nature of the course, injuries might be expected, but that was not the case Saturday.

“We got everyone through with no major injuries,” Murray Oyer said with a laugh. “We can be thankful for that.”

Crooked Creek Christian Camp sits on about 300 acres south of Washington.

Crooked Creek canceled all of its 2020 summer camp programs due to the pandemic, but they have a full slate of camps for all ages scheduled for this summer.