A woman plunges into the mud at The 8th Annual Mudtastic Classic. Photos by Blair Baumgartner.

By Blair Baumgartner
InkFreeNews

Syracuse —The weather was perfect for The 8th Annual Mudtastic Classic presented by the K21 Health Foundation. The event, held at the Wawasee Area Conservancy’s Levinson LaBrosse Lakes & Wetland Education Center, had nearly 230 participants sign up for this year’s race obstacle course mud run.

Proceeds go to the Syracuse Parks Recreation & Youth Programs. The money raised will benefit the department’s general fund.

When asked what he enjoys most about the event, Darin Lursen, program director for Syracuse Parks Recreation & Youth Programs, said, “It’s really just fun to see everyone happy.”

Lursen said, “The course is about two miles long and takes about 30 minutes to complete.” He said, “We started working on the course on Wednesday, June 8.” He elaborated by saying, “There is a lot of work that goes into creating this course every year and we dealt with some weather damage this year.” He further stated that “There are quite a few high school cross country kids and Boy Scouts participating this year.”

Overall, the weather was absolutely perfect. Every participant was having a blast and did not seem to care about getting caked head to toe with mud.

Members of the Turkey Creek Fire Territory were present to help spray down participants covered in mud as they crossed the finish line.

Chad Jonsson is the superintendent of parks for Syracuse and helped lead the event. The event allowed many families and friends to participate and make lasting memories together.