Get Down and Dirty: Holiday Valley Mudslide
Get Down and Dirty: Holiday Valley Mudslide
A Tough Mudder inspired OCR built for the whole family
The Tough Mudder is an iconic and well-known foot racing series that happens across the country, kind of like Iron Man. The Tough Mudder is a 10 or 12-mile race, and it was founded in 2010 by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. Their first race, held in Pennsylvania in 2010, was the spark that lit the powder keg, starting the OCR craze here in the United States.
You see, Tough Mudder is an OCR, or obstacle course race. Not only are you completing the distance run but you’re traversing hilly terrain and bobbing and weaving extremely challenging obstacles. Some famous ones are “electroshock therapy”, a stretch of low-hanging live wires that deliver low voltage shocks if touched, and the “mud mile”, a stretch of muddy pits that force you to collaborate with your competitors to make it out.
Inspired by this OCR craze, Holiday Valley began a tradition of hosting an obstacle-y, muddy race of their own - The Mudslide! Tough Mudder hasn’t been in town since 2013, but Holiday Valley’s Mudslide brings the mess year after year. The festivities are all ages and tons of fun!
The mudslide course is a little different than your traditional OCR. Running through live wires and swimming under beams in 40-degree water can be a little too intense for even the most aggressive racers, and Dash Hegeman, Holiday Valley’s marketing director, explained that their course is less about intensity and more about family fun. “It doesn’t involve potential electric shocks or running through flames. The great thing about the Mudslide is that it’s appropriate for a wide range of ages and it’s geared around just having a fun time with your family and friends.”
You’ll still get plenty muddy! If you haven’t been to Holiday Valley in the warmer seasons, you should know that the resort is very well irrigated and gets oh so muddy. Pair that with the mountain crew’s unwavering tenacity and creativity, and you get some truly sloppy, funny, and crazy obstacles.
As for specifics, the Holiday Valley team is intentionally coy on what specific obstacles we can expect. Dash did state that aspects of the course will be changed, as to ensure recurring racers are sufficiently challenged, so don’t think you’ll run it with your eyes closed if you’re an old pro! “I don’t know that there is a 'hardest’ feature,” said Dash. “That’s very subjective because the entire course is meant to test different aspects of strength, balance, and endurance.”
What we can expect for sure is the very obstacle that gives the race its name, the mudslide! Racers must scale a portion of the Yodeler slope to turn around and slide back down into a pool of mud before crossing the finish line. Then, the party starts. Adjacent to the finish line at the base of Yodeler, DJ Tyler Swift will be serving up the jams. You can get your post-race carbs courtesy of the Holiday Valley food and beverage team. Red Bull will be onsite providing energy, and 42 North Brewing will be supplying the adult beverages.
And when you finally get cleaned up, why not enjoy all the fun that springtime at Holiday Valley has to offer? When you register for Mudslide, a link will appear to book lodging accommodations for the weekend. From there, you can use holidayvalley.com to purchase Sky High and Mountain Coaster tickets. Golf tee times can be filled by calling 716-699-3939.
Holiday Valley Mudslide will happen on June 14th, with race registration starting at 8:30 am. There is a 4.2-mile course and a 6-mile course, with the longer course having an uphill component and considered to be more challenging. Both races will start in the morning. There are also two kids races, which start from 1:15-2:00 pm, depending on the age of your child. The traditional races are for ages 9 and older. Online signup is open until the day of the event, but if you would like a Mudslide t-shirt, you must be signed up by June 1st. Good luck! And have fun getting muddy!