Shropshire Star

Runners prove to be muddy marvels at Eaton Mascott

They came, they conquered and they had a muddy great time.

Published

Hundreds of brave runners burnt off some festive calories by taking part in a mud run at Eaton Mascott, near Shrewsbury.

The 'White Run' event – which encourages all entrants to wear white – saw 250 runners overcome ditches, bogs and other tricky obstacles to complete the 5K run.

Now in its fourth year, youngsters as young as 10-years-old took part with many of the runners wearing fancy dress to raise funds for charity.

And race director Tom Mehan admitted he was delighted with the event's success.

"The White Run is something we do every year as a taster for people interested in mud running," he said.

"It's a really enjoyable, family friendly event where everyone helps each other along to get over the finish line.

"We ask everyone to wear white because they always look fantastic at the start in their crisp, white T-shirts.

"Then by the end, they are all absolutely filthy and covered in mud. But the atmosphere we had was really great. Everyone had a huge smile on their face and we think between Christmas and new year is a great time to do it as it helps burn some of those festive calories.

"It's an achievable distance, nobody takes it too seriously and the most important is that everyone finishes and has a good time."

Volunteers Lisa Roberts, Sian Brookes, Fran Pearson, Tara Davies and Hannah Williams all took part in the event to raise funds for Jigsaw Family Group – a new initiative launched to support children with neurological disorders, such as autism, throughout Shropshire.

"Last time I ran was during the London marathon in 2012 so I was very nervous before we started." Roberts said.

"I had never done a mud run before but it was absolutely brilliant.

"I don't really like getting muddy but once you get through the first bit and you are still intact, you realise it's great fun.

"The camaraderie was great between everyone who took part, we were all helping one another.

"And when people found out we were fundraising it really helped us raise a few extra pounds.

"We're a group currently supporting 255 children with a wide range of neurological disorders throughout the county.

"We provide support for whole the family so it was a great opportunity for us to get our name out there and try and let people know what we do and what services we can provide."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.