Good clean run — Nikiski gym launches wet, wild event

2009 Elite Health and Fitness Mud Run results, noon Aug. 15:
Fastest woman, Lori Manion, 30:23
Fastest man, Andrew Tuttle, 26:46
Fastest junior, James Watkins, 26:08
Honorable mention, Molly Watkins, 27:10
Fastest team, The Golden Girls, 44:28
Cleanest racer, Meagan Easley
Best entrance into mud pit, Shane Hardesty

Photos by Clark Fair. Sheri Trimble performs a filthy form of the backstroke near the finish line of the Mud Run. Her efforts earned her the Best Performance in the Mud Pit award.

Andrew Breitbeil dives into the mud pit just before the finish line of the five-kilometer race Saturday afternoon near Elite Health & Fitness. The health club owner, Kamichia Spisak, said that nearly 80 runners competed in this year’s third annual Mud Run, compared to about 50 competitors the year before and about 25 in the event’s initial race.

The Golden Girls team consists of a flying Rustin Hitchcock, a mostly submerged David Holloway, and a still relatively dry (for the moment) Whitney Hitchcock and Steve Carlson. They finished first in the Fastest Team Category.

Only one eye is showing beneath a curtain of mud-slathered tresses, pig snout, and dilapidated piggy ears, but Orianna Arledge is smiling and content.

James Watkins leads all competitors over this first race obstacle–a stack of hay bales. The big strawberry waiting for her turn is James’s older sister, Molly. According to James, who finished first overall in the Mud Run, the most important thing was this: “I beat my sister.” Molly, the first female runner to finish, crossed the finish line third overall. She received an honorable mention award because, at 17, she was too young to be first in the Fastest Woman category.

Members of the Kenai Central High School cross country running team, replete with pig ears and snouts, frolic in the mud pit at the end of the race. From left to right are: assistant coach Katie Arledge, Annalise Theisen, Vanessa Anderson, Eve Ferguson, Freya Chay, and Noelle Schmitter-Schrier.

With mud flying the squealing KCHS piggy patrol enters the pit. From left to right are Vanessa Anderson, Annalise Theisen, Freya Chay, Eve Ferguson, and Noelle Schmitter-Schrier.

Dallin Carlson heads face-first into the murk for a little scuba action, earning him the Dirtiest Racer award.

The Siamese Triplets are, from left to right, Judy Shields, Leora Olson and Connie Carlson. Their costume was so cumbersome that they had to remove and abandon it in the first part of the race, then don it again at the end. Still, they managed to finish dead last in the race. To their credit, they did win the Best Costume award.

Sisters Sylvia Shaeffer and Aleta Vidal smile for the camera after wrestling each other through the mud pit before crossing the finish line together. Both women said that a major attraction to competing in the Mud Run was the chance to get filthy and to dump each other in the mud. “We were like little kids out there,” said Vidal.

Aurora Johnson was very unhappy to have her right foot come out of her boot. She seemed to want someone to fix the problem, but mostly the nearby adults simply laughed good-naturedly.

In the foreground, Katie Arledge (left) and Vanessa Anderson try to wrestle each other into the depths of the mud pit. In the background, Eve Ferguson (middle) tries to drag down Olivia Fair, while Carolyn Knackstadt races to catch up.