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ALOHA SUMMER MUD! Irvine Lake Mud Run, Eco Fair and Music Fest Luau July 17 & 18, 2010 By: Tova Morrison / Photos: Brightroom Photography "This race will have more mud pits than we ever had before!" race director Paul Rudman said of the 5k (3.8 mile) Irvine Lake Mud Run. "We'll also be featuring the largest mud pit in Orange County that's called The Big Watoosy. It's going to be pretty phenomenal; it's 145 feet long by 35 feet wide. It's just massive, and the kids love it, oh my gosh!" Yes, the kids love it, but so do the grown-ups, and apparently, especially the feminine gender. "More than 60% of the mud runners are going to be women," Rudman estimates. The Saturday July 17 Mud Run was sold out in June, but is only open for registrants who want to run with an Open Sized Team. Another day, Sunday July 18, was added recently by popular demand. In the mud run universe, Irvine Lake is the crown jewel of the sport. Surrounded by rolling mountains, the racecourse ascends above the beautiful lake. And, this is the only mud run with an open-sized division. "No other race has this," Rudman said. "We get a group called Gavin's Groupies. They had over 170 people on their team at last year's race. They probably have over 300 on their team this year!" This group is raising funds and awareness to help a young child who is blind, Gavin, to gain eyesight. Fundraising is a big part of the Mud Run for the organizers' Eco Fun Challenge. They aim to reach $1 million in donations for the Boys and Girls Club Orange County Alliance. A $5 raffle ticket benefit for the Boys and Girls Club will give one winner a week long Hawaiian vacation for two at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina. There are also cash prizes. "We are the only mud run that offers a cash prize," Rudman said. "The fastest male and female runners of the event will get $200." There will also be cash prizes going to the fastest 4-person women's team, 4-person men's team and 4-person mixed gender team. Even the Dirty Dodgeball Tournament and costume contest–you remember the rules from grade school right?— will have a trophy and cash prize. "It is so different than any other race you've ever done before. It is even different than any other mud run that you've ever done before," Rudman said. "I believe we are the only mud run that goes off in wave starts." Instead of one big blast of people starting at once, this Mud Run separates runners and teams into intervals, or wave starts. What this does for the course is to create space. You don't have to wait for a crowd to disperse at the route's obstacles. After the grown-up race, the children can have a go during the Kid's Mud Puddle Race. An ever-foaming 36 LIVEMAGS.NET JULY>>10