Aughlisnafin's Mud Fun Run

Aughlisnafin's Mud Fun Run

ANYONE afraid of getting their hands dirty will have stayed clear of Aughlisnafin on Saturday when the gaelic club hosted its first ever mud run. Over 500 people made their way to Aughlisnafin to take part in the fundraising fun run through 2.5 kilometres of challenging muddy terrain.

This was the first event of its kind hosted by the club with participants coming from across Ireland, and even America, to take part.

The course was intended to be fun, while pushing contestants beyond their comfort zone into knee deep mud.

Participants ran through fields, across a river and through a local farm, negotiating tyre mounds, log rolls, walls, mud crawls, slides and lots more.

They could opt to do one, two or three loops with some even managing four.

Many locals joined runners from Dublin, Donegal,  Armagh, Fermanagh and Antrim to name but a few with organisers surprised to note that participants, who ranged in age from 18-60, were predominantly female.

While it was a club fundraiser for Aughlisnafin, visitors were also offered the opportunity to take part for £10 and to do sponsorship for a charity of their choice.

Local gaelic and athletic clubs, rugby clubs, soccer clubs, fitness clubs and many others were all represented in the cross community event.

Aughlisnafin Gaelic club’s press officer, Gerard Lenaghan, said the organising committee was overwhelmed with congratulatory comments about the success of the event.

“Thanks goes to the many volunteers and sponsors that made it the unprecedented success it was,” he said.

“With several photographers in attendance nearly 5,000 photos are in circulation on social media and several videos as well.

“It has been hard work but such an enjoyable experience for us all and no doubt it will be back again bigger and better than before.

“We would love to be able to make this an annual event.”