Hundreds of runners braved a high temperature of 33 degrees on Sunday to take part in Thomas College’s annual Dirty Dog Mud Run, helping the Waterville school raise more than $26,000 for its recreation department.
Out of 707 people who registered this year, 93% showed up for the race, which was won by elite runner Keith Pike, a 2012 Thomas College alumnus from South Berwick. He completed the race in 24 minutes and 57 seconds.
The 5K event was held a day before the Boston Marathon but unlike the much larger Beantown event, it featured fun obstacles like monkey bars and walls to climb, buckets to carry, and even a mud crawl.
Thomas College said it raised slightly more than in 2017.
In the past, the school has used proceeds from the race to buy exercise bikes, build an outdoor ice rink and install flooring in the fitness center, according to MacKenzie Riley, assistant director of media relations at Thomas College.
“Registrations have been strong since January and I was confident we would achieve the same $26,000 mark we hit in 2017,” said race director Jim Delorie, who is also the school’s assistant dean for student engagement, in a statement emailed to Mainebiz.
“The highlight for 2018 was not the 707 registrations we had, but that more than 90% of them showed up on a 30-degree day in April to run in the mud,” he added.
A total of 504 adults finished the race, including a Randolph couple who tied the knot after crossing the finish line in mud-stained wedding attire. They are reportedly off to Ireland today for their honeymoon.
An estimated 100 kids participated in the Mud Puppy Race.
