Little Rock, AR (October 21, 2008) – Registration for the 6th Annual Mud Run, presented by Alltel Wireless, is up more than 20% as officials begin preparing for the race day battle to see who will win the King of the Mud competition. Called Little Rock’s dirtiest 5K, the Mud Run is slated for Saturday, October 25, at 9 am in Two Rivers Park in West Little Rock and benefits Little Rock Parks & Recreation.

“The point is not to finish fast, but finish with style,” said Geneva Hampton, Mud Run CIC (“mud-ese” for Chick In Charge aka race organizer). “This is the funniest race I have ever seen and it is a nice change of pace from the typical 5K. It was created to introduce people to running and walking and is for those who have an adventuresome spirit.”

“It is an‘un’-run,” Hampton said. “This is our way to introduce the sport of running to people that would never had considered it before. Truly, the only thing that is serious about any of it is the mud.”

“Since it is right around Halloween, we give everyone an extra opportunity to wear their Halloween costumes,” said Hampton. “Each year we have grown about 30% and 2008 looks to be on track. About 90% of our participants dress in some sort of costume.”

“The first year was a comedy of errors,” Hampton said. “So we say ‘ish’ a lot. What started out as a simple series of mistakes has turned into a much celebrated part of the race. The first year, Brian Bariola of Benton won. One of the course marshals got confused on directions and turned the lead runners the wrong direction the course. Brian ran a half mile further than the rest of the participants. Since then, Brian has won the race each year and is a good sport about the whole thing. We made a whole wacky legend about it.”

According to Hampton, the biggest competition on race day is not winning the race, but for the “other” awards handed out. Competition categories in addition to the top three overall winners are: cleanest, dirtiest, best costume, best performance in the mud put – to mention just a few.

The registration fee is $25 before race day and $35 on race day. Registration is available online until 11:52 pm, October 23. Participants can also register in person from 10 am to 5 pm this Friday, October 24th at Little Rock City Hall, 500 W Markham, Room 108B1or on race day at Two Rivers Park from 7:28 am to 8:47 am.

For more information visit www.mudrun.org or call 371-4639.

The Mud Run is presented by Alltel Wireless and is also sponsored in part by KKPT 94.1, Comcast Cable, Ben E. Keith Foods, Magna4 Printing, Clear Mountain Water and LRtv.

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