Volume 10, Issue 23, Week of June 10, 2013
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
Dirty&Down Participants will get dirty during the mud run on July 13 (Photo by Kelly Morton)
Dirty Donkey Run a new United Way fundraiser
T
Joelle Tomlinson Saskatoon Express
he Dirty Donkey Obstacle Mud Run is not for the faint of heart. The five-kilometre race is not your typical 30-minute run — it includes mud pits, swinging ropes and specially designed obstacles the entire way through. This year, it is coming to Saskatoon for the first time. “Not only is it fun, because you actually have permission now to get dirty — you’re old now, your parents can’t tell you what to do — but we encourage participation because of the social aspect as well,” said organizer John Ford. “There’s also that
personal goal and that personal challenge aspect of it too. Never tell yourself you can’t do something; it’s just going to make you want to do it more.” Ford is a seasoned adventure racer in Winnipeg who started off with bodybuilding and personal training. While travelling around the country to attend the unique races, he and Rick Shone decided it was time for their city to have its own race. “I’ve been adventure racing for about 12 years,” said Ford. “Rick owns a wilderness store here in Winnipeg, and we decided to put on our own adventure race because nobody else was doing anything like it in Manitoba. We were going to all these other places to actually race, so
why not put on our own? Even though we would never get a chance to race in our own race, we thought everybody else would enjoy it.” They were right. The first Swamp Donkey Adventure Race in 2007 brought out 42 teams of three for the event. Since then, the event has grown substantially and is now the largest adventure race in North America. The longer race is the signature Swamp Donkey event; there is also the Ice Donkey in February and the five-kilometre race being held in both Winnipeg and Saskatoon. “The addition of Saskatoon was actually on the urging of our beer sponsor, Original 16 from Great West Breweries,” said Ford.
“At a meeting, they said it would be great in Saskatoon, so we thought ‘heck, why not?’ It was so successful in Winnipeg, why not bring it out to Saskatoon as well? That way it keeps that prairie homegrown feel as well.” The Dirty Donkey Run will be held at Blackstrap Provincial Park on July 13. Runners can choose from four different categories: The individual five kilometre, the team 5K, the individual KickASS and team KickASS. Ford encourages people of all fitness levels to try out the Dirty Donkey Run. Teams can be of unlimited sizes. Last year in Winnipeg, 1,200 runners of all abilities participated. (Continued on page 4)