Mud Girl Run Held in Ottawa
On July 18 and 19, Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa hosted Mud Girl Run, an event that sent participants home with medals, vivid memories and mud-covered clothes. The roughly five-kilometre course featured more than 17 obstacles. Girls and women with different levels of experience took part: some ran ahead confidently, while others took their time and covered the course alongside friends.
I watched the event in person, and it was a family day for me as well. Among the participants were my sister Irina, her daughter Veronika and their friends. This was the second time Irina and Veronika had started the course together. I was especially glad to see their family tradition grow: friends joined them, and by the finish they had new stories they will likely share for a long time.
The event is untimed, and no one has to complete every obstacle. If a challenge feels too difficult, participants can go around it. That approach shapes the atmosphere: instead of chasing a result, women can move at their own pace and encourage one another. Those who run the course and those who walk it receive the same finisher’s medal.
For our group, the run also had a personal meaning. A close family friend is facing breast cancer, and Irina and Veronika dedicated their participation to her. “I want to show my daughter and my friends that they’re stronger than they think,” Irina told me. Veronika put the day more simply: it was fun, muddy and deeply important to both of them.
Supporting women affected by breast cancer is part of Mud Girl’s mission. According to the organizers, its community has donated more than CAD $779,000 to organizations working in this area since 2017. That work now continues in part through the Pink Army Foundation, which supports women during their illness.
Watching Irina and Veronika, I felt that the greatest reward here had little to do with speed. It was the chance to spend a day together, show support for someone dear to them and cross the finish line smiling—even while covered in mud.
Yuri Natchetoi