Thousands of people across Manitoba flocked to Grunthal this past weekend to get covered in mud at the, now annual, Mud Hero event.

The Mud Hero is a 6-10 kilometer race of tightropes, climbing walls, mudslides, and belly crawls, all with the single intent of getting contestants muddy from head to toe.

One chief event organizer, Ted McLeod explains why they moved from Hilltop Resort, in Grand Marais, to Grunthal Centennial Park this year. "It's always a good idea to change things up, so we decided to move to Southern Manitoba. We've been super happy with the community, it's been great, and we just love working with everybody around here."

McLeod notes that the Grunthal placement of this year's event has drawn more people from the smaller communities around Southeastern Manitoba than they have seen in the past. Though McLeod adds, the event is not exclusively for Manitoba residents as participants from Ontario, Alberta, and Nunavut could also be found at the event. In total, McLeod states, The Mud Hero attracted between five and six thousand people to either run the race or to enjoy watching people get muddy.

Describing why they do what they do McLoed says, "Honestly, there’s a ton of smiling faces, everybody is happy enjoying the outdoors, and that’s what we aspire to do here at Mud Hero: get people outside, get them a little out of their comfort zone, and get them to have fun with family and friends".

"It takes about a week to set everything up," says McLeod, "and it usually takes us about three days to take it all down and move to our next stop". The Mud Hero is based out of Ontario, but has events in Manitoba, Alberta, and Nova Scotia as well.

McLeod suggests that Grunthal and the people of Southeastern Manitoba have been more than welcoming and he looks forward to hosting more events there in future years.