GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Last Saturday’s Seamark Ranch’s MudRun turned into a filthy mess.

And a huge success.

Nearly 1,100 runners certainly helped laundrymats and clothes soap companies – all while supporting the nonprofit raise almost $175,000 to help it provide a safe home for children struggling with a family crisis caused by loss, grief and trauma and learn the tools for a brighter future.

“It was phenomenal,” said Seamark Ceo Greg Voss. “Last year, we had about 1,020 people. This year, it was closer to 1,050 to 1,000. We are catching enough steam, we have to start thinking about how we can accommodate more people. It’s a huge event.”

And very dirty.

For the 10th year, runners faced a five-kilometer obstacle course that included wading through lakes, climbing walls, sliding into pools of water, running through woods and crawling through a long maudlin of mud.

“We refer to the mud at the finish line ‘Shawshank Redemption.’ It’s named after the character who crawled through sewage in the movie – Andy Dufresne.”

The mud pit was so thick and sticky that many runners lost their shoes. Others discarded their shoes on the trail or around the ranch after they realized soap and water would never get them clean again.

“We always tell people to buy a cheap pair of tennis shoes because you won’t be able to wear them again,” Voss said.

Voss said a backhoe needed to dig shoes out of the finish line. He said when volunteers set up the course next year, they will find shoes throughout the course left from previous runs.

“It’s a tennis shoe graveyard out there,” Voss said.

The MudRun plays a vital role in the future for many deserving children. It provides a Christian-based home, schooling, counseling, life-skill, and job-skill training to those requiring out-of-home care.

One of the most popular spots was the community shower 50 yards from the finish line. Runners stood five deep to get a spot to wash black mud from their eyes and ears. Others who couldn’t wait jumped into a ditch filled with runoff water from the showers or into the giant lake at the starting line.

The grime was a perfect distraction from the physical challenges of the obstacle course. It also was the best way to remember one of the county’s dirtiest – and most successful – fundraising events.