Registrations are now open for Tasmania’s biggest mud run obstacle course event, the Rugged Race, which is set to return to Redbanks in Nugent on November 28.
Organisers are expecting a record turnout of around 1,600 participants.
The one-day event features a seven-kilometre course packed with more than 40 obstacles including a 50-metre water slide, rope climbs, monkey bars and mud trenches.
Shorter courses of three and a half kilometres are also available, along with junior runs for younger competitors.
Event organiser Isobel Healey said the race, now in its fifth year, has deep roots in Tasmania.
“Lots of Tasmanians often know about it from doing it in school as a kid,” she told Pulse.
“It started as an obstacle course for schools and then over the years we decided to build on it, we made it bigger, we added more obstacles and then we opened it up to the public for one day every single year.”
Last year the event drew 1,200 people to the course.
Healey said the race is about more than just running through mud, with a festival atmosphere built around the competition.
“We have food vendors, we have camping … so lots of people come the night before and they enjoy our bar and live music,” she said.
The first wave of the day is a timed elite heat that doubles as a national qualifier through Obstacle Australia.
Healey said the qualification pathway could ultimately lead competitors toward the Olympics.
“The next Olympics … will be their first year introducing obstacle course racing as a part of their pentathlon,” she said.
Most participants opt for the untimed fun runs, where walking, running or crawling are all encouraged.
A best dressed competition is a crowd favourite each year.
“The different costumes that people bring and the characters and just like the humour amongst it is one of the highlights of the event,” Healey said.
New obstacles are being built for the 2026 edition, though Healey said she was keeping the details under wraps for now.
