OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – Ace Adventure Resort is gearing up for its 2024 Gritty Chix Mud Run for a good cause.
They have 800 participating on Saturday and donate a percentage of their registration sales to the New River Conservancy.
“Gritty Chix is fun because the emphasis isn’t on timing and you know, just being the first to finish,” said assistant special events/wedding coordinator Jenny Varuska. “It’s just about camaraderie. It’s about having fun. We get prizes for best costumes and best team names, not for first finishers.”
After everybody’s checked in they have a high-energy pre-game Zumba workout, then everybody starts in waves every half hour after 11 am until 2 pm. The two courses have varying degrees of difficulty.
“You can do just the course, Moxie Mile. So you’ll start at the start line and basically drop right into the course,” Varuska said. “And then there’s the Tenacious Trail Five K. And that just takes you on a bit of a trail run and some extra obstacles.”
The event attracts all kinds of people.
“We have lots and lots of women, but also lots of men coming out and doing it. Families, friends,” said the assistant special events/wedding coordinator. “We have, like, fitness groups. We have groups of nurses and co-workers. You are encouraged to join the team, but it’s definitely not necessary.”
And then starting at 2 pm they have music on the stage.
“We’ll have a quick awards ceremony and then we have three other bands and all that music is free,” she said. “So anybody, even if you didn’t participate in the mud run — still come and hang out, listen to the music.”
You can still sign up the morning of or Friday night during early registration. Jenny says since Gritty Chix has collaborated with Ace Adventure they’ve raised almost $25,000 for various organizations.
“One of the really great things when we pair with these organizations is they bring us volunteers so they get to help with the event that’s gonna benefit them,” said Varuska.
“But it also helps us not having to pay staffing so we can donate more money into these groups.”
Because there’s such an emphasis on camaraderie…
“Nobody is, you know, stomping on somebody or trying to like get over the tires first. There’s always a hand to help pull you up,” she said people are encouraging you. “Your family is welcome to come and spectate. There’s all sorts of space along the course. So it’s a fun time. It’s just empowering.”
TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER:
https://aceraft.com/event/gritty-chix-mud-run-2/