Southern Miss Recreational Sports Gets 'Dirty' as Part of Dash and Bash Mud Run

Imagine swimming 300 yards, then treking through a sloppy mud pit followed by a 5K run through The University of Southern Mississippi campus, and finally slithering across a slip n' slide finish line, all while wearing some sort of wacky costume.

That's exactly what more than 50 participants did recently in the Southern Miss Recreational Sports Dash and Bash Mud Run. While some took on the mud run, many others joined in for the bash. Live music was provided by Freddie Kippes and Tyler Allen, plus the group Mississippi Shakedown. Food and drinks were catered by Aramark and Hattiesburg Coca-Cola^TM.

“The spirit of the participants made the race part exciting, and it was nice to have members of the Hattiesburg community as well as the campus community participate,” said Dr. Susan Bone, assistant director of Wellness at the Southern Miss Payne Center. “We are very pleased with the turnout of this first mud run.”

Dash and Bash Mud Run Winners:

·   Category 1 – ages 13 & Under: Male – Matthew Garcia; Female – Janevy Stricker

·   Category 2 – ages 14 to 19: Male – Anthony Stricker; Female – Ann Marie Chilcutt

·   Category 3 – ages 20 to 29: Male – John Grenn & Eric Presley; Female – Keilah Hopkins

·   Category 4 – ages 30 to 39: Male – Jason Wheat; Female: Kelly Hill

·   Category 5 – ages 40 to 49: Male – Rick Youngblood; Female – Lara Youngblood

·   Category 6 – ages 50 to 59: Male – No Winner; Female: Candy Voss

·   Best Costume: Jennifer Pecora  as “The Joker”

“We had fun at the Dash and Bash. The food was great, and I liked the live music,” explained Rick Youngblood, Category 5 winner. “They have a great foundation on which to build a really cool race.”