About 250 runners got knee-deep in Samish Bay mud. Aptly named the Low Tide Mud Run, the race spanned 250 yards and was held July 24, at Taylor Shellfish Farms in Bow.  

“Many runners say it was the hardest race they have ever run,” race coordinator Kate McDermott said.

The Mud Run was part of the Bivalve Bash put on by Taylor Shellfish Farms. The event also included crab races, an oyster shucking competition, an oyster shellcastle competition and food booths. Some of the proceeds from the Bivalve Bash are donated to the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance.

Max Crystal, a Western senior and Taylor Shellfish Farms employee, said he has looked forward to the race all year.

“As soon as Bill Taylor blows the horn, it all begins,” he said. “It’s a real mad dash as everyone tries to make it around the cones without face-planting.”

Jon Rowley and Bill Taylor are the brains behind the Bivalve Bash. They created the event in 2002, McDermott said.

“It’s a wonderful idea and a wonderful way to celebrate the bivalve,” McDermott said. “It also brings attention to the need for Skagit County to have clean water.”

In 2009, the fundraiser brought in $12,000.

Crystal said his favorite part about the Mud Run is the kids’ race, which is on a 100-yard course.

“The kids’ race is a lot funnier to watch because it’s so awkward,” Crystal said. “This one kid got stuck in the mud almost doing the splits and eventually his parents had to come pull him out.”

For some, the gold oyster shell medal every runner receives at the end is reward enough. But for the SCEA, knowing they will have the funding for community clean water education is the best prize of all.

Nicole Hopper, a Western alumna and Taylor Shellfish Farms employee, considered the run one of the hardest things she has ever done.

“It’s like running the hardest, shortest marathon ever, and by the time you’re done everyone’s covered from head to toe in mud,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I even got it in my lungs.”

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