Your First Mud Run logo — a family running together
Your First Mud Run
Children lying shoulder to shoulder in the mud pit, laughing, at Your First Mud Run

Since 2011 · Family obstacle events

The obstacle course your family runs together

One course. One muddy lap. Parents and kids take it on side by side—climbing, crawling, laughing, and helping each other all the way to the finish. No stopwatch. Just a story your family gets to tell afterward.

Find your event See the experience

no experience needed!

  • Course
    1.5–2 miles
  • Obstacles
    13 and up
  • Ages
    5 and up
  • Format
    Families together
  • Timing
    No clock

Real families · Real events · Since 2011

Parents and kids, same mud, same day

Not a kids’ race with the grown-ups watching from a folding chair. Every course is built so your whole family goes through it together — and comes out the other side with a story that belongs to all of you.

Parents and children finishing the course together
A dad, mom and two kids in matching Your First Mud Run shirts, covered in mud
Three girls celebrating with medals at the start/finish banner
A family of four with their finisher medals

Our mission

Stronger families. Muddier memories.

To bring families and friends together through affordable, welcoming obstacle-course mud runs that inspire movement, teamwork, confidence, and lasting memories.

Multiple generations of one family tackling an obstacle together at Your First Mud Run
YFMR

What is Your First Mud Run

Not a race your family watches you finish

Most obstacle events are built around one person in the household. This one was designed from the beginning around the opposite idea — the whole family goes out on the course at the same time, and comes back covered in the same mud.

01

One course, everybody on it

Parents, children and whoever else you bring run the same lap together. Nobody is split into a separate lane and nobody is left holding the bags.

02

Built for first timers

A mile and a half to two miles, with obstacles designed to be completed by an adult and a child together. Walking the whole thing is a completely normal way to do this.

03

The family is the point

You are not here to post a time. You are here so that in ten years your children still bring up the morning you all came home filthy.

A dad and son high-fiving beside a mud-caked tube obstacle
Nobody remembers the finish time.
They remember who pulled them out.

The obstacles are the excuse. What families remember is who reached back, who cheered them on, and who was laughing beside them when they finally made it through.

Who actually runs it

Every shape of family
ends up on this course

There is no standard participant. Across a single wave you will find a six-year-old dragging a parent, a grandmother walking the whole lap, and three cousins who came as a team. All of them finish the same course.

Ages 5+
Kids

The youngest runners set the pace and usually reach the top of things before the adults do.

Any fitness
Moms

Often the one who signs the family up, and the one who swore beforehand she was only going to watch.

Any fitness
Dads

Discovers around obstacle four that a nine-year-old has better grip strength than he does.

Walk it
Grandparents

Walk the lap, skip what they want to skip, and take the photograph everybody keeps.

Teams welcome
Mixed groups

Cousins, blended families, neighbours, scout troops and school groups all enter together.

Before you worry about it

You do not need to be in shape for this

Whether you run every week or you're not sure you could touch your toes, this course doesn't check. It's built so a five-year-old and their out-of-practice parent cross the same finish line, at the same time, covered in the same mud. That's not the exception here — that's everyone.

A young participant carrying a tyre across the field on his own
An older participant crawling through the mud pit, laughing
A participant in a hijab crawling under a mud-caked tube obstacle, smiling
A father and son together at a tube obstacle
An older participant and a younger participant carrying tyres together, smiling
A participant on the course grounds with her dog

No qualifying time. No fitness test. No dress size, age, or background that doesn't belong here. And yes — even your dog can join the adventure.

Kids crawling together through the mud pit under a green tube obstacle

Illustrates the experience

The family experience

Children do not come home talking about the obstacles

They remember the parent who slipped in the mud. Who got to the top of the net first. Who reached back when somebody needed a hand. And the laugh at the finish when nobody looks remotely clean.

The obstacles become the setting. The family story is what goes home with you.

See how the day runs

Your day at the mud run · in chapters

The whole morning, start to finish

So you know exactly what you are signing your family up for. Arrival times, amenities and course details are published on each event page once they are confirmed for that location.

A family of three in matching Your First Mud Run shirts, smiling together before the race
01Chapter

Getting there

You arrive, park, and walk in carrying a bag of dry clothes and a family somewhere between excited and quietly nervous. Check in, collect your bibs, find your wave.

  • Arrive
  • Park
  • Check in
  • Bibs on
  • Bag drop
A participant celebrating at the start line under the inflatable start arch, with the rest of the wave charging out behind her
02Chapter

The start line

Your wave gathers, somebody counts you down, and the whole family goes over the line together. This is the last moment anybody is clean.

  • Line up
  • Countdown
  • First steps
  • First mud
A group crawling together under a green mud-caked tube obstacle
03Chapter

On the course

Climbing, crawling, wading and hauling each other upward. Children find the grip faster than adults do, and adults discover which obstacles they had quietly been worrying about.

  • Climb
  • Crawl
  • Wade
  • Help each other
  • Laugh
An extended family flexing and celebrating with medals under the Your First Mud Run finish arch, covered in mud
04Chapter

The finish

You come through the arch as a group, because by this point nobody wants to finish on their own. Medals, photographs, and a family that looks nothing like it did an hour earlier.

  • Finish together
  • Finisher medal
  • Family photo
An illustration of a family rinsing off together after the race, still laughing, in Your First Mud Run shirts
05Chapter

Cleaning up and heading home

Dry clothes out of the bag, everybody sitting down, and the retelling starting before you have reached the car. Clean-up facilities vary by venue and are listed on each event page.

  • Change
  • Sit down
  • Retell it
  • Drive home filthy

Family Film Challenge · Optional

Turn your mud run into a movie

Not extra homework — the highlight reel you'll actually rewatch. Five stops, one clip each, one story your family already lived. "On the course" doesn't need everyone in frame; one obstacle from anyone in your crew counts.

Under 10 seconds per clip Plus one family photo — at every stop below Then a Facebook post, an Instagram post and a Google review
  1. A family packing gear at home before the drive to the event
    1Home
  2. A family in the car, thumbs up, on the way to the event
    2Travelling
  3. A family arriving and checking in at the registration tent
    3Arrival
  4. A family crawling together through the mud on the course
    4On the course
  5. A family celebrating with medals under the finish arch
    5Finish line

Mystery freebie + a framed family photo

YFMR

Fifteen years

Fifteen years of families choosing the mud together

For fifteen years, Your First Mud Run has been bringing families onto obstacle courses together. Different venues. Different families. Same idea: get muddy together and leave with something worth remembering.

15
Years of events
5+
Youngest runners
13+
Obstacles per course
0
Qualifying times
KIT

Race day, made simple

We handle the essentials.
You bring the family.

Your registration covers the race-day basics. Pack a few simple things, bring a good attitude, and save your energy for the mud.

You're covered

Finisher's medalEvery runner, every age
Free pictures and videoShared with you after race day
Free parkingOn site at the field
Free bag checkStaffed all morning
No spectator feeBring the grandparents
No insurance feeThe price listed is the price paid

Just bring this

A great attitudeGenuinely the main requirement
Change of clothesOne full set per runner
Proper footwearNo cleats and no spikes
Cash or cardFor vendors and merchandise
Your confirmationOpen the email on your phone
Signed waiverSpare forms at the registration tent

See the experience

Fifteen years of families in the mud

A curated selection from the archive rather than a live social feed, so what you see here is chosen rather than whatever posted last.

A participant crawling through the mud under a tunnel obstacle, mid-splash
A child in a Your First Mud Run shirt playing in the festival foam pit
A kid climbing the rope toward the bell at the top of the rig
A family carrying tyres together, one parent carrying a child alongside
Three kids pushing a giant tyre together across the grass
A boy grinning while crawling through a tunnel obstacle

Explore Past Events →

YFMR

Tell us what your family wants

You help decide what
shows up at the next one

Already registered for Your First Mud Run? Tell us what would make your family's event experience even better.

Tell us what your family wants

Preference requests are available to registered YFMR families.

Please read: feedback helps guide event planning but does not guarantee specific vendors, food, activities, services, or amenities. Requests will be considered based on demand, venue feasibility, and event planning requirements.

Vendors, sponsors and partners

Get in front of a field
full of local families

Our participants are parents within roughly forty miles of the venue, spending a whole morning on site with their children. If that is your customer, there is a place for you at the event.

See sponsor & vendor packages ›

Find an event

Pick the one nearest you

Every event has its own page with its own date, venue, course information, confirmed amenities, confirmed vendors and FAQs. Details differ by location, so always check the page for the event you are entering.

Your First Mud Run — Ave Maria

Your First Mud Run — Ave Maria

Saturday, November 14, 2026
Ave Maria, FL

  • Ages5 and up
  • Distance1.5–2 miles
Race day in
–Days
–Hrs
–Min
–Sec
Families are already securing their spots Limited spots available Registration closes when event capacity is reached.
Register your family View full event details ›
Dates to be announced

Next event

Join the list and we will let you know as soon as the next location and date are confirmed.

Bring us to you

Host an event

Schools, charities and community organisations can partner with us to run an event locally.

Start a conversation
View all upcoming events ↗
YFMR

Before you enter

What families ask us first

These answers apply across all Your First Mud Run events. Anything specific to a venue lives on that event page.

Can my five-year-old really do this

Yes. The course and its obstacles are designed for adults and children to complete together, and children under twelve are registered alongside an adult who runs with them. Nothing on the course requires a child to be athletic.

Do we have to run the whole thing

No. There is no clock, no qualifying time and no cut-off. Walking the course from start to finish is a completely normal way to take part.

What do we need to bring

Old trainers you do not mind ruining, a full change of clothes for each person, and a towel. Leave cleats and spiked shoes at home. Anything venue-specific is listed on your event page.

How muddy does it get

Head to toe, and that is the point. Assume every item of clothing worn on the course is going home in a bag.

Can we bring people who are not running

Yes. Spectators are welcome at Your First Mud Run events and are not charged an entry fee. Only registered participants go onto the course itself.

What is included in the entry fee

Every registration includes a finisher's medal, free event photographs, free parking, free bag check and no insurance fee. Additional amenities vary by venue and are listed on each event page.

Your First Mud Run — It Started Here. William Mulder's transformation across the 2012, 2013 and 2014 events: mostly walked his first year, kept coming back, and dropped fifty-two pounds by 2014. Real families, real challenges, real change.

One family, three years

This could be your first year

William walked most of his first course. He came back, and kept coming back — and two years later, he ran the whole thing. You do not have to arrive ready. You just have to start.

  • No qualifying time
  • No clock
  • Walk any section
  • Skip any obstacle
  • Ages 5 and up

Start your story

Real moments · Real families · Since 2011

The photo library

Fifteen years of Your First Mud Run, unedited. Tap any photograph to open it full size and move through the archive.

Unedited · Posted publicly on Google

What families say

Not collected by us and not written for us. These are the reviews families left on Google after running one of our events.

Dawn Fields
Jan 2020
★★★★★

What an awesome event. I highly recommend it if you want a whole lot of fun and excitement for the family, or for you and your friends.

Adam Zajicek
Dec 2019
★★★★★

This is the event for children 5 and up to get away from their computers and tablets and have fun with the family. Good distance for beginners and great obstacles.

Clayton Van Alstine
Jan 2020
★★★★★

Brought my son and daughter three years running — Garret, Fair Lawn and Bethlehem, a different location each year.

Nancy Morrell
Dec 2018
★★★★★

Great fun as a family, plus entrance to the waterpark. Made for a great weekend — cannot wait for the next one.

Michael Teague
Nov 2020
★★★★★

I completed the run with all the obstacles. Felt good.

David Moreno
Dec 2018
★★★★★

It was my first mud run and I enjoyed it. It was challenging and I highly recommend it.

Meghan Lissner
Nov 2018
★★★★★

Great day and very organised. Lots of laughs and smiles.

Be part of the next chapter  →
A family crawling together under low wires through a mud pit, determined and covered in mud

One course · One family · One lap

Find the event nearest you

Every event is one course, one family at a time. Yours is out there — go find it.

Find your event See the experience