The N.Y. & N.J. Mudderella women's mud run event drew thousands of participants to Raceway Park. Watch video
OLD BRIDGE - There's getting "down and dirty" and then there's Mudderella, which takes that to an entirely different level.
The 2016 N.Y. & N.J. Mudderella women's mud run event drew thousands of participants to Raceway Park on Saturday.
The women, as well as a lot of male participants, challenged themselves by conquering the more than five-to-seven mile obstacle course, which featured obstacles ranging from pools of muddy water to leaps from a 10-foot high platform onto an inflatable landing area.
"We had so much fun helping each other and falling into the mud, and we just kept laughing because everyone kept getting hit in the face with mud," said Courtney Branen, of Holmdel.
Branen took on Mudderella with a group of friends for the first time on Saturday.
"I'm turning 25 on Tuesday so I figured we should do something that none of us have never really done before and it was awesome," she said. "We're already planning to do it again."
Mudderella partners with Futures Without Violence, with all proceeds raised by participants going to support the charity's mission to protect women against domestic and sexual violence.
Staten Island resident Nancy Scarfone conquered the muddy obstacle course with a group of friends for the second-straight year.
The friends called themselves "Mike's Filthy Angels" because they took part in the run in memory of a friend, Mike Vesci, who died from lung cancer last year.
"He said that if he beat the cancer, we all had to do something really crazy. And we all figured that we'd still do this crazy run for him," Scarfone said. "It's a tradition now, so we'll be doing it every year."
The secret to conquering the Mudderella course is a simple one, Scarfone said.
"It's all about teamwork," she said. "Helping people on your own team and people on other teams get through the muddy water, up the hills and over the walls. You're helping people you don't even know, and they're helping you."
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.