National MS Society Welcomes Mud-Lovers to 2018 MuckFest MS

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is inviting all mud-lovers to Saturday’s kickoff of MuckFest MS in Boston, Massachusetts, which raises money and awareness for multiple sclerosis (MS).

The event includes a 5K “mud run” with “outrageous obstacles and a whole lot of mud” that definitely will make you sore “from smiling and laughing,” the society says on its website,

This year’s locations for MuckFest MS events are:

• Boston, May 19
• Philadelphia, June 9, 10
• New Jersey, July 21
• Detroit, August 4
• Chicago, August 25
• Denver, September 15
• Dallas, September 29

Online registration for the MuckFest Boston event on Saturday is now closed. The event will take place at the Willard Athletic Complex in Antietam St. & Sherman Ave. For all the other MuckFests, participants can still register online here.

Credit: National MS Society

Tickets have a fixed rate of $105 plus processing fees on the day of the event. Tickets bought in advance are less that full price. Depending on location, the muddy challenges may change.

The first wave/start time at the MuckFest Boston is at 9 a.m. From then, new runs will start approximately every 20 minutes until 4 p.m. Final wave time depends on the total number of registered participants and is subject to change.

MuckFest MS also will have lots of music to mix with the mud, and initiatives to help participants warm up with some unorthodox routines like Mucky Pilates or Dirty Yoga before each wave.

Among all the fun and games, the MuckFest has an underlying serious mission and is making a difference. To date, MuckFest MS runners and volunteers have raised more than $28 million to support the life-changing work of the National MS Society and advance cutting-edge research.

MuckFest Boston’s 2018 goal is to raise $630,000. So far, the amount raised is $598,623. (Donations can be made here.)

“MuckFest MS is symbolic. As we overcome the obstacles out on the course, those same obstacles can also inspire us to get back up and keep moving forward,” Betty Ross, the National MS Society’s vice president of Walk MS and Emerging Events, said in 2016 about this initiative.

A blog by past Muckfesters, offering ideas and suggestions, is available on this link. MuckFest MS is also on Facebook and Instagram.