Tough Mudder event next August
Winston Farm is known for being home to the Woodstock ‘94 concert and the more recent Hudson Project music and arts festival, but it’s also known locally for the mud that plagued both events.
Now that plague could become a boon for the local community.
The Tough Mudder organization plans to host one of its obstacle course races at the farm next year and picked the site not only for its location, but also for the ability to make mud on the property, publicist Ethan Metelenis said Thursday.
“We don’t call it Tough Mudder for no reason,” Metelenis said.
The Tough Mudder will feature three different versions of its obstacle course, but all will feature mud, Metelenis said. He said the full Mudder would be a 10-mile race with 20 obstacles, while the half Mudder is a 5-mile version of the course. There is also a “Mini Mudder” for children between the ages of 7 and 12 that is a quarter-mile course that participants will loop four times for a total of one mile, Metelenis said.
“It’s basically got mini versions of some of our bigger and badder obstacles that are our fan favorites,” Metelenis said.
The races are set to be held the weekend of Aug. 18-19 and tickets already are on sale online at https:// toughmudder.com.
And while tickets are on sale, Metelenis said the Tough Mudder’s venues team, as well as its operations teams, are still working on finalizing all the permits and necessary paperwork to hold the event. He said the teams have been in touch with town officials and other stakeholders to discuss the event, which could draw 8,000 to 12,000 participants along with another 1,000 spectators.
Metelenis said the operations and construction teams will visit the race site six to seven months before the event to check the lay of the land and determine where to build their obstacle courses. They’ll then work with the property owners to build their trails or use ones already in existence, he said. Metelenis said the teams will also meet with local stakeholders, such as police and fire departments, to make sure everyone involved has everything they need before going into the event weekend.
Town Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel said the teams had reached out to the municipality. He said he told them that in addition to speaking with town officials, they should
also reach out to the Ulster County Department of Health.
Helmsoortel said the groups would speak more about the necessary permits and approvals, but he would be supportive of the Tough Mudder event being held in Saugerties.
“It sounds like fun,” Helsmoortel said, though he “certainly wouldn’t enter it.”
In addition to the obstacle courses, there will be a base area with vendors featuring food, drink and other items for sale, Metelenis said. He said some of the vendors would be the Tough Mudder’s national partners, like Guinness, but the event would feature locals as well. Metelenis said the organization likes to support local purveyors and benefit the community.
Metelenis said Tough Mudder is very excited to bring its race to the Hudson Valley area because it is close to the organization’s base in New York City, but also within a reasonable distance from other major metropolitan areas.
“We felt that it was one of the perfect spots to have another event in the Northeast,” Metelenis said. He said Winston Farm is right off the state Thruway and close to “downtown” Saugerties.
The Tough Mudder would be the first major event at the Winston Farm since the Hudson Project music and arts festival in 2014. The Hudson Project began July 11, 2014, and had a lineup of more than 85 musical acts. It was expected to run past midnight on July 13, but the show was suspended and eventually canceled early that evening due to stormy weather.
The cancellation left festival attendees unable to see several performers, including Sunday night headliner Bassnectar. It also led to the festival earning the nicknames “The Mudson Project” and “The Floodson Project.”
The day after the festival, hundreds of cars had to be dragged out of the mud in the parking area at the Winston Farm.
The Woodstock ‘94 concert festival also had its share of mud. That threeday event drew 350,000 people and was marred by heavy rain, but it went on uninterrupted. That show came to be known as “Mudstock.”