Ignition 5

Mud is good.

Well, it was muddy – incredibly muddy.  There were all different kinds of mud.  There was the shin deep mud that pulls your runners off your feet.  There was the slippy mud you kind of skate on.  There was watery mud – up to your waist at points, that you waded through.  There was grassy looking mud that you thought was grassy enough to be safe, but wasn’t and you went flying.  There was mud that looked like it had broken glass in it, but it was just muddy ice.

Last Saturday I participated in Ireland’s first ever ‘Mud Run’.  It was in aid of MS Ireland and each runner had to raise a minimum of €150 to take part.  Probably about 500 people turned up and ran on the day – it was out in Mondello Park.  There’s an off-road tank track there and they marked out a running route through it.  It was a lovely morning, cold, but bright.  My running mate had flaked out, so I was on my own, but actually you couldn’t really be on your own there, because there was great banter and fun and helping each other out as you fell.

The event raised about €75,000 for MS Ireland and it was also sponsored by Persil – and that’s where it’s a bit interesting from a marketing point of view.  What a nice fit for Persil.  Not too big, not too clever, but some lovely touches.  They had a giant clothes line at the finishing line.  And when you finished you got a goodie bag including a sample of Persil Naturals.  Of course what do you do when you go home, only chuck your gear in the wash?  The facebook page for the event had about 800 fans, there’s photos and video up already – I found myself at 1:35 here: .  Not to mention all the online talk and content outside of the official pages.  Already the runners are talking online about next year.

Between the ideal sampling opportunity (proper old-school marketing), the on-course branding, the online presence and the good cause, it worked out pretty well for Persil.  Sure, there are probably things they could have done better – but that’s something they can start working on for next year.

In the meantime, Dirt really is good.

John Clancy