Mud is the star attraction at Trask Mountain Assault, Ultimook

By Doug Binder, Dyestat editor

Portland's Nike Cross Nationals course may have been criticized (justifiably) for its sloppy, muddy conditions last December. 

But there are early season meets in Oregon when it's perfectly sunny outside -- big ones even -- where the runners get just as muddy. On purpose. 

Last Saturday, two such meets took place. The Trask Mountain Assault, hosted by McMinnville High School on a piece of land in the wooded Coast Range, is a meet where 16 high schools gathered and ran through two man-made mud holes, made multiple creek crossings and had one serious climb.

The photo at left shows McMinnville senior Nic McDaniel. He was leading the race (and went on to win), but this was his experience in the mud pit.  

Also Saturaday, a few miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and the small town of Tillamook, Ore. there was a meet called Ultimook. Organized on a cross country runner's paradise developed by former Tillamook state champion Pat Zweifel, Ultimook is quickly becoming one of the state's most popular meets with about 50 high schools attending this year. (And mud-splattered meet still to come is the Three Course Challenge in Seaside). 

Again, muddy water almost waist deep was one of the features of the course. Crowds gathered on the perimeter of the muddy ditches to cheer, laugh and snap photos.

Coaches sometimes favor an early season adventure-type race for the experience of something new, different, and fun. The competition is real, but the distance of the course and the time on the clock is secondary. Meets like the Trask Mountain Assault and Ultimook are an attaction and fun day that help counter-balance the day-to-day grind.

The photos pretty much speak for themselves. 

To view many more photos (like the one at right) from the Ultimook Race, go to the Facebook page for the event. New photos are going up daily.