Pretty Muddy 5K Chicago -- My Daily Find Chicago

By Lacy J. Hansen for DietsInReview.com

Ladies, are you in need of a girls night, but tired of the same ‘ole gabbing over drinks or catching a flick? Are you really needing to blow off some steam and don’t mind getting a little dirty? If you answered yes to any of those questions, get ready for Pretty Muddy, a 5k-obstacle course mud run for any woman who wants to get outside, spend time with friends and have fun.

This new women’s only 5K adventure race debuts Saturday, September 15 in the fair city of Chicago. The vision for this race came when two husbands noticed how hard their wives worked and how they and all women, really need a great way to enjoy themselves. On September 15, Chicago will play host to the inaugural Pretty Muddy race.

It’s not like any race you’ve ever heard of, or run, before. All abilities are welcome. There are not timing clocks or rules, other than to have fun. If participants don’t want to take on an obstacle, they don’t have to. If they want to repeat an obstacle, that’s encouraged, too. The course is open for ladies to take as long as they want and to soak up all the fun they need.

Chicago is the lucky pick for the first race in the series and president of Pretty Muddy Events, Kevin Scharnek, explained why.

“Pretty Muddy chose Chicago as our first event because it’s right in our backyard and one of the places the founder’s wives went to get away for ladies night. Both reside in Wisconsin, so what better place for a ladies night out than in the Windy City.”

Scharnek told us they saw a tremendous opportunity in the Chicago area, and plan to take over a space in Orland Park, just 25 miles southwest of the city. The venue offers more than 250 acres of private land that will be transformed in to Pretty Muddy and they are sure the runners will love.

Each Pretty Muddy race will partner with a local charity in each of the six scheduled host cities for 2012. This race has partnered with Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, one of the leading partnering pediatric hospitals in the nation.

Scharnek explained how they choose their charities and how runners can contribute to other charities through the race.

“In each market where we are hosting events, we believe it’s critical to identify like-minded charitable partners that believe in the spirit of Pretty Muddy,” Scharnek told us. “Our team carefully looks at local charities to make sure our participants would embrace them and their missions. Our approach is two fold: In each market we identify a Pretty Preferred Partner, and participants in the event can designate $5 of their race registration to Luries if they choose. But with Pretty Muddy, they can also support any organization they have a personal passion for using the Pretty Muddy Charitable Partners program. If you do nothing at all, a portion of their proceeds will go to Luries.”

The Pretty Muddy name will be popping up in many places around town as the race draws near, not to mention around the country as the race prepares to also visit Columbus, New York City, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami. Have you heard enough? Ready to get Pretty Muddy? There’s still time to register!

“Rain or shine, it will be an experience unlike anything you’ve ever had, we promise you that,” said Scharnek. “We hope people across the Midwest come out and join us. We have folks on buses from Wisconsin and Indiana coming up, and we expect more than 4,000 ladies out on September 15.”