The Word of the Day? Mud. What is mud?

AUBURN, N.Y. - July 28, 2014 - PRLog -- ? That slippery, slimy goop that squishes between your toes as you walk barefoot through the grass, cooling your feet on a hot summer's day? That sticky, sludgy mixture that worms and insects call home and acts as the main ingredient for children's pies? That smelly, squishy ooze of a substance that hovers somewhere between solid and liquid, redefining the states of matter?

Yes to all of the above, but what IS mud? How does one define this mysterious, messy muck that manages to delight kids and exasperate their laundry-doing mothers? Merriam-Webster calls it "a slimy, sticky mixture of solid material with a liquid and especially water." The Oxford English Dictionary dresses it up a bit, describing it a "soft, moist, glutinous material resulting from the mixing of water with soil, sand, dust, or other earthy matter; mire, sludge."

And that's just the literal definition of the word. When presidential hopefuls sling mud at each other, they're (usually) just exchanging insults, though the fallout is generally enough to make them wish they had just thrown actual mud in the first place. When a company's name or reputation is dragged through the mud, chances are some sudsy water and a sponge won't be enough to restore it.

But here at the Finger Lakes Mud Run, mud takes on a whole new meaning. Mud is our modus operandi; our purpose, our reason for getting up in the morning. In fact, this muddy way of life has spawned a plethora of new terms that those dictionaries might not yet have on file. Mud runners, or "mudders," are those brave souls who trudge through the gunk and tackle the obstacles in hopes of reaching the finish line (mostly) intact. They proudly claim this title and wear it like a badge of honor. They embrace the mud—literally—in all of its goopy glory. They're often wearing "mud run gear" specifically designed to help them overcome challenging obstacles in the grimiest of conditions, right down to the "mud run footwear" that lets them tackle a "mud run course" head on.

Here at the Finger Lakes Mud Run, we know what mud is. In fact, we're redefining the word, so it fully captures all aspects of a mud run: the fun, the laughter, the joy at rediscovering mud and all of its grimy, gritty goodness. We're scrubbing the term of all its dirty connotations, and though we can't promise a squeaky clean experience, we can guarantee a good time with great people looking to get dirty. Visit www.fingerlakesmudrun.com to register for the September 27 event, or visit our Facebook page for more information. As we say at the Finger Lakes Mud Run, the more, the muddier™!