Plucky competitors prepare to take on mud race

Q: What is the Maldon Mud Race?

The Maldon Mud Race is an event where competitors run, walk, and crawl through a muddy riverbed, specifically a 440m stretch of the River Blackwater.

Q: When does the Maldon Mud Race take place?

The Maldon Mud Race is scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Q: What should participants expect during the Maldon Mud Race?

Participants can expect to emerge bedraggled and may even lose some items of clothing while navigating the muddy course.

People in fancy dress and none taking part in the Maldon Mud Race, across the River Chelmer, fighting and crawling their way to the finish line

Many people find themselves crawling across the finish line [Chris Radburn/BBC]

Hundreds of plucky competitors are bracing themselves to run, walk and crawl through a boggy riverbed.

They will be rushing across a 440m (1,443ft) stretch of the River Blackwater in the Maldon Mud Race on Sunday.

Chairman Brian Farrington warned participants they could emerge "bedraggled" and perhaps even missing some items of clothing.

"They think it's going to be easy - but no," he told Sonia Watson on BBC Essex.

The river temperature is expected to be about 8C when the race, which raised £30,000 for charity in 2025, begins at 14:30 BST.

While the event is usually taken on by the public, a second "Uber Fit Challenge Race" will follow it for the first time in 2026.

Sonia Watson and Ben Fryer crawling through deep mud while wearing Where's Wally outfits, with red and white striped tops and hats.

BBC Essex presenters Sonia Watson and Ben Fryer braved the bog in 2023 [PA Media]

Farrington said: "Some people are very brave, and they don't wear a lot, but some dress for the part, and it's great to see.

"They're a bit bedraggled when they come off because half of them have lost their costumes."

Mud, sweat and tears - what is the Maldon Mud Race?

The race was born out of a dare made to the landlord of the Queen's Head pub in 1973, who had to serve a meal on a strip of land in the river at low tide.

Such was the excitement about the antics that similar activities were planned annually and eventually became the modern version of the race.

Harriet Hemmings wearing orange, red and white jockey silks in front of the London skyline.

Harriet Hemmings is returning to take on the mud race in 2026 [Supplied]

Among its alumni is Harriet Hemmings, who took part in 2025 and is returning for 2026.

She said: "A lot of people said before I did it that it was such a tough thing to do, and I thought, 'You're just running through mud, how hard can it be?'

"But, actually, it is a challenge. I was nearly fainting by the end."

Hemmings, from Chelmsford, said training for the race had also helped rehabilitate her from a broken back in 2019.

She added: "It motivates you to get in the gym, get fit and get strong, so it has benefitted me through my recovery and has been brilliant."

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