With registration for Tough Mudder open for a little over a month, registrations are on pace for the September event.
Drumheller Festival Society President Ryan Semchuck said Tough Mudder has confirmed
just over 3,500 people registered to date.
He said all the registrations are online and paid to the Tough Mudder so they’re guaranteed participants.
“We’re still looking at our original projections of seven to eight thousand participants,” said Semchuck.
Nick Cogger, General Manager for Tough Mudder Canada provided the numbers when he was here with the group’s marketing manger last week, touring the community and meeting all the local partners, Semchuk said.
Their tour was from one end of the valley to the other, starting at Dorothy, and going out to Horsethief Canyon.
The two Tough Mudder executives had not been here before, and were impressed by both the beauty of the landscape and outlook of the citizens.
“They completely fell in love with the scenery, loved the people, and are really looking forward to working with Drumheller to make this a success,” said Semchuck.
They’ll be reviewing the event after with an eye towards future events
He said if the first year is a success, the Festival Society is looking at a five-year commitment with Tough Mudder for Drumheller.
“Our hopes are that we put on a good show, that everyone loves Drumheller, that we can entice people to come back to our community and continue to check out the event year after year.”
Semchuk explains one of the concerns facing the event is availability of accommodations.
However, he notes the Tough Mudder crew coming to the event are the outdoor and adventurous type, so the Festival Society will be looking at using not just the hotels, but the area bed and breakfasts and campgrounds.
“We do have lots of campgrounds in the area, not just in the valley but the surrounding area, such as the Morrin Bridge campground, (and) out in some of the regional areas and out in the surrounding counties as well.”
Semchuk said they’re aiming to create a centralized location where attendees could look after the booking of their own accommodations when they arrive in Drumheller.
The Tough Mudder course surveying and design team are going to be out here in the next week or two, surveying the site and getting an idea of what they want to do for the obstacles, and how they’re going to build the site.
The Tough Mudder obstacle challenge is scheduled for September 6 and 7, at the Drumeheller Stampede Grounds.
Visit the Tough Mudder website at www.toughmudder.com.
