Written by: M. A. Nyquist, Dauphin Herald Staff
The numbers are in and the Manitoba MudRun raised an astounding $76,000 for the community.
Organizer Kevin Steinbachs said final tallies show the recent event at Selo Ukraina raised over $42,000 for the Parkland Chapter of the MS Society of Canada and $30,000 for the Rotary Club of Dauphin.
An additional $4,000 was raised, to be divided among several service groups, for managing parking, the drop bag area and bartending.
Steinbachs was pleased to ensure an addition of $42,000 to the Parkland Chapter's budget.
"I think it takes a lot of pressure off their bike ride (RONA MS Bike Tour - Riding Mountain Challenge)," he said, explaining the local chapter of the MS Society builds its annual budget after the bike tour.
Robin Searle, manager of the Parkland chapter, was pleased much of the funds raised for the MS Society were from outreach communities, such as Flin Flon and The Pas.
And learning stories from people participating in the MudRun for the MS Society, was new for Steinbachs.
"People running because they know someone with MS," he explained.
"And then all the other stories about people whose lives have changed because they started training for this. Changing their sedentary, overweight lifestyle to eating better and exercising."
The Parkland Chapter fo the MS Society will be involved in the MudRun next year, Steinbachs said, as the two groups formed a two-year agreement.
Organizers chose the MS Society, he admitted, because Searle had a lot of experience with organizing a well-planned event for a large group of people.
"So that we had someone to help guide us through the little things you forget when you are dealing with lots of people," Steinbachs added.
The addition of $30,000 to the local Rotary Club's coffers doubles the service group's annual fund-raising revenue, Steinbachs pointed out, as the majority of Rotary fund-raising is generated from the annual Lobsterfest, book sales and Countryfest.
The extra funds gives the club the opportunity to support a big project in the community, he said.
"We're just deciding where the money is going, but it will all be designated for local projects," Steinbachs said, adding the group is considering recreation and leisure projects, to mirror how the money was raised.
Steinbachs anticipates a larger event next year, targetting 1,200 participants, compared to just over 600 this year.
He appreciated support from the community, with many businesses and groups eager to support the MudRun, though they may not have been familiar with the concept of the event.
"A lot of people just liked the idea of doing something to bring people to the area, doing something to get people active. And some people just like the fact that we were using the Selo site for something else," Steinbachs said, adding there were also staunch supporters of the MS Society or Rotary Club.
It is the nature of Dauphinites to support worthy projects, as well, he noted.
"Building our own comminity," Steinbachs affirmed.
Registration online or in person for the 2014 Manitoba MudRun on August 9 opens Feb. 1, 2014.
This article was reprinted with permission from The Dauphin Herald, Dauphin, Manitoba.