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Local Voices

Permanent Mud Run To Donate Race Shoes To Non-Profit

The Battlegrounds at Cedar Lake's mud run will once again work with Barrel Aid for its upcoming fourth bi-annual mud run race on Sat., May 3 beginning at 8 a.m. Barrel Aid partners with the non-profit Mission-Haiti.org to supply clean shoes, fresh water, food and schooling for more than 1,600 unserved children in Southern Haiti.

Barrel Aid attends mud races from around the country and collects donated shoes, which are laundered and transported in barrels to Mission Haiti in Ti-Rivier. After the shoes have been distributed, Barrel Aid's barrels are fitted with an easy-to-use gutter in order to capture clean rain water for drinking and cooking.

Last year Barrel Aid collected more than 50% of participants' shoes from The Battleground's mud run. Organization president Nic Zahasky said they typically collect a third of the runners' shoes at other mud run events. Barrel Aid donates all of the broken and unusuable shoes to TerraCycle, which refurbishes them for people in the U.S. For every 25 pounds of recycled shoes they receive from Barrel Aid, 10¢ is donated to Mission Haiti.

The Battlegrounds at Cedar Lake, the Midwest's only permanent mud run and obstacle course, will hold its five-mile mud run that features more than 30 military-themed obstacles at 950 State Highway 00 in Wright City, Mo. next to Cedar Lake Cellars Winery and Event Center. The Barrel Aid's big blue barrels will be located at the end of the mud run for those interested in donating their shoes. Proceeds from the mud run and a post-race silent auction will benefit The Mission Continues, a national non-profit organization based in St. Louis that engages veterans transitioning out of the military into community service leadership at home.

For more information, contact Nic Zahasky at (563) 419-7465 or visit www.barrelaid.com. For mud run details, call Bob Holm at (314) 569-3005 or visit the website at www.thebattlegrounds.com.

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