When St. Albert resident Rob Deltombe’s grandmother succumbed to brain cancer over a decade ago he pledged to raise $1 million in support of cancer research over his lifetime.
“We were really close,” he said. “So many people are affected by cancer, I just wanted to commit to doing something. I knew if I promised her, I would have to follow through.”
Deltombe shoveled driveways and hosted hole-in-one events, before he got busy with grad school and had to put his efforts on hold.
After finishing his chiropractic degree in Portland, Ore., he was asked to help plan a triathlon as a fundraiser for the Cross Cancer Institute. Deltombe recommended a mud run, which were becoming extremely popular, instead.
When the committee decided to stay the course, Deltombe took the idea and ran with it, creating the Down & Dirty 5km obstacle course.
In its fourth year, the event has been successful in raising $200,000. Deltombe hopes to beat previous years and reach $100,000 in donations this year.
“The potential is huge. As we get more polished, as we get more well-known, there’s no reason we can’t raise a million annually,” said Deltombe, who said his 200-person mud run surpasses the donations collected by the big players like Spartan.
While Down & Dirty offers many of the same obstacles as these large-scale races, it is one of the few local not-for-profit mud runs available.
The $50 registration fee covers the cost of putting on the race. Each registrant is required to raise a minimum of $100 in donations, which go directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
The five-kilometre course includes a 50-foot slip and slide down, a Vertical X-Freestyle Airbag, hills, lifting, dragging, climbing and crawling.
The race takes place at the Sunridge Ski Area in the River Valley on August 13. Registration closes August 1.
For more information visit Down & Dirty’s Facebook page or albertacancer.ca/downanddirty2016.
