By Kate Bartlett/Jonah Mann
Saturday, June 14 marks the annual Holiday Valley Mudslide, a trail run where participants can choose to race on either a 4.2-mile or a 6-mile course that has approximately15 obstacles to navigate. Participants are challenged to tackle the course, sliding down mud, slacklining over pits of mud, climbing through mud…you get the theme…no one finishes the course looking clean.
According to Dash Hegeman, Marketing Director at Holiday Valley, the mudslide event has been taking place at Holiday Valley for over a decade. “I believe it started around 2012 and it began when much more “extreme” mud runs were very popular,” says Dash. “Holiday Valley wanted to offer something that wasn’t so aggressive, where families and friends could come together to have a good time, stoke the competitive spirit a bit, and get really muddy! Over the years the course has been changed enough to keep things fresh for returning competitors. New features have been added and old ones retired. But the goal of the event has always been to make sure people are having fun and making great memories.”
June 14 from 8:30am-3:30pm. The mudslide event has been
taking place at Holiday Valley for over a decade. Over the
years the course has been changed enough to keep things
fresh for returning competitors.
The 2025 Holiday Valley Mudslide will take place on Saturday, June 14 from 8:30am-3:30pm. The 6-mile long course kicks off at 9:15am, with the 4.2-mile short course starting at 10:30am. Food service begins at 10am and beer tasting on the sun deck starts at 11am. Awards will be presented at 1pm.
The kids race kicks off at 1:15pm, with staggered start times for different age groups ranging from 10-years to 5-years and under.
Competitors are treated to food and drinks upon finishing their run but the Holiday Valley Food & Beverage team will be on-site to sell food to spectators. 42 North Brewery and Ellicottville Brewing Co. will also be at Yodeler to sample beer options for the 21+ crowd. “It really is a great day that is all about bringing people together to have fun and make long lasting memories,” says Dash.
Holiday Valley has worked to make this an event for everyone. The kid’s version of the Mudslide takes place at a course set up around the base area of Yodeler, which is great for kids who aren’t old enough to do the 4.2-mile course. “It’s a riot and parents can watch their kids the entire time they are racing,” says Dash.
New features this year include a slight reroute of the long course in order to add a new challenge. “There’s also a new feature that every competitor will have to navigate right before they make their way up the lower part of Yodeler to slide down the mudslide obstacle to get to the finish line,” says Dash, also adding an element of surprise to the race.
The Mudslide has been considered Holiday Valley’s ‘unofficial kickoff of the summer event season’ and is a great time for both participants and spectators alike. “The Mudslide is always a fun event because of the variety of people who come to participate,” says Dash. “Runners are a very wide range of ages, and they come from all over Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Canada. Some come for just the event, and others make a weekend out of it with our Mudslide Lodging Package, which allows them to stick around and experience all the great things that Ellicottville has to offer during the summer months.”
Dash stated that it’s the people that make this event one-of-a-kind. “It’s great to see such a diverse group of people for this event,” says Dash. “Some are our dedicated skiers and snowboarders, but others are experiencing Holiday Valley for the first time ever, which is always fun to see. Having such a wide range of people gather to encourage each other to do their best and to complete the run makes for an incredible event. It’s definitely one that I’d encourage everyone to experience. Plus, the prizes that we give out to the winners are handcrafted, one of a kind, trophies that people always enjoy winning.”
For more information visit holidayvalley.com and follow @holidayvalley on social media for updates. Prices increase after June 8th, and registration closes on June 13.