WATERVILLE — Bonnie Baker lined up with her teammates Sunday morning and waited for the Dirty Dog Mud Run announcer to shout out the start of the 5K event.

Team members in orange and white T-shirts bearing the team name “Yeah, But Did You Die?” came to Thomas College in Waterville from towns including Norridgewock, Boothbay Harbor and Caratunk. Some, like Baker, had run the race previously during its seven-year history.

“The mud’s fun-ish,” Baker, 46, of Skowhegan, said. “Type 2 fun.”

Baker, who works as chief of training and certification for the Property Tax Division at Maine Revenue Services, was ready when event announcer Eric Cobb counted down the seconds.

“Ten, five, four, three, two, one — off you go?”  said Cobb, owner of Back 40 Events of New Gloucester.

The group ran for the next hour all over the Thomas campus, slogging through mud pits, clamoring over walls and sawhorses, crawling on muddy stretches and being sprayed with water.

Racers splash through muddy water Sunday during the Dirty Dog Mud Run 5K obstacle race at Thomas College in Waterville. More than 600 competitors registered for the event. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Every 10 minutes, another group of about 50 runners would follow, running through the obstacles and the woods, trails and fields of the campus along West River Road. Nearly 700 people of all ages and from across Maine and beyond signed up for the race, which is about 3 miles.

Race director Jim Delorie said the time-based event is all about having fun. If participants wanted to skip some obstacles, they were welcome to do that.

“That’s the idea for today — everybody have fun, enjoy themselves,” said Delorie, Thomas’ assistant vice president of residential life and student engagement. “Not be super strict.”

A competitor crawls through the mud Sunday during the Dirty Dog Mud Run 5K obstacle race at Thomas College in Waterville. More than 600 competitors registered for the event. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Hundreds of friends and family members turned out for the run, which began on the old Thomas soccer field, next to the baseball field. It was cloudy and a cool 49 degrees Sunday.

The overall event was sponsored by Central Maine Motors Auto Group, while Lakeside Landscape sponsored the Mud Pup run for children. The businesses joined together to form a team.

Tehran Randlett and his daughter, Indianna, 1, were standing near the obstacle course Sunday, watching the action. He said they were there with his wife, Chelsie, who was competing, and Indianna was enjoying watching her mother take part in the event.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said.

As the runners trickled to the finish line, they faced one last hurdle — climbing over huge, round hay bales.

Baker and her team, muddied and panting, helped one another over the bales and then ran under a large arch, before being handed ribbons attached to medals shaped like dog bones. Baker said the run went well.

“I didn’t die,” she said, smiling. “It is a lot of fun. Lots of mud, lots of climbing walls.”

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