Studer Community Institute

'Tough Mudder' event filling hotels in Milton this weekend

March 4, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ government

As many as 5,000 people are expected to converge on East Milton this Saturday, all leaving stained with the brown and red hues of Santa Rosa soil. But all that mud has hoteliers and other tourism officials seeing green. The Gulf Coast Tough Mudder, an obstacle course event coordinated as part of an annual series of similar endurance events around the country, is set for the Ates Ranch in East Milton. Julie Morgan, the director of the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council, said the Holiday Inn Express in East Milton is booked solid, with other hotels in Milton, Navarre, Navarre Beach and Pensacola also seeing business from the event. “This is a wonderful event that boosts the shoulder season in Santa Rosa County,” Morgan said. “We love new events like this that bring in tourists to our county that both the South and North ends of the county will be able to see the revenue impacts of.” The Tough Mudder website includes links to 10 local hotels and resort properties, ranging from the Comfort Inn & Suites in East Milton to the Hilton Garden Inn on Airport Boulevard in Pensacola. The Tough Mudder is bringing visitors to the area at a time when bookings can be low. “Our snowbirds -- some of them -- are leaving at this time, so we are able to boost hotel bookings with this type of event that we welcome,” she said. “It is already showing a great value to local hotels.” In addition to booking rooms, Morgan said Tough Mudder participants are also likely to spend money on gas, food and shopping, Carol Gottshall, spokeswoman for Tough Mudder, said this weekend’s event is the first Tough Mudder in Northwest Florida. “We anticipate the event to result in $2 million to $5 million in increased economic activity for the region,” Gottshall said. “The majority of participants live within a two hour drive of the event, but we also have participants coming from all over the country, with 45 states represented.” Tough Mudder events – there are 50 planned for 2015 – are 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses designed to test mental and physical strength, as well as teamwork, Gottshall said. “Tough Mudder is not a race, it’s a challenge,” she said. “By running a Tough Mudder challenge, participants unlock a true sense of accomplishment, have a great time, and discover a camaraderie with fellow participants that’s rarely experienced these days.” The East Milton course will include 20 obstacles, including “King of the Swingers,” which is a pendulum swing off a 12 foot platform into water; “Cry Baby,” a crawl through a tear-gas-like substance, and “Electroshock Therapy 2.0,” in which participants run through a gauntlet of wires carrying up to 10,000 volts of electricity. Whether the East Milton Tough Mudder event will become an annual occasion has not been decided. Morgan, however, said she hopes the people who come this weekend see the area as more than a just an event venue. “We hope this event showcases our natural beauty to tourists that may not have had the chance to vacationed here before and they will leave wanting to return here again to experience our outstanding pristine beach, and our unique outdoor adventure northern end,” Morgan said. Want to participate or watch? Participants may still register online at https://toughmudder.com/ through Friday night for $185. They may also register at the event on Saturday for $220. Spectators may also register online in advance for $20, or register on site at the event for $40. The event site, Ates Ranch, is located at 5700 Jeff Ates Road, Milton. The site opens at 7 a.m. Saturday, with the first wave of participants launching at 8. The event should wrap up by about 5 p.m. [caption id="attachment_19167" align="alignnone" width="1018"]

The Gulf Coast Tough Mudder, a 20-obstacle challenge, is coming to East Milton this Saturday.[/caption]

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'Tough Mudder' event filling hotels in Milton this weekend

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