A truck competes in the 12th annual Medicine Hat Mud Bog on Saturday (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Trucks head for the mud at Medicine Hat Mud Bog

Aug 14, 2021 | 8:18 PM

MEDICINE HAT,– It’s a trek through a big mud pit, and competitors throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C. made their way to Medicine Hat as part of the 12^th annual Medicine Hat Mud Bog.

Mud flew from their tires as drivers put their foot on the gas. Their once clean trucks, not so clean anymore once they approach the quarter mark. And by the end, the trucks are completely soaked.

The goal of the sport, according to organizers is to be the fastest through the pit or the furthest through. Over 200 feet of mud that stands two feet deep is on the tracks, to make it not exactly a smooth ride.

Event organizers said that is part of the entertainment of the sport. Over 1,500 people turned up to the event of Saturday.

“I think it is just a unique sport, not many places have mud bogs anymore, they are kind of a dying breed so to say, so when we are able to have one here in Medicine Hat everyone just wants to see it,” said organizer of the event Dylan Yanke.

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Yanke is a mud bogger himself and said for him it is all about the feeling he gets once he gets into his truck.

“Every time you get on the run, you get an adrenaline rush somehow or another, you get a group of people coming out every year for every event it is just a community sport,” Yanke said.

Anyone with a four-wheel-drive vehicle can participate in Mud bogging. But competitors must follow the rules and regulations laid out with Chinook Mud Racing. Yanke said competitors often take several months to build their trucks in time for competition season.

Last year, the Medicine Hat Mud Bog had to be canceled due to COVID-19, making this event extra special for competitors and spectators alike.

Event organizers had three days to prepare the track. Part of that preparation included ensuring the mud is just right. And there is a secret to that. According to Yanke, the mud needs the right amount of water, so that the tracks fill back in once they are driven over.