27 days 'til race day; Dr. Ed Hightower named Official Race Starter for Mud Mountain XV; race entries total 53

SCENES FROM MUD MOUNTAIN XIV. Produced by Tom Atwood. Video/Joe Young

Edwardsville Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Hightower has agreed to fire the pistol and start the race at Mud Mountain XV on July 24. Meanwhile, race entries are slowly growing. Here are the totals to date:

2010 online entries: 28
2010 mail-in entries 25
2010 total to date: 53
2009 total to date: 74
2008 total to date: 38

28 days til race day; early entries total 46, lagging behind last year's record pace

Entries to date are ahead of two years ago, but far behind registrations at this time last year. Maybe we need to get new billboards?

2010 online entries: 23
2010 mail-in entries 23
2010 total to date: 46
2009 total to date: 74
2008 total to date: 38

29 days til race day; early entries total 43; Countdown asks for prediction of total number on July 24

Today Mud Mountain Countdown begins its annual poll to see who can predict how many runners will register for Mud Mountain XV. (The poll is located on the right column of this page. Vote early and often!) Predicting can be tricky, since race day totals are affected by weather, summer schedules, and how well the Mud Mountain Committee does marketing the race. So, take a look at the early numbers (below), compare to last year, and see if you can guess how many will sign up? The official Mud Mountain Countdown prediction? Based on complex scientific algorithms - 717.


2010 total to date: 43
2010 online registrations: 20
2010 mail-in registrations: 23

2009 total to date: 56
2009 online registrations: 35
2009 mail-in registrations: 21

One month til race day; 2010 t-shirt design unveiled; dri-fit t-shirts will also be offered at Md Mountain XV

This is the official Mud Mountain XV t-shirt design. It was created by EHS cross country coach George Patrylak and will be printed by Gillans Graphics. In addition to the regular t-shirt that all registered runners will receive on race day, they can also upgrade to a high quality dri-fit version on race day until supplies run out.

31 Days til race day; Mud Mountain billboards going up

32 days til race day; Edwardsville FD to provide paramedics at Mud Mountain XV

Again this year the Edwardsville Fire Department has agreed to provide an ambulance and two paramedics at Mud Mountain. The paramedics will be there to provide assistance to any runners who are injured, or who have any heat-related problems during the race.

34 days til race day; first Mud Mountain publicity posters unveiled

Jamie Brown, a physical therapist and past runner of Mud Mountain, poses for a 2010 Mud Mountain publicity poster. The posters will be distributed at area running stores. Photo/Tom Atwood

Five weeks til race day; How many will run Mud Mountain XV? Early race entries total 37

Last year, the Mud Mountain 5K set a record for race entries with 684 runners registered for the 5K and One Mile Fun Run. Will that record be broken at Md Mountain XV on July 24, 2010? Hard to say right now, but the early entries are running behind last year's pace. So far, 37 runners have signed up, compared with 56 on this date last year. Here's the breakdown:

2010 online registrations: 17
2010 mail-in registrations: 20
2009 online registrations: 35
2009 mail-in registrations: 21
2010 total to date: 37
2009 final total on race day: 684 (614 5K, 70 Fun Run)

38 days til race day; publicity photo shoot this evening at the course

Lynley Aleksandrian poses for Mud Mountain publicity poster last year. New photos will be taken this week for the 2010 campaign. Photo/Tom Atwood

39 days to race day; Mud Mountain Countdown 2010 begins today; watch this site for inside news about Mud Mountain XV

Welcome to Mud Mountain Countdown for 2009. With just 39 days until Mud Mountain XV, this site will be updated daily with photos, news and information about the St. Louis area's premiere cross-country race, including the number of runners registered, course conditions, local sponsors, messages from the race director and Mud Mountain Committee. Check in every day!