January

New Year's Sea Swimming

1 January, Zaandfort, Holland.
A wild and frosty run into the sea. Many participants wear fancy dress.

March

San Diego Mud Run

29 March 2009, San Diego, USA.
A challenging 10k run, an exciting 5k race, and a Youth Mini-Mud Run (1k) filled with obstacles, hill climbs, trail runs, and of course plenty of mud to fill every "mudder's" desire! www.sandiegomudrun.com

Dallas / Fort Worth Mud Run

29 March 2009, Trinity River Trail, Dallas / Fort Worth, USA.
This event has many obstacles that have been surrounded by mud or consist entirely of mud. The web site heading "Required Race Gear" states that all participants must wear long pants and boots or shoes that cover the ankle, for their own safety. Since most participants also wear a shirt, this is definitely a fully clothed wet and muddy event. www.mudrundfw.com

April

Songkran - Thai New Year

10-15 April, best in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The whole event goes officially from 1-18 April, with some regions going on a few days more. Most of the water throwing is between 10-15 April all over southeast Asia. Everybody gets soaking wet. What started with simply pouring water over friends and relatives as a goodwill blessing has become a major waterfest with throwing water over people by the bucket load. Great Fun.

Kwalleballen Mud Rugby

19 April 2009
Usually 3rd Sunday in April, Valkenswaard, Netherlands.
Kwalleballen is a pot rugby in the mud. It is played in maize fields of 16x32 meter, which is sprayed with water until it is really soggy with deep black mud.


Kwalleballen is een uiterst sportieve pot rugby in de modder. Het wordt gespeeld op maïsvelden van 16x32 meter, die rijkelijk besproeid zijn met water, waardoor een zwaar soppende moddermat ontstaat. www.kwalleballen.nl

Koninginnedag

Last Sunday in April.
Pijnacker or Ouderkerk, and all over the Netherlands.
Lots of wacky events take place in many places to celebrate the Queen's Day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninginnedag

May

Yasoton Mud Festival

First Full Moon in May, Yasoton, Isan, Thailand.
The mud festival in Yasoton is known as the "Bung Ban Fai" festival. This takes place in the whole province of Isan, but the city of Yasoton has the best festival, just like as Chiang-Mai is the best place for Songkran.

Run to the Sun

Last weekend in May, Newquay, Cornwall, UK.
Wild VW event. Bring your waterguns and a change of clothes, it can get wet. Also some fun action on the beaches.

Te Land, ter Zee en in de Lucht

Every 2nd Saturday from late May.
Many locations in the Netherlands.
Wild TV show for everyone to take part in various soaking wet activities. Filmed at different locations every two weeks.

June

Fiesta del Agua

June sometime, Villagarcía de Arosa, Spain.
Spain's answer to Thailand's Songkran is a wild water party with 20,000 to 30,000 soaking wet participants. www.lariadearosa.com/Villagarcia/FiestaAgua.htm

Camp Pendelton Mud Run

2nd and 3rd weekend in June.
Lake O'Neill, Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA.
This event is limited to 3500 participants each day and sells out months in advance. The Mud Run is a challenging 10K run with hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb, and the final 30-foot mud pit. This is the most fun you can have running a 10K! Go as a spectator and wallow after the race. www.camppendletonraces.com

Prutmarathon Mud Run

29 June 2008
Schemerhorn, near Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Probably the muddiest race in Europe. Prepare to get soaked and dirty all over.
http://www.lesdeuxponts.nl/prutmarathon.htm

Sprietlopen

Sunday 28 June
Leimuiden or Puttershoek, NL, and in some towns nearby.
You're invited to walk across the water on a slippery beam. Sooner or later you fall into the water with all your clothes on. That's were the fun comes in. www.sprietlopen.nl

July

Nothing listed yet.

We're told that the raft races on the rivers near Brighton, England, have been killed by the Health and Safety Executive of the UK government. How much Nanny State will we put up with? www.hse.gov.uk

August

Newquay Surf Championships

1st week in August, Newquay, Cornwall, UK.
Lots of surfing related fun on the beach and in the sea. Enjoy the foamparties on some evenings.

Vlottentocht Raft Race

3rd weekend in August, Kanaal Bocholt-Herentals, Lommel, Belgium.
The Lommel Raft Race is organised by the Lommel Scouts. It's a unique competition for self-build rafts.
De Lommelse Vlottentocht wordt georganiseerd door de Lommelse Scouts. Het is een unieke wedstrijd voor zelfgesjorde vlotten. www.vlottentocht.be

Tomatina

Last Wednesday in August, Buñol, Spain.
At the peak of tomato season, the village of Buñol stages a tomato war. For two hours, the otherwise sober citizenry happily pelt each other with ripe, red fruit and the streets turn into rivers of tomato juice. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatina

September

Brandersfeesten

Last weekend in September, Schiedam, Netherlands.
Scouting groups create a number of crossings over the harbour. Local people can cross the river in many exciting ways. The idea is to stay dry, but only few do. Not all groups understood this instruction so well, nor do all participants really try to reach the other side dry. Great fun. www.brandersfeesten.nl

October

Volkslauf

10 October, near Bakersfield, CA, USA.
With about 8 million gallons of water on the course, it has been suggested that Volkslauf is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, just like Wacky Wet World. www.volkslauf.com

ASYMCA Mud Run

17 October, Lake O'Neill, Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA.
The Mud Run is a challenging 10K run with hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb, and the final 30-foot mud pit. This is the most fun you can have running a 10K!
www.camppendletonraces.com/asymca.html