Running their hearts out in the bitter cold, trudging through water and up steep hills, 93 people participated in the Bobcat Dash on Sunday, Nov. 3. This is the second time the newly-designed event has taken place, and the Fitness and Recreational Center wants to continue it for years to come.

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The event, which is a race just more than three miles long, is designed to be similar to the newly popular Spartan and Tough Mudder races, replacing the Turkey Trot and Bunnyhop that the Fitness and Recreational Center used to run.

“We wanted to give a variety of different things,” Fitness Center Coordinator Scott Walker said. “With the normal road race you are just running, there may be hills involved, but you are just going for time. We thought that more people would sign up because we have added more obstacles. And we wanted more of a fun community feel to it as well.”

Associate Athletic Director of Fitness and Wellness, Tami Reilly, worked with Walker and many other school organizations to create the event.

Reilly said she wanted to create an event that utilized both the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses.

“One of the things last year was we were discussing how the two campuses seem divided often times, and we were trying to, with the hall directors, think of some things that would bridge the gap and be collaborative because we really are a community,” Reilly said.

After finding out that a group from the Student Government Association was also thinking of putting together an event similar to the Tough Mudder, Reilly and Walker collaborated with them and other groups to put this event together.

 Just as Reilly and Walker had hoped, many more people signed up for the event in comparison to the number of people participating in the Turkey Trot and Bunny Hop.

 On Sunday, there were 33 teams, adding up to 93 people.

 It was not just students who signed up for the event this year. The sideline cheerleading coach and a group from the Health Center participated in the event.

 “Fun, fun time,” staff nurse Lisa Delaney said. “It was fun to do an event with the kids.”

 School counselor Bill Buick was also a part of the team.

 “It was a challenging course, but we had a lot of fun out there,” Buick said.

 The event included students ranging from undergraduate freshmen to graduate students. A group of fifth-year physical therapy students completed the event together, every step of the way.

 “We didn’t want to get up for it, but now we feel accomplished,” Michelle DeSousa said. “We just finished a Tough Mudder together so we thought we could finish this.”

 Finishing in first place for men was sophomore Joshua Hudson with a time of 24:54. Tied for first place for women were freshman Natalie Wolanski and freshman Erin Anderson with a time of 33:31. The final person to cross the finish line completed the race with a time of 58:06.

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“I had a really good time,” Hudson said. “I didn’t except the obstacles that were there to be there especially the water, but it was really rewarding.”

Walker is very happy with the success of the event.

“I think it went really well,” Walker said. “It seems like everyone had a really good time.”