MUDDY WATERS

Palm Coast Observer
Sports

In an unconventional 5-kilometer race, 452 participants jumped, climbed and swam their way through several obstacles en route to the finish line. The biggest challenge: staying clean.

The best way to cool off in the heat of a race might be to get drenched in water. Fortunately for the 452 participants in the inaugural FL.ROC 5k, getting soaking wet was a requirement.

Red Pointer Productions, founded by Flagler Palm Coast High School graduates, put on a 3.1-mile race May 7, which featured 14 obstacles, a ton of mud and a whole lot of fun.

“We’re super excited about it,” said Joe Matuszczak, who directs the races with his brother, Dan. The two brothers graduated from FPC, and are hoping the event will take off in the Northeast Florida region.

The race took place in southwest Flagler County, and featured 452 participants, the most of any running event in Flagler County this year.

Chris Batista, 29, from DeLand, won the overall male division after finishing in 20 minutes, 32 seconds. Kelly Cory, 43, of Edgewater, finished in first place in the overall female division, finishing in 26:36.

Matuszczak said a large part of getting so many participants is because the race doesn’t cater to just runners.

“We want to create an event that people, not just runners, can come out and have a good time,” Matuszczak said.

Some participants came from Jupiter, others from Melbourne. But no matter where they came from, the Matuszczak brothers hope this is the start of something big.

“We’ve always talked about putting on a race of some sort,” Matuszczak said. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I was always asking myself, ‘When is 5 p.m. coming and when is the weekend coming?’ It was starting to get to the point that I realized the amount of money you make doesn’t define your life. It’s what you do with your life and the people you have around you.”

The next FL.ROC race will take place Sept. 4, in Jacksonville. The Matuszczaks hope to have at least six events next year in Northeast Florida.

Full race results can be found at www.fl-roc.com.