Mad Mud Challenge | Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland

Get Ready to Get Muddy!

ALL ages, ALL day, ALL the time! Mad Mud is open to all ages on BOTH days when it returns August 2026!

Mad Mud 2026 will take place Sat., Aug. 8 and Sun., Aug. 9. at Camp Crooked Lane in Mt. Gilead, Ohio and will feature your favorite muddy obstacles! When registering, you will not be restricted to just one day of the weekend. Choose what works best for you, your troop, your friends, and your family! If you’re a Junior or older, you’ll have the chance to sign up for older girl waves in the morning on a first come, first served basis.

Registration has closed!

Details

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Mad Mud Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Buddy System: All participants must remain with at least one other person on the course. Buddies should be chosen by the ability and pace of the participants. There are three buddy checks throughout the course where buddies should check in with each other.

Skipping Elements: Participants are encouraged to skip any obstacle they are not comfortable completing. Mad Mud is meant to challenge you while you have fun. If you think a particular obstacle isn't going to do this for you, just go around it! Please note that some elements are impassible without getting in the mud or crossing the creek. You will still get muddy even if you skip elements.

Don’t Rush: Mad Mud Challenge is NOT a race. It is a personal challenge with the goal of overcoming obstacles and completing the course. This is why we do not time people and why we try to avoid using the word "race" when describing this event. Each participant should feel free to go at their own pace.

Sportsmanship: Please be patient and respectful of all groups on the course. Cheer each other on and show support for others.

Footwear: Shoes must be worn at all times. Please refer to the footwear guide for what is permitted and what is prohibited.

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Mad Mud Spectators

Rules for Spectators (non-participants)

Viewing Points: Spectators are NOT permitted on the course. There are designated spectator viewing points on the course and at the finish line that can be utilized by those who are not participating.

Footwear: Closed toe shoes that can be secured tightly on your feet. Rubber rain boots, Crocs, and flip flops are NOT permitted on the property.

Water: Spectators should bring their own water and refreshments.

Other: Camp chairs are welcome but cannot be placed in the path of participants.

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Mad Mud Day of Event Procedures

Day of the Event

Before you Arrive

Consent Form: All participants are required to submit a completed consent form by the time of check in. If a participant is under the age of 18, their parent/guardian must sign the consent form. Anyone who fails to provide a consent form will be unable to participate.

Photo Release: If you do not consent to photos being taken at the event, please notify the staff or volunteers at the check in booth who will give you a brightly colored wristband to wear. This will help our marketing team know who not to photograph.

Health History Form: Your group should have health history forms for everyone who is attending the event. Your group leader will be responsible for keeping these forms with them during the program.

Adult Supervision: Adults must be on property as either participants or spectators during the event in accordance with the Safety Activity Checkpoints. All participants are required to have at least one other person do the course with them as their buddy.

What to Bring with You:

Positive attitude!
Change of Clothing and footwear for post event
Garbage Bag (for wet, muddy gear post-event)
Towel
Sunscreen
Water and snacks to refuel on your car ride home (Water stations will be available along the course)

What to Leave at Home:

Electronic devices
Valuable, non-replaceable items (jewelry, etc.)
Unnecessary wallet items- leave them in the car unless you would like to purchase something from our shop
Items that are banned on all Girl Scout properties including weapons, drugs and alcohol

Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland is not responsible for any lost or damaged items.

What to Wear:

Footwear: Closed toe shoes that can be secured tightly on your feet. For most participants this means an old pair of sneakers. Rubber rain boots, Crocs, and flip flops are NOT permitted on property. Refer to the footwear guide for more information.

Clothing: Form-fitting, lightweight, breathable clothing. Be aware that the clothes you wear will get muddy and potentially damaged. Please refrain from wearing clothes that promote the use of drugs, alcohol, illegal substances, or portray violence or sexual messaging.

Accessories: Please limit the number of accessories you wear. Consider tying hats, sunglasses, and other accessories to your clothing so they don’t sink in the mud pits or pond elements.

Hair: Long hair should be securely tied back.

Drive up Check in

Check in will be 30 minutes before your start time. Please arrive to Camp Crooked Lane and stay in your vehicle as you approach the check-in booth. There will be two lanes and check in is usually easier if groups are all in the same lane. There will be a GSOH staff member or volunteer to help check you in. They will ask who is in each car, including adults and youth. At this time, the leader of your group will receive all the maps, wristbands, Mad Mud patches, and incentives for your group. The leader of your group will be identified as the person who placed your order. If you are not the leader of your group, you should still stop at the check in to get all of your car’s individuals checked in with a GSOH staff member or volunteer from the booth.

What to have with you for a smooth check-in:

Troop Number
Name of adult who placed your order
Consent Forms for everyone in your group organized alphabetically

Park:

Please follow all signs and markers when parking. There will be GSOH staff and volunteers assisting with parking. Please follow their directions when arriving. Please lock your car when leaving the lot to go to the course. Spectators can be helpful for holding items such as keys and phones. We are not responsible for lost or broken items.

Exiting:

When leaving the parking area, please do NOT exit through the check in area. There is a designated path that can be reached from the gravel parking lot near the first lodge, which will take you back up the gravel road and out between our ranger’s shop and house. Please continue to drive slowly while exiting, as this is still part of our camp property and is a residential area. There will be signage to indicate which direction you should drive to exit.

Starting Line

Starting line volunteers will be sending groups onto the course approximately every 2 minutes. Be prepared to wait for your turn after checking in. While you wait, the starting line volunteers will remind everyone of the course guidelines and will check to make sure each participant has followed the dress and footwear requirements outlined above. Any participant who fails to meet these requirements will be unable to participate.

Course

Property Information:

Obstacles: You will see a variety of different obstacles on the course, each testing different skills and abilities. Some obstacles include pond elements, balancing exercises, and slides.

Course Length: Mad Mud is about 2 miles from the starting line to the finish line.

Average Time: The average time to finish the Mad Mud course is about 1.5 hours. You should plan to be on property for an additional 1.5 hours to allow for check in and changing after the program. How long it will take you also depends on your time to complete obstacles, your traveling pace, and the pace at which groups in front of you are moving through the course.

Bathrooms: There will be plenty of portable bathrooms available near the starting line, as well as near the finish line.

Changing Station: A changing station will be provided for participant use.

Camp Buildings: All buildings are off limits for non-staff for the duration of the event, unless otherwise indicated for use as a changing station.

Food and Drink: There will be three water stations available for participants. Food will not be permitted on the course. Spectators (non-participants) should bring their own water bottles.

Pets: Pets are not permitted.

Photo Opportunities: There are various photo opportunities near the start and finish lines of the course.

Cell Phone Service: Cell phone service is limited at Camp Crooked Lane.

Safety:

Obstacles: Each obstacle is inspected and tested prior to being used.

First Aid: First aid certified adult volunteers and GSOH staff members will be stationed along the course and at the finish line.

Lifeguards: Lifeguard certified GSOH staff members will be stationed along pond elements.

Course Guides: Course guide volunteers will be stationed at most elements throughout the course. Please go to the nearest course guide if you have any questions or concerns while on the course. They can point you in the direction of the nearest first aid or water station and have access to walkie talkies to communicate emergency situations. Course guides will also encourage and support participants along the elements.

Emergency Procedures:

Volunteers will have complete emergency guides the day of the event.

First Aid: If you are presented with a life-threatening or serious injury, please appoint someone to call 9-1-1 immediately and give them the location 6998 Co Rd 40, Mt Gilead, OH 43338 be sure to let them know where on property you are. Send another person to the nearest first aid station. If you are presented with a non-life-threatening injury, please send the person to the first aid station for treatment as appropriate. Always notify nearby staff or event volunteers about injuries needing aid.

Thunderstorms: This is a rain or shine event. Please be prepared to complete the course in the rain. In more severe rain, participants can take shelter at one of the pavilions until the rain passes. For thunderstorms, volunteers will guide everyone to shelter. The program will resume 30 minutes after the last lightning is sighted or thunder heard. GSOH staff will make a cancelation call if thunderstorms or other inclement weather conditions do not subside.

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Mad Mud Costume Contest Guides

Do your Girl Scouts like to get creative and dress up? Participate in the Mad Mud social media costume contest!

Remember the Rules:

All entries must be sent using the button below.
FINAL deadline for entries is Friday, August 14th.
Only one photo may be sent by any one troop/group. Please size down photos for email and web usage.
Winners will be notified on Friday, August 21st.

Prizes:

1st place: 1 free night at Camp Crooked Lane (Lodge of your choice) Up to $120 value!
2nd place: 2 free hours at the Crooked Lane Spray Ground, $40 value!
3rd place: 1 free hour at the Crooked Lane Spray Ground, $20 value!

Winners will be sent a promotional code to redeem their prize. Winner will have until September 30, 2027 to redeem their prize.

Costume Guidelines: Costumes must follow the dress guidelines outlined below. Please be mindful of the materials you use to create your costume. Avoid using any materials that could fall off and pollute Camp Crooked Lane.

Dress guidelines

Clothing: Form-fitting, lightweight, breathable clothing. Be aware that the clothes you wear will get muddy and potentially damaged.

Accessories: please limit the number of accessories you wear. Consider tying hats, sunglasses and other accessories to your clothing so they don’t sink in our mud pits or pond elements.

Hair: Long hair should be securely tied back.

Footwear

Footwear Guidelines

Footwear Guidelines

Permitted Footwear: All participants must be wearing closed-toed shoes that can be secured tightly on your feet. This includes gym shoes, hiking shoes, and hiking boots that tie or fasten in a way that is secure.

Some people choose to tape shoes on, but the shoes themselves must still be within these guidelines.

We recommend wearing older shoes that are close to the end of use or designated dirty shoes, since they will be getting very dirty. Some folks choose to thrift used shoes and throw them away after, to give the shoes the most use.

Prohibited Footwear: We do not permit anyone to do the course if they are wearing rain boots, flip flops, crocs, water shoes, slides, or other slip-on, loose, or open toes shoes.

If they fit loosely or are slip-ons, it’s likely that they will slip off which leads to bare feet in the woods.

Open-toed shoes will not be permitted as they are more likely to lead to injury.

Rain boots may seem like a good option for water-proofing, but we have obstacles that are deep enough to fill boots with mud and water, which can lead to uncomfortable suction and for the shoes to slip off.

We do not make allowances for any of these shoe types, even if you have taped them on. If you arrive on the day-of in prohibited shoes, you will need to put on permitted shoes to be allowed on the course. We do not make exceptions, so please be prepared.

Acceptable Shoes

Prohibited Shoes

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We Need YOU to Volunteer!

We are looking for all kinds of volunteer support including course guides, registration assistance, lifeguards, first aid, set up, and cleanup.

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Bring fresh clothes, shoes, and a clean towel to sit on in the car on the drive home. No showers or sinks are accessible to clean up, though girls are encouraged to jump in the pond at the end to remove the majority of the mud.
Make a plan with your troop to meet up near the parking lot before heading over to the starting line.
Mad Mud Check-In is a drive through. The first person in your troop to arrive will receive the bag with your wristbands and other materials. Make sure everyone in your troop knows the troop number and is aware of the drive thru check-in.
Be sure to opt into texting through GSOH. We will send a text immediately in case of an emergency, weather delay, or cancellation. Those not opted into texting will be contacted via email or phone, which will be slower than a text.
Old athletic shoes with laces are best! Slip on or Velcro shoes tend to fall off in the mud. Some people use duct tape for extra reinforcement. Absolutely no Crocs or open toed shoes are allowed.
Some troops make costumes or special t-shirts for the day, but old play clothes are just fine! You’ll likely throw out the clothes you wear to Mad Mud. There is a costume contest!
Wear long hair pulled back—it’s easier to wash later like that! Some people wear shower caps.
If you don’t want to try an element, that’s okay! Everything is Challenge By Choice. There are ways to walk around the elements if you’d like to skip one, but you should expect your shoes to still get muddy.
Adults-keep your car keys somewhere safe and secure!
We highly recommend a waterproof bag for your phone if you are bringing it on the course to take pictures.
Clean water is kept in first aid kits around the course in case someone needs an eye rinse. Water stations are located on the course as well so you do not have to carry a water bottle.