Fun is the reward at Boy Scouts family mud run

Joshua Morgan loves American Ninja Warrior.

So the 8-year-old Kennewick boy was pretty excited to get a taste of some obstacle action in the vein of the popular show during a family event in Kennewick.

The 2016 Mud Cubs Fun event, put on by Boy Scouts of America’s Blue Mountain Council, ran Saturday morning near the Kiwanis campground at Columbia Park.

“I just want to make it to the end,” said Joshua of the 13-obstacle course.

It was a pretty safe bet he would.

Before Joshua started out, he warmed up on the “monkey bridge,” zipping across a rope suspended about 5 feet in the air, using the rope railings to keep balanced.

It wasn’t scary at all, he said after climbing down. “It was fun!”

Over the course of the morning, Joshua and dozens of other Mud Cubs Fun-ers tackled everything from a spider web of ropes, to a tire challenge, to a slip ‘n slide.

About 150 people participated last year — the Mud Cubs Fun’s first year — and organizers expected to see as least as many this go-round.

“It’s a fun family activity,” said Evah Ann Powelson, the coordinator. “It’s to get people acquainted with Scouting and the fun things that happen in Scouting.”

Many of the kids who came through Saturday were in some way connected to Scouting — involved themselves or friends of Scouts.

By about 9:30 a.m., Olivia Osborn, 11, of Kennewick, had already launched a rocket made of an earplug and straw, gotten herself pretty dirty by making a mud angel and crawled through a muddy pit.

She was pretty happy about it.

“I did an Army crawl through the mud. It felt gross!” she said as she emerged covered in grime. But it was great, she said.

As Olivia talked, Kay Feliciano cheered on her son, Kevin, who was celebrating his 10th birthday.

The Richland boy crawled through mud under netting. Then he made a mud angel.

He paused long enough to describe the event as “really cool.”

He’s involved in Scouting and he loves it he said. “The adventures and the wilderness and camping” are the best parts, he said.

As Kevin darted off to the next obstacle, Isaac Duncan, 10, of West Richland, ran up.

He and his mom, Rachael, were completing the course together.

They’d just finished a balance challenge involving what appeared to be wooden balance boards.

“We tried to get each other to fall into the water. He beat me because he stood on mine and threw me off balance,” Rachael said.

She and her son were smiling pretty wide, looking forward to what came next.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Rachael said. “I appreciate everyone’s work to make it happen.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Fun is the reward at Boy Scouts family mud run."