“Muddy Mildred” Wilson has completed her third Tough Mudder race.
Did we mention she’s 83 years old?
She is officially the oldest person to compete and finish the 5k race.
She first joined the race in 2019 after watching her son, Danny, complete the Tough Mudder race in Las Vegas.
“I had watched him do the World’s Toughest Mudder in Vegas,” Muddy Mildred shared. “He asked me last fall if I would like to do one. I said yes, but, if I do it, I want to be able to really do it. Not just be out there.”
So Mildred went to her doctor to get the go signal and started the training at the local YMCA.
Hard work that’s worth it
She worked hard to be in her best shape to finish the race.
And when the day of the race came, her husband, Farrell, Danny, and other family and friends were present to support and cheer for her.
Mildred’s especially grateful for her husband.
“He is my best supporter,” Mildred said about Farrell. “Anything I decide to do, he pretty much lets me do it.”
And when he passed away in 2020, Mildred decided to join the 2021 Tough Mudder race in honor of her husband.
All the time, Mildred competed in the muddy race with Danny, who gave her the nickname, Muddy Mildred.
“Danny was right with me,” Mildred added. “I doubt he would be in favor of me doing a Tough Mudder without him — and doing one with him is what makes it special.”
A new family tradition?
Mildred and Danny were even joined by her niece, Maggie, and her husband, John in this year’s race for the first time.
In 2019, Mildred joined because of the influence of Danny, who just finished his own race. In 2021, she joined again to honor her husband.
This year (2022), she is competing in the Tough Mudder race to raise money to install a water well in Africa for people who do not have access to clean water.
Danny is now the leader of a youth group spearheading this campaign.
“I saw a video of the water holes some of the people have to get their water from and it’s heartbreaking. I just wanted to help, and Tough Mudder was a way to do that,” Mildred explained.
It turns out the village has a single water hole and the water coming out is the same color as the muddy water in the race.
The villagers needed to travel beyond the mountains to get clean water if it doesn’t rain.
Having that well will make it so much easier for the villagers to get access to clean water.
And she’s also competing to honor and support her daughter-in-law, Tanya, who is battling pancreatic cancer.
