Finally, after decades of a serious void in the Utah running community, the Beehive State's got its first and only mud run. Enter the Dirty Dash, a 10k winding through the ski runs at Soldier Hollow in Midway. Race day will be Saturday Sept. 25 (the Idaho one kicks-off at Boise's Bogus Basin on Sept. 18), but Dirty Dash organizers gave the media a "preview" run Tuesday, complete with a mud pit.

(Photo by Jason Olson, Deseret News)

My team of Dirty Farmers -- Spencer Craven, Trent Nielson, myself and Breck Laing.

Here are the top 10 reasons to run the race, in no particular order:

10. The course

It's on trails that have been tackled by Olympic greats, as venue Soldier Hollow was home to cross-country skiing and the biathlon during the 2002 Winter Games. "Rolling" would be the best word to describe the course -- runners are tackling the "Roller Coaster" and "Finger of Fate" ski runs. The views of the Heber Valley at 5,700 feet are arguably the best part. And during autumn in Wasatch County, the fall colors are unbeatable.

9. The challenge

Dirty Dash is no easy race. If the hills aren't enough, runners will have about nine obstacles to tackle -- crawling through tubes, climbing over walls, jumping over plus-sized tires. Others sound a bit more fun, like swimming through Deer Creek Reservoir and flying down the massive slip-'n'-slide (excuse me, "slop-'n'-slide").

8. The mud