Northwest Florida State College will receive an upgrade in the 2022-2023 school year – as the school creates on-campus housing.

Chief Communications Officer for NWF State College, Bryan Brooks, said that the college will not be able to offer campus land for the Emerald Coast MudRun in 2023 because the college will be completing several construction-intensive projects to improve the campus.

“When the construction is complete,” Brooks noted, “we will be more than willing to revisit the request.”

Race Organizer Lashes Out in Email Announcing Potential End to Race

“This is an email I never expected to write,” wrote Emerald Coast MudRun Director Michael Anderson of the Emerald Coast MudRun Event, “Currently, we don’t know what next year’s race will look like or if we are able to even secure a new location.”

Anderson said that Northwest Florida State College informed the charity it would not be able to host the MudRun in 2023 due to planned campus expansion and construction.

“This was a complete surprise to us and puts us in a very challenging and difficult place,” Anderson wrote. “What is also clear is this decision the college has made will bring added strain and difficulty to the orphans and at-risk children this event helps support financially,” said Anderson.

According to Anderson, the race has raised over $900,000 over the last 10 years. According to the non-profit, the money raised has gone to support orphans and at-risk children internationally.

The College's Response

Northwest Florida State College is in expansion mode.

Chief Communications Officer for the College, Bryan Brooks told Mid Bay News the land which has been used to host the Emerald Coast MudRun in the past, will host student dorms in the future – and that means construction.

“The College is entering a development phase of student housing which will require a significant amount of construction work. Construction will also be underway on a new facility for the Emerald Coast Autism Center in addition to building 420 being under complete renovation,” wrote Brooks.

Brooks added that the school will also replace roofs on several buildings around the college and that a staging area for machinery and other equipment will be needed. “It is simply too great of liability risk for the College while there is construction taking place [to host the MudRun]. At this time we do not have any alternatives for hosting the Emerald Coast MudRun. When construction for student housing is complete, we will be more than willing to revisit the request.”

Northwest Florida State College plans to expand – and provide residential dormitories on campus for students.

Next Steps for the Emerald Coast MudRun

In addition to the announcement that the MudRun would end at its current location – the Emerald Coast MudRun Organization asked the community to think of places that meet the following criteria:

Within 25 miles of Niceville
A piece of land at least 100 acres in size
Access to water, either a creek or a pond
A place which would allow for event organizers to build and take down the course. “We want to build a relationship with the landowner to make sure we can continue to use it for many races to come and make sure we have adequate time for setup and tear down.”
A storage facility or container to help store obstacles and equipment

According to the Emerald Coast MudRun website, their email address is mudrun@heartofthebride.org if you would like to contact them with a new location suggestion.