Submitted photo. Everly Buysse participating in one of 17 obstacle courses during the Minneapolis Mud Girl Run on July 27 in Le Sueur. She took first place in her wave and is 9-years-old.

LE SUEUR — With the finish line coming into sight and a first place victory within reach, 9-year-old Everly Buysse from Minneota finished the job and earned a gold medal in the Minneapolis Mud Girl Obstacle Run on July 27.

The 5k run was held at the Caribou Gun Club in Le Sueur, about an hour south of Minneapolis, and consisted of 17 obstacle courses. There were several waves held throughout the day, but Everly and her mother, Kalynn Buysse, ran in the first heat starting at 8:30 a.m. and placed first and second. Participants could be as young as seven with an adult present, but the race primarily consisted of adult women.

“She (Everly) said, ‘I think when I grow up, I want to be a runner,'” Kalynn said. “She already wants to do the next Mud Girl Run when it comes back to Minneapolis next year.”

According to Kalynn per the event staff, each wave held about a thousand participants.

Kalynn is a runner and frequently participates in races, however this was Everly’s first official race and first time running a full three miles at once.

“I knew it was going to be a full three miles, and so that was going to be the farthest she had gone. If you’re not a runner … That can be a lot,” Kalynn said about training. “I trained her for about two months … I had her run one mile five times, then I had her do three two-milers. Just like any marathon training, you don’t actually train for the full miles. You save that for race day.”

The obstacle courses were designed to test strength, endurance and agility, all while trekking through mud, grass or water.

“A lot of it was literally mud. You climbed up mud mountains, you army crawled through mud sloughs, you climbed up rope ladders, rope netting and things like that,” Kalynn said. “There was a ratchet strap balance beam you had to go on, and there were weights that you had to drag with big battle ropes.”

Kalynn mentioned that she did help Everly with some of the weights, since most of them weighed more than she did.

The race also was not timed, as obstacle courses typically aren’t.

“There was some army crawling that involved swimming through about two feet of muddy water, but then right above you there was a roped netting, and so you were only left with like three to five inches of space where you could breathe to get through the other side,” Kalynn said. “That one actually kind of worried me. I had to scurry through that one pretty quick, so I could get over to her … She said that one was a little intimidating.”

The Buysse’s did not start in the front of the line to begin the race. When they took the lead with Everly in front, the crowd watchers themselves became amazed at what was about to happen.

“We just kept weaving and bobbing through the crowd, we kept passing people and going through the obstacles,” Kalynn said. “All the volunteers at the obstacles, every time we came up to one, you would hear them say, “It’s a kid, it’s a kid.”

Closing in on the final mile, Everly knew she was going to clinch first place.

“We got to about mile two, and I was like, ‘Everly, there’s a little possibility that you could win this thing,'” Kalynn said. “Then we got to about mile two and a half, and I was like, ‘The gold is yours, go get it. Just run as fast as you can and go take it.’ So she did.”

Submitted photo. Katie Boettger (left, friend) took third place, Kalynn Buysse took second (middle, Everly’s mom) and Everly Buysse (right), took first. Each wave during the day consisted of around a thousand participants.

Everly was committed to her training to get to this point.

Kalynn said even when the race was eight weeks away, Everly was quick to lace up her tennis shoes and join her in a run.

The Mud Girl Run takes place annually, and the two of them plan to take the course again next summer. Kalynn mentioned Everly’s father, Evan Buysse, and two brothers, Bennett and Griffin Buysse, want to watch her compete again.

The Mud Girl Run organization details the event is dedicated to women and supports breast cancer research. There is no obligation to complete all obstacles, or needing to be at a certain athletic ability to participate. The main purpose of the race is to have fun.

There are food trucks and a live DJ at the event as well. Kalynn and Everly also raced with a family friend, Katie Boettger, who took third place behind the two.

Everly will be going into the fourth grade this year and is now old enough to join sporting teams, which she plans to do.

“It (Everly winning) is really awesome,” Kalynn said. “It’s super empowering.”