Wet weather in the Far North resulted in fantastic conditions for the first Bay of Islands Beast mud run in three years.

The run/walk was held on a 7km track near Haruru Falls on Saturday, over muddy farmland with steep hills and swamps.

It was the first time the previously annual run has been held since the Covid-19 pandemic began, with the events planned for 2020 and 2021 having been cancelled.

Sport Northland’s Tara Wilson said the recent rain made for perfect conditions for the Beast.

“It was absolutely amazing after two years of that event being cancelled – being able to hold it again was pretty awesome.”

Around 450 people turned up on the day, after 900 registrations, many of which were from the two previous events that did not run.

Last week’s rain in the Far North ensured there was plenty of mud for the participants, but the day itself was dry and sunny.

“We were so lucky and we were so rapt with how it went – it was such an awesome vibe,” Wilson said.

Competitors were encouraged to wear fancy dress, and there was an array of fantastic costumes, Wilson said, including a group dressed as a rainbow, and another as road cones.

Another person was dressed as Buzz Lightyear, from the movie Toy Story.

A costume award is yet to be given out, as the array of outfits meant the organisers needed more time to consider, Wilson said.

The overall winner of the run was Graeme Ewenson, with a time of 37 minutes and 23 seconds.

Eion Galloway came in second, with a time of 38.34s, and Richie Crawshaw was third, completing the course in 39.12s. The fastest female was Nicky Wellwood, with a time of 42.57s.

The top team was the Dirty Old Bastards. The average time among the 408 people who finished the race was one hour, 36 minutes and 41 seconds.

The Paihia Volunteer Fire Brigade provided a hose-down at the finish line.