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Most people would not relish clawing through three miles of drain pipes, mud pits and climbing walls — and even fewer would pay for such a privilege.

But hundreds of people, some decked out in costumes, did just that Saturday and Sunday in the first WildFire Adventure Race and Scavenger Hunt at Seneca Creek State Park. The event was meant to bring people outside and gather families together, said organizer Aaron Foster, a firefighter from Washington, D.C.

Runners emerged from the course smiling, soaked and soiled, even as temperatures hovered near freezing for much of the two-day event.

About 75 runners signed up for each of 10 races — a number of them designated as costumed event — scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, Foster said. Probably because of the cold weather, about 40 percent of those who signed up did not check in on race day, he said.

Corey Greeneltch from Fairfax, Va., finished first in one of the Saturday races. "I was just starting to warm up at the very end and then they took us through the water," Greeneltch said after he emerged from the final obstacle: an inclined drain pipe that dropped racers in a nearly frozen mud bog.

"There was ice in the water," he said, shivering.

Greeneltch joked that he signed up for the race for reasons of "self abuse."

Runners — or "average adventurers," as Foster calls them — came from as far away as New York and Florida to race.

Foster had dubbed the event "epic" and a "bucket list adventure" on the race's website and in other promotions.

"People want to be adventurous. They're so overwhelmed with the 9 to 5. They want something different," he said, describing the appeal of mud and adventure races that have popped up all around the country.

Foster had run similar races in the past, including RunAmuck and Warrior Dash, both national races that held events in the D.C. area. He wanted to bring a family-friendly atmosphere to his event. Runners as young as 16 could compete. And Foster brought in activities such as climbing walls and a DJ to keep young observers entertained.

According to a use agreement, he paid the park $3 for each person who signed up to run, Foster said. Each runner was charged $60 to participate, but could pay less with coupons through Living Social, a social marketing website.

Foster said his goal was to bring entire families outside.

"When I was growing up, kids were always outside playing. It seems today that their thumbs are stronger than their legs," he lamented in a pre-race interview.

He created WildFire Adventure in 2010 as a branch of a personal training company he was running at the time. He has big plans for the business, including a possible food fight and music festival and maybe a second mud run, all in the D.C. area.

For his first adventure race, Foster initially spread the word mostly through friends and word of mouth. In March, the company secured a deal with LivingSocial, which helped boost registrations.

By Monday, he had not calculated how much money the race made, Foster said. "I need a few days to recover," he joked.

Part of the profits will be donated to area charities, he said.

Born and raised in Wheaton, Silver Spring and Rockville, Foster is now a firefighter at the District of Columbia Fire Department's Engine 21 in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. He has run the fire department's recruit fitness programs for the last few years and drew inspiration for those obstacles, he said.

Army Spc. Ron Ray ran with a group of coworkers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The group was confident at the start of the race that they would dominate climbing walls and entanglement hazards like those they had encountered in basic training.

"Those obstacles were a little more than I anticipated," Ray said at the finish line. "The cold will slow you down. It took heart, it took heart."

Sgt. Joshua Montgomery, his colleague at Walter Reed, agreed. "The ladders were easy because we all did that in basic training," he said. "It's the cold water that will stop you."

dgaines@gazette.net