Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
'Tough Mudder' in Finsbury Park
The Tough Mudder event, which is taking place in Finsbury Park this weekend, consists of running routes and assault course challenges spread over many areas of the park. From the pictures, the aim seems to be to get as mud-covered as possible. Tickets cost £100.
While it's great that people use the parks for exercise and relaxation, a large number of people running together on already soggy ground is going to cause serious damage to the grass and woodland of the park, just as it's coming into it's most beautiful season. The muddy fallout from a similar event on Hampstead Heath last year took many months to recover, and our park is significantly smaller.
It breaks my heart how little the council prizes our natural green spaces and is willing to sacrifice them in this way in order to make money, even under the aegis of 'health and wellbeing.'
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park , mudder", tough
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Konrad B on
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As others have pointed out the park isn't in Hackney. I would think that the nearest Hackney park for you is Clissold Park. I don't see Hackney Council pimping out this park in the way that Haringey does to Finsbury Park. Anyway, as you are such a keen observer of Finsbury Park could we have your observations on the state of the park as a result of Tough Mudder.
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Permalink Reply by Park on
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A friend watched them running the route with their vehicles yesterday to churn the mud... They weren't towing anything but Intentionally damaging our park for an event - borders on criminal, in my view. I have more pictures; the damage is everywhere and will only worsen with all the people running through it. Properly horrible move from Tough Mudder - Im sorry it was so dry for your event last year, and you only got to damage the park slightly. Not this year!
When there is still a closed-off section of the path by the cafe (with no thought about wheelchair access around that area!) after the download festival, lorries rucked up all the tarmac by driving on the pavement during the hottest day of the year last year - I have no faith this will be fixed quickly. Appalling.
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Breaks my heart. Still not recovered from last year. Are there still generators spewing out toxic fumes?
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I do trail races, out in the countryside, plenty of mud and costs a lot less than £100 even including train travel there and back! £100 for a 10k with manufactured conditions is insanity.
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Btw- there will be another Tough Mudder and a 5k 'Pretty Muddy Kids' on 21 May which are both Cancer Research charity events. Tbh, I've signed my kids up for it but will think twice about it in the future if they actually dig the park up for it which is really not on!
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What a shame their lack of ecological regard might affect charitable efforts.
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Apparently neither Haringey or Tough Mudder have environmental guidelines and neither did any environmental risk assessment.
It really wouldn't take much effort on Haringey's part to require events organisers to do a risk assessment with a post event evaluation.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Thanks, Anne Barwick, for posting these informative photos and for your helpful suggestions about environmental guidelines and risk assessment.
But shouldn't there be independent assessments, not contractors self-assessing?
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Generally assessments like this are carried out by independent experts but paid for by the organiser.
Specifically, in this case they would have to be able to assess the impact on soil dwelling invertebrate species, particularly protected species such as Stag Beetles (known to breed in the area where the route was deliberately sent through shrub beds) and on nesting birds. Disturbing protected species and nesting birds are both illegal.
They would need background information from Haringey, which already exists although it might not all be coherently written down and filed!
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Just horrible that the ecosystem that is the park is so brutally trampled on. The fact they pre-ran the ground over to create deep ruts on the route with vehicles is just terrible.
When it dries, I won't be able to access large grass areas in the park as the ruts won't let my wheelchair pass.
This event should not happen again.
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If assessments were done they should be published and available - to residents including all elected councillors. (Not just to some "secret board" or closed panel.
If the vital role of local parks and open spaces was not grasped before Covid, the Pandemic should have forced a fundamental shift in attitude.
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