Council declares ‘no further mud events’ in Finsbury Park as Cancer Research run halted

The decision is aimed at repeating extensive damage seen across the park from last month’s Tough Mudder race, reports Miriam Balanescu

Haringey Council has announced that it will be holding “no further mud events” in Finsbury Park, after making the decision to cancel a Cancer Research charity event later this month.

Pretty Muddy was due to take place on Sunday, 21st May, but the council has announced today (26th April) that they have decided to put a halt to the race over fears that it may cause further damage.

The news follows the decision by the council to no longer host Tough Mudder events in the park, after the obstacle course event caused what the council’s deputy leader Cllr Mike Hakata called “several weeks’ worth of damage”.

Thousands of people took the park earlier this month, leaving large streaks of churned up mud. A video of the damage became viral on social media – prompting the dismay of Tottenham MP David Lammy and local residents and making national headlines.

On the decision put a stop to Pretty Muddy this May, Cllr Mike Hakata, cabinet member for environment, said: “We have hosted Cancer Research events in Finsbury Park for many years now. All, including the Race for Life and Pretty Muddy, have gone ahead without incident or negative impact on other park users, and have enabled thousands of people to get active and improve their health and wellbeing while raising vital funds for research to tackle cancer.

“Following the damage to the park caused by a recent Tough Mudder event, we have decided there will be no further mud events in the park. As a result we have informed Cancer Research UK that Pretty Muddy will not be able to take place this year. We are still working with them to determine if the Race for Life Event will go ahead as planned. If it does this will be entirely on the path network to ensure that there will not be a repeat of the grass damage we saw last week.”

Cancer Research has been approached for comment.

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.