By Hanley Poyer
Caked in mud, sweat dripping from your pores, and a smile radiating from ear to ear.
That's what the Daniel Barden Mudfest means to so many individuals.
The Daniel Barden Mudfest was established in the spring of 2013 to honor the life of first-grader Daniel Barden, who tragically lost his life in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The event was founded to celebrate his life and the kind, adventurous spirit that he was known for.
This event brings together thousands of individuals from New York, Connecticut, and surrounding areas to run or volunteer on the course, connect with new and old friends, and envelop each other in renewed hope and optimism.
The reality is with the shooting in Sandy Hook and mass shootings occurring widespread throughout the United States, there is a noticeable depletion of hope and optimism.
The Cambridge Dictionary loosely describes optimism as "the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation, or a belief that something good will happen."
While this optimistic mindset appears easily achievable, that was not the case directly following the events in Connecticut.
Grief was consuming and hatred radiated at the thought of something this tragic could even occur.
Just mere months after the Sandy Hook tragedy, the first mudfest took place in Upstate New York.
Borne out of it was a strong sense of hope and, for many, a realignment in our belief in the good in people.
That nuanced sense of optimism has grown with the event each year, just like it has grown to include runners nationwide. ...
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