By PATTI MENGERS pmengers@delcotimes.com

NEWTOWN Dozens of youngsters were being encouraged to play in the mud on Sunday at the Ellis Preserve. It was no wonder.

They were just following the examples of their parents.

In fact, Saturday and Sunday a total of nearly 4,000 people of all ages were wallowing in the watery dirt as part of the Muck Ruckus MS, staged by the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Multiple sclerosis victims and their loved ones were raising funds through pledges to help fight the disabling, autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system that affects 400,000 Americans and has no known cause or cure.

Our goal is to raise $1.1 million and were really close, said Jena C. Visconto, development coordinator for the local National Multiple Sclerosis Society, late Sunday morning.

About 100 volunteers over two days helped implement the event, which was sponsored by Bryn Mawr Hospital, Main Line Today, AFC Fitness, Chickies & Petes restaurant, Wawa convenience stores, Videon Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, BPG Properties Ltd. and the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association.

Children age 11 and under, known as Little Muckers, got to help the cause by cavorting amid the mud on a makeshift slide, balance beam and small wooden pyramid created by Event 360. A baby pool was mercifully nearby for rinsing.

Adult participants navigated a 10K run with 31 natural and manmade obstacles, including Swing Set from which they leapt into a giant mud puddle, and Fun to be a Fireman, which required participants to climb a platform, then jump over to a firehouse-style pole on which they slid into the muck.

A lot of people are afraid of heights. Theres a gap between the platform and the poles. But they are conquering their fears for people they know who have MS, said Visconto, who noted multiple sclerosis patients were also meeting the muddy challenge.

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'Muckers' get dirty in fight against multiple sclerosis