Tough Mudder SoCal

The actual event was not terrible and relatively well organized but god forbid if you need customer help leading to the event. I tried for well over a month to get help with transferring my ticket to I could join a team and the imbeciles they have working for them could not get it accomplished. I literally was in contact with at least five different employees and even up to the day before the event they couldn’t complete this simple task. This was my third and last #toughmudder. I don’t mind spending the money on an event like this but they need to invest in a little bit better customer service model.

Just finished the 2015 course a few weeks ago! Totally worth it if you buy your ticket early. I always had a fear of heights and I think this helped me overcome it to some degree. I can climb up ladders and it don’t really phase me anymore.
The course itself is great, elevation changes, plenty of mud, and enough water to clean yourself off in the end. Free shirt this year was just a regular t shirt, not the performance tees handed out in previous years. I hear next year the performance tees are back though.
All in all I recommend this to anyone who wants to find out what they are made of. Inspire yourself to complete challenges, work as team to accomplish something. Just don’t half ass it!

Wow what can I say. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, and I would do it all over again. This was truly a great experience. Everyone was in good spirits and everything ran pretty smoothly. The tough mudder is no joke. The obstacles are just as challenging as they looked. I thought some of them looked worse in the pictures than in real life, nope I was wrong. The shock therapy obstacle knocked me the f*** out. Seriously, I low crawled at the end and when I stood up I got shocked so bad I blacked out for about three seconds. Cant say I was happy about that, but I definitely got what I paid for.
The staff there was really cool and energetic. They had the layout set up pretty nice so there wasn’t a big cluster checking in. The only thing I wish they had was a couple more water points and a shuttle back and forth from the parking lot. I felt for $ 200.00 there should have been a little more goodies and a shuttle available. But I think I am bias because it took us and about 20 other people to find their car. It seriously was ridiculous how many people couldn’t remember where they parked. All in all the was a great and tiring day. FYI– if your in moderate shape it should take you about 4 hours to complete the course.

Love love love LOVE tough mudder. This was my second time doing it and loved every moment. Temecula was a little over 10 miles. Loved how it was at a lake and you have to go thru the muddy water. If you’ve never tried it before and you enjoy hiking and etc then I suggest you look into it

Great events but terrible customer service. I just wanted to transfer an open event but they can’t get it right and there is no customer service to call. I think there is a serious language barrier. It was a simple request, which makes me wonder what would happen if you needed something serious resolved. I’m deeply concerned about a company you trust with your life… but they are basically inaccessible.

Just did my first TM and now I can compare it to a Spartan race. I have done 4 Spartan races including the 2014 Trifecta. In terms of challenge, I would put TM on par with a Spartan Super but a long way behind the Beast.
THE GOOD
Fun obstacles — the obstacles at TM are more fun than Spartan. You jump off high things into water, the monkey bars are over water, and the less fun, more physical ones are short. That being said, you rarely feel like you physically exert yourself to death. Many challenges like a sled pull or barbwire crawl are ¼−1/3 the length of what they would be at a Spartan race. The walls are higher than any at Spartan though. And there is the electroshock therapy. A trademark TM experience.
Better on-​course support — the aid stations at TM blow Spartan away. I’ve always heard there are going to be snacks at Spartan water stations, but I’ve never seen them. TM had cut up metrx bars ready to go and no lines for water and bathrooms. The bottlenecks at the sparsely placed Spartan stations led me long ago to carry my own water.
Less bottlenecking — the wait times at obstacles were brief for TM. Probably about once a Spartan race I take the burpees just so I don’t have to wait in line.
Beer at finish — as opposed to Spartan (where you have to get an ID check at a different booth and thus get your stuff first), TM had the finish beers on a table ready to go right after you cross the line. A true beer at the finish.
THE BAD
No medal — No tangible sense of accomplishment just some flimsy headband (seriously, who shows off a headband?). Better yet, Spartan has a series of progressive medals that encourage you to do a trifecta. I have very little from my TM experience to show off, only the knowledge that I did one and don’t have to again.
Untimed — how much do you really push yourself when you’re not competing against anything? How much do you want to go back and improve when you can’t see your time against your gender and age? It really took a lot out of it.
Photos — I may have to change this as I have not received any email re photos yet but everyone on the course said I’d be lucky if I found one official photo of me. Spartan gets you about 5 – 6 good ones.
Dissing Spartan — TM had some dumb sign up dissing the Spartan race and burpees. Felt even more stupid to someone who knew a Spartan race is superior. TM claims its all about teamwork and cooperation but so is the Spartan race even though its timed. In fact, it feels more real in a Spartan race because it’s a race. TM makes it feel like an obligation. The digs at Spartan seemed desperate. Conversely, you never hear the words TM at a Spartan race…
THE UGLY
Pre-​race BS — TM sequesters runners into a warm-​up which lasted about 15 minutes. Could have been 5 minutes because who goes to the starting gates cold. Spartan has about 5 minutes max of pump up talk. But here was the worst part. After getting up to the start line we had to listen to some self-​righteous DJ talk repeatedly about the troops, handicapped participants he saw, his friend with cancer, and then he made us take a knee. I thought we were going to pray! This went on for over 20 minutes. It was uncomfortable, it was a downer, and it was the last thing I wanted when I was amped to take off. I can’t convey how excessive and inappropriate it was. I can tolerate 5 – 10 minutes of crap but this was beyond that. People were sweating and trying to stay in the zone. It was so bad. This may be the single-​greatest reason I never do another TM.
The cost — TM is going to price itself out of existence. If you sign up about 2 – 3 months before a race you are looking at about $ 100 for Spartan including fees and about $ 180 for TM. And for what? Its not a medal… or a timing chip… or photos. Plus everything at a TM is more expensive. The parking and bag check are 2X what they are at Spartan. And yet it feels emptier. Less to it. Spartan feels like a thriving village of excitement. TM felt like the starting line for a race. I can’t see why TM is so much more expensive than Spartan yet delivers so much less. I have zero desire to do another TM, whereas I am excited for my 5^th Spartan.

I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I’d do it again.
They get you ($$$) on every little thing. This was a very expensive day.
THE BAD: As others have said, there were bottlenecks at almost every obstacle, and worst — I got a stomach bug the next day; which is hard not to attribute to being in the mud after thousands of other people. Parking was a disaster for so many people, I arrived to the bus lot an hour early, and I made my team late for our start. Lastly, not a good spectator sport for little ones, I’m glad I left the wife and baby behind for this event.
THE GOOD: All that said, it was generally fun, and the course was well laid out. With all the obstacles (rests), you don’t really need to be able to run 12 miles straight.

TM could be a great and challenging event but because TM’s management allows TOO MANY people to participate, it was a joke in June 9 2013.
The majority of obstacles had bottle necks where I had too wait sometime as long as 15 – 20 minutes for my turn. The start line should be much wider so that the stronger participants could take off faster.” At some point, it was impossible to run because there were too many people.
If you plan just to have fun and do not care about physical challenges go for it, but if you expect your muscles to be sore next day, TM is not a good choice.
It looks like TM’s does not care about its reputation and status of «being tough» I’ve recently received a survey via email from TM. None of the questions had anything to do with how TM could be improved. All questions were tailored to find out what kind of stuff, services and deals, TM could offer me in the future (e.g. hotel deals, transportation, etc.)
While I had a good time with my excellent teammates and loved the atmosphere and vibe, TM is no longer TOUGH.

3 hours of mud, 10.5 miles of hills, and millions of bruises later, TM is off the bucketlist!
My team consisted of older guys of the veteran, former marine, firemen, runner variety with great senses of humor («Stop looking at my muffin top!» «Well, it’s kind of hard to miss!»), quick feet and willingness to hoist their wimpy female teammate over 12 foot walls.
Before the start line we gathered in a warm-​up area; when released somebody in the our wave yelled, «To the start line!» and we all rushed the little distance to the 6-​foot wall and jumped over (er, got hoisted over). The guy emcee at the start line is rad! He had us all kneel, had all the veterans stand and showered them with praise, had us salute the American flag, chant «HOO RAH!», warned us of all the people rolling their ankles («If you run out here and roll your ankle at 100 yards from the start line you don’t get an orange headband. I can’t even get you a beer at 100 yards!»), and generally got us into a fantastic mood to start the race.
The race starts with little hills, which are no big deal, until about 30 hills later and you see the 2 mile sign. There are also signs that inform you: «It’s okay to start running now.» My absolute least favorite obstacle was the Death March, which was a sandy hill so steep that I was literally crawling up on all fours. I kept my head down and climbed as far as I could before feeling completely exhausted, looked up and saw that I was only half way. That was very, truly, absolutely disheartening. My former-​marine teammate kept shouting «Easy day! Easy day! Hoo rah!» which cheered me up some. Coming in close second was having to go down the sand hills. I was so scared I eventually just sat down and slid my butt down the mountain, nearly ripping holes in my shorts and creating great clouds of dust in my landsliding. I’m all for sprinting down paved roads but this was terrifying.
My favorite obstacles were the Jesus Walk in which you navigated a muddy course and slid your feet to figure out where the path was in the mud (or you can charge through and fall into all the mud pits like WipeOut) and the Cage Crawl in which you pull yourself through the mud water with the fence. That one was pretty relaxing for those less than 150 lbs, but the guys on my team all had the fence cave in on them and submerged in the mud.
People worry most about the Electroshock Therapy and Arctic Enema. I completely psyched myself out watching peoples’ bodies convulse when they are shocked but I snaked through the wires and was not shocked much. That was the worst one for my firefighter teammate who had completed four previous TM events and the shock from one of the wires nearly blacked him out and had him sitting in the middle of the shock course unable to move for a good 20 seconds. The Arctic Enema is not bad if you have teammates to hoist you out of the water. I brought goggles and actually slowly breast stroked under the plank before my fireman yelled at me to get out of the water quick and keep moving before I develop hypothermia.
Quick tips:
+ Bring: towel, change of clothes, a mirror (I drew an extra eyelid on myself (so attractive (and none of the guys even pointed it out!))), lotion (all that mud can dry you out painfully), ID for check in, and cash or a debit card.
+ Wear: dry fit everything. Gloves for wheelbarrowing through the rocks and dirt.
+ Sunblock! I thought all that mud created a barrier but I still got burned.
+ Run with your feet high or you might snag on a driftwood and trip.
+ Porta-​potties are located wherever there are water stations.
— Parking $ 10 cash on-​site. 20 minute shuttle and another walking mile to start line
+ Check in. Fill out a waiver at the waiver tent before presenting your ID and getting your packet. Quick, 30-​second check in.
— Bag drop $ 5 cash. 50% of the proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior project. What if I had not brought cash?! The thought of having to trek a mile back to the shuttle, bus back to the car, then come back had me narrowing my eyes.
+ Food trucks: Pizza, organic foods, BBQ-​type food and seafood with intolerably long lines. A medium «boring pizza (yawn)» was $ 13 and a medium «sexy pepperoni (hayyy)» was $ 14. Typical event pricing.
— Merchandise tent: 25% off and cash only. I was seriously going to buy a dry-​fit long sleeve but no merchandise for the girl with the credit card.
— Past volunteer supposed to get a discount: –1 star for not responding to my email
I love how much of a teamwork vibe there is going on; even when I was butt sliding down the steep hill I had people come by and try to help me. Definitely most people can finish this course — it’s a matter of having enough people push you over the walls and how slowly you want to walk up the hills. Our team finished in just under 3 hours, and that is with waiting for teammates (wonderful me: D) and running around walkers. Definitely gonna do it again!

I have to admit, I spent hours upon hours watching videos to mentally prepare myself for this event. The videos gave me the motivation to go out and run trails and do more pullups than I thought possible. By the time the day came, I was ready. Nervous… but ready. And I had an incredible time! Personally, I feel like if you’re in decent shape and fairly coordinated then you’ll complete this challenge with no issues. Like many people say, if you can run 5 miles or so and have decent upper body strength then you’ll be fine. The positive attitude of everyone there was contagious. It’s not an atmosphere of competition but camaraderie. There were people in super hero costumes, Baywatch bathing suits, 3 piece suits, you name it… they were there. I was worried the obstacles were going to be super difficult but they weren’t. Everything was very doable. And if there’s anything you have trouble with, there’s no shortage of people there to help you. Otherwise, if you really can’t do it or don’t really want to do it then just skip it. No biggie. One thing people are really worried about are the shocking obstacles. I equate the shocks to someone kicking or punching you pretty hard. Enough to knock you down to one knee. But nothing earth shattering. This is definitely something I want to try again. For sure! And I recommend everyone out there try this at least once. Are you tough enough for it?

Great fun and not nearly as bad as people make it seem. But I’ve come to realize that the people running the show simply are not trustworthy. I’m a little annoyed that I gave them my money on previous occasions.
It COULD have been four stars (minus one for how generally douchebag-​y it feels — different from just douchey), but the organization has left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth.
A few friends and I have been signed up for the June 22, 2013 SoCal event. Some newbies, some veterans, some fatasses, one hottie (ahem, hi), all eager to have a good time. However, one of my teammates forwarded me an e-​mail that she received late in the day on March 27^th, 2013. In it, she was notified that she needed to fill out a form by March 28^th, 2013 (the next day), in order to receive a refund or transfer for her payment for the event. I personally didn’t even receive an e-​mail. Nor did two other people in the team. So… the one person in the team who actually got the e-​mail got basically a one-​day heads up in order for her to APPLY to get a refund. Apparently, the resort where this is held (Vail Lake) is going through some bankruptcy/​takeover proceedings, and so this event was canceled. Fair enough, but if you ask me, that should be an immediate and full refund for all those who signed up for the event. Nope, instead we’re instructed to fill out a form (that, again, you may not have even been alerted to) in order to get a refund or transfer to a different event. I’m not an expert on the law, but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. If not, it’s CERTAINLY dishonest. Luckily, since one of our teammates did get the e-​mail, we all had the refund link and the heads up, so we all filled out the forms. The confirmation page basically says somebody will be in touch by April 5^th to GIVE INSTRUCTIONS on receiving a refund. Give instructions?! What the FUCK was the form for then? No confirmation number, no e-​mail confirmation. Just a generic page noting that we can look forward to jumping through another hoop to get our money back. Shit, these obstacles in getting my damn money back are worse than the event itself!
I’ll be finding a different organization to throw money at. In fact, I should probably start a dispute with my credit card company instead of sitting here ranting in a review.

This was 3.5 hours of my life spent well. I had been training for this event for months and under the cold February morning, I descended upon Vail Lake with an attitude of a warrior. I cross freezing pools of water and mud and more water until my lips turned blue and I couldn’t feel my fingertips. All in all, it was an amazing and transformative experience in that I saw how much I could push my body!
And yes I’m gonna do this again! :)

In my life, I’ve had the opportunity to run 5 & 10 k’s, half marathons, marathons, and mud runs. The Tough Mudder combined all of those into one to create the most memorable team event I have ever participated in.
Our team was called the Bucket List Crew and we arrived at Vail Lake in Temecula on a cold Saturday morning. We all carpooled together so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking. We saved $ 10, more money for buying Tough Mudder gear. The parking lot was organized and they had staff getting people in. Good job with the parking.
Next was the mile walk to base camp. Yeah, a mile walk to get to the event. This was a warm up and we needed this. Did I mention it was about 35 degrees that morning, burrrrr. Once we arrived to base camp, we made our way towards the check-​in area. Check-​in was organized by your last name and staff did a great job of getting your death waiver, checking id, and putting your race number on your body and forehead. We checked in our clothes into the bag area and made our way towards the start.
The most emotional part of the race, for me, took place at the start line. The MC was amazing and he really knows how to get people into the event and he reminds us why we are all doing the Tough Mudder, the Wounded Warriors.
Obstacles for this Tough Mudder included Kiss of Mud, Berlin Walls #1, WWP Carry, Artic Enema, Funkey Monkey, Mud Mile, Underwater Tunnels, Just the Tip, Hold your Wood, Trench Warfare, Kiss of Mud #2, Berlin Walls #2, Twinkle Toes, Cliffhanger, Balls to the Wall, Dark Lighting, Boa Constrictor, Walk the Plank, Electric Eel, Everest, and Electroshock Therapy.
After the pain, scratches, bruises, electroshock, leg cramps, and blood we received our orange head bands and T-​shirt. Our free beer was a Dos Equis but I lost a quarter of it while walking afterwards because my hand was shaking so much. We made our way towards the rinsing and changing area to dry off.
The merchandise tent had plenty of hats, t-​shirts, and mugs for your Tough Mudder needs. We took our mile walk back to the car and enjoyed watching other people participating.
I was able to cross off one item on my bucket list and this was the toughest one. If you have not done a Tough Mudder I highly recommend it. Find a good team, get in shape, and get ready to get your body rocked.

I have participated in over 20 half-​marathon races (with a few mud runs and full marathons here and there), and my average time is around the 2:00 hour mark. I also do a lot of wilderness backpacking (85 lbs on my back) and strenuous hiking… ToughMudder kicked my ass (in a way.)
This race is one of the best-​organized ones I have ever participated in, and it has a great variety of terrain changes, obstacles, and course support. The volunteers were enthusiastic and supportive, and because the race centers around team work, the old military saying of «No One Left Behind» underscored that mantra.
The challenges were somehow coming to me naturally, but my team struggled at some of them. We made a point to stick together until the very end.
The weather was 48 °F with overcast clouds and mild winds that sometimes picked up for a brief while. We quickly got very cold once we hit the waters, making our dip into the ice cube-​laden pool almost like a walk in the park. We saw great comradery on the course, especially when we reached the wall obstacles. Many wanted to give up, but all participants cheered and worked together to help everyone to complete them. It was a great sight to behold, both young and old, fit and not-​so-​fit were represented.
We found our gloves useless for the Monkey Bars — all of us slipped due to the mud giving us little to grip on.
We were also bruised and scraped — so, wear long pants and technical shirts when possible. DO NOT wear cotton shirts! They’ll soak up the water, making things heavier for you AND keeping you cold for quite some time. Keep moving. Jump on the same spot if you have to. This will help prevent hyper thermia. We came across a young male who had a hard time breathing and was purple all around his face. We all huddled together to keep him warm until we were able to drop him off at the medical station.
Ask for some salt at medical stations to help minimize cramps due to lack of salt.
I could go into more tips about the obstacles themselves, but I found that going into the race without knowing what to expect made for an unforgettable experience. I do, however, have one big tip for you: the electrical wires (there were 3 obstacles)… go through them as QUICK as you can! The longer you take, the more you will get zapped! The last 3 miles are where you can find the 3 electrified obstacles. Yes, you have the option to bypass any you do not wish to take, but why not overcome the fear and just give it a try? My butt received nice massages from happy electrons, followed by my shouting bad words… ;)
I wish that I could comment how great the finish line was, but we were so COLD, we had a hard time keeping our beer cups steady. Our hands were shaking uncontrollably, and the thermal blankets and heat lamps did not help one bit.
As I said earlier, this race was organized really well. It was one of the best races I have ever participated in and hands-​down makes the Camp Pendleton Mud Run look like child’s play. It was a challenging 11 miles filled with great obstacles, some pain, cuts, and bruises. I do not yet know whether this race is tougher than a 26.2-mile Full Marathon. It may have been, especially with the freezing temperatures we experienced.
We love the Under Armour t-​shirt and head bands. Pack warm clothing to change into (you can check them into the Bag Check area.)
The Merchandise tent accepts credit cards.

Fun.
Beer.
Headband.
Shirt.
Electroshock.
Sign up and rock it!

Tough! Mudder! Wounded! Warrior!
I won’t write another review on how to train and «prepare» for it. For that, please refer to the reviews of my beautiful superwomen Mudder-​Effers teammates Joy A. and Kathy V. They will give you a total rundown and (hopefully) decrease any anxieties you have of Tough Mudder.
What I will reiterate is tha the feelings that overwhelm you at the starting line (and throughout the course) are truely indescribable! I’m not talking about the physical feeling of soreness and pain, I’m talking mentally. I’m definitely not the cheerleader type but I really do believe that all the camraderie between not only your team but also with the other teams plays a big part in your successful crossing of the finish line. If you end up slowing down or walking for a bit, guaranteed there will be strangers zooming by saying things along the lines of «good job» or «keep it up». Maybe you’ll even get a pat on the butt… heyyyyy! Motivation… gotta love it!
What are you waiting for? Sign up already! Pain is temporary… being labeled as a TOUGHT MUDDER is forever (and you’ll have the coveted orange headband to prove it!). Don’t get me wrong, it’s no walk in the park but I’m pretty sure you’ll look back and think it wasn’t as hard as you thought. Then you can do as Jay-​Z would… go and brush your shoulder off.

When the going gets tough, the tough start having fun!
This was my first Tough Mudder, decided to do it for my birthday (the big 3 – 0) since I really couldn’t think of a better way to spend it. Hating life and loving life on the same day seemed fitting for a birthday. I called a friend, signed up a team and was now «So. Cal #1 Tough Mudder «enlisted».
Despite the fact that traffic was backed up for miles on the road there and the wait made the DMV feel like a walk in the park, we got there early. We had to park in a grass field where there were no designated parking spaces but there were plenty of horse and cow turds that you felt like you had to avoid like IEDs.
Lines for the transport bus were super long. The main grounds were only about a half mile away, considering we were going to do roughly 11+ miles today another ½ mile didn’t matter. We grabbed our gear and start trekking.
Registration and bag check were quick and painless. Get your packet, get your number written on you, check your bag, then wander the grounds until your wave.
Time to hit our wave. Hop the little wall and get ready. The overall energy of the pep talk/​intro from the MC was pretty cool. Not only was it fun, but it was also a nice little orientation for the event. The focus put on the Wounded Warrior Project was awesome. You recite the TM pledge and sing the National Anthem, they play some music, you jump up and down, then they yell «GO!» and you are off and running through the colored smoke.
The course winds up down and around for the next 11 miles in which traverse a 20+ obstacles that include: mud crawls under barbed wire, over and under logs, water/​mud filled tunnels, trench jumps, monkey bars, crawl through electrical wires, 15 foot platform jump into water, arctic enema (ice water plunge), balance beams, more walls, cargo net climbs, log carry, water crossings, slip ‘n’ slide, swim under barrels, climbing up a vert ramp, electroshock finish line and a few others mixed in between.
It’s awesome to see the Marines out there at the obstacles getting some time off of the base to boss around and talk smack to the civilians. That was pretty cool.
Overall, the course/​event was a lot more fun than it was tough. In my opinion, there were only two obstacles that were difficult. One was the low crawl electroshock therapy, which felt like Thor was hitting me with his lightning charged hammer. The other was the Arctic Enema. First you jump into the water and it isn’t *that* bad. Once you swim under and hit the wall of ice cubes though, it’s a completely different story. That was cold! Luckily the weather was warm and sunny and I warmed back up after about a minute. Aside from those, the course was pretty mild. Our team finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes. Apparently good enough for the top 5%, which surprised me .
I would definitely recommend this event to anyone who is looking for a fun challenge that is a little different than your average run of the mill runs/​events. This is definitely something different. In a really good way. I will be doing at least one more this year.
Training and Tips:
It really isn’t very difficult or «tough» with a little preparation…
The course is more about endurance/​distance and traversing obstacles so the main things I did was a lot of hiking. I did a 4 – 5 mile mountain hike/​jogging circuit about 2 – 4 times a week for a couple months leading into the event. Occasionally I’d do it twice in a row. Just be prepared to go the distance, you don’t want to cramp up like some people I saw out there.
At the gym: a lot of push-​ups, pull-​ups and air squats just to make sure I’d be able to lift myself over obstacles.
—If you go through a lot of water like me, bring a hydration pack, I filled mine with Cytomax. There are hydration/​snack stops throughout the course but I don’t like to rely on just those.
—Eat Oatmeal and bananas beforehand, carbs and potassium will help you for long distances.
—MOST IMPORTANTLY, HAVE FUN!
Now get out there and do it!

Camaraderie. That’s what Tough Mudder is all about.
How do you get through it?
–Pick a good team.
I’m not referring to picking only the strongest or fastest. Pick friends that are dedicated, loyal, and are ready to get down and dirty. That’s the team I chose– eleven pretty tough «Mudder-​Effers»!
–Register early.
Space fills up fast and fees add up, not to mention they enforce a mandatory $ 15 insurance fee.
–Train hard.
Begin training at least 3 months in advance.
*Follow the recommended circuit at least 3x’s a week.
*Incorporate uphill running into your workout. (Tough Mudder is roughly 10−12miles, broken up between obstacles.)
*Practice swimming
*Most important, train with your group
–Obstacles
The obstacles vary from event to event. However, it still focuses on challenging the core strength you’ve built through completing their recommended circuit. My fave/​most challenging obstacles were the Monkey Bars (
), Chernobyl (
), Walk the Plank (
), and Electroshock Therapy (
).
–Game Day
As with any other event (i.e. marathon, triathlon, warrior dash, etc), plan accordingly. Get plenty of rest, eat a good carb-​based dinner the night before, stay hydrated, and give yourself about an hour before your start time to park, (yellow school) bus it over, register, and get marked up with your team. Game day attire depends entirely on you, but dry-​fit clothes (i.e. Under Armour, Nike) and good trail shoes work magic. Prepare to get marked up on your forehead and legs or arms. This will help identify you in their pictures. Try & pick team colors and/​or a team outfit.
–Have fun with it!!!
The pre-​motivation speech is classically memorable. By the end you are absolutely amped like no other and they have you chanting «Tough! Mudder! Wounded! Warrior!» repeatedly. No need to worry if you can or can’t do it because you can! You can do even better if you’ve trained hard for it. Even the hardest obstacles are a basis of mind over matter. Besides, your team will kick your ass if you don’t!
Bottom line:
What’s a little mud, ice, freezing lake water, smoke in your face, uphill terrain in the sun, and electro shock therapy got on you? Absolutely NOTHING!!!
Are you TOUGH MUDDER material or not?

Just only the toughest event in the planet-​TOUGH MUDDER! team name «TEAM MUDDER EFFERS» This past weekend, I ventured out with 11 bad asses to Temecula, Vail lake. The last three months, me and my team have been training our butt’s off. I recommend to everyone who loves to work out to participate (at least) once in your lifetime.
In a nutshell-​25 Military Obstacle courses –12 miles long
*Tips-​Being in shape requires one thing: hard work. And working hard requires no talent.
*Follow the TM circuit guide listed on their site
*Start practicing running (HILLS) that is-​every location they pick, is an area with Mountain terrain and dirt hills (10 miles of up & down)
*If you don’t know how to swim, do not do the swimming obstacles. LOL
*Buy GU-​It will give you an extra boost, and Carb up two days before.
*Do not buy new running/​trail shoes-​your going to end up donating them to TM, most people did.
*TM is a mental Challenge, come with your game face on & be a beast while your at it!!!
*Majority of the obstacles were all core, and upper body
*All about Comradery! everyone was so helpful-​Make sure you have tall people and men on your team! without them, we wouldn’t have survived LOL
At the end, Bragging rights! totally priceless!

First off, what’s up with the address? I tried updating it but no joy, hopefully someone with some brains can hook it up. Anyways let me quote one of my heros, Derek Zoolander.
«I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.»
This past weekend my team, Blue Steel, and I discovered it! Three hours of mud, dust, hills, cramps, jumps, lake, crawls, ICE WATER, etc… makes beer taste so much better with your team and fellow mudders. I admit that it was a little easier than I expected but as I reflect now, it was the phsyical preperation, «I don’t give a fuck» attitude, and my teammates that really proved to be the recipe for success. I must’ve watched hours upon hours of Tough Mudder videos to pscyhe me out before a workout and even after that I still had the hunger to go harder the next day. But Tough Mudder does a good job on making you guess what’s next. You can study the course map for your event for days but they’ll switch it up, just go for it and don’t stop til you get your orange headband. I’ve never been more proud to wear a piece of simple clothing in my life until I earned that headband. Too bad my friends didn’t apprecieate me wearing it to the wine bar aftwerwards.
For those of you who are doing a Tough Mudder, a bit of advice.
1. Arrive early and make sure your vehicle is fueled up because traffic is a beast both to and from the event.
2. Run plenty of hills! Leave the flat shit for a marathon, you’re doing Tough Mudder!
3. They had bananas at almost every other water station but bring an energy gel in your ZIPPERED pocket. You will lose it if it ain’t secure!
4. I really benefited from the WOD and infro from Pete Isip on
5. Check the weather during your heat time to decide what to wear.
To all my Tough Mudder brothers and sisters… HOO-​YAH! Wear that headband with pride!