Tough Mudder

A challenging running-​obstacle-​bonding ritual
Still a fan of the TM after doing the March 2015 race. MUCH easier than 2013, when it was done in February, when it was 50-​degrees and windy, and people were stacked up in the medical tents with hypothermia symptoms.
Coolest thing about the race is the camaraderie. Our department did it together with some significant others, friends, and relatives. We make sure everyone finishes, that we raise money for a good cause, and we get some remarkable memories for the on-​course pain. Also get to meet some cool people on the course.
The course has been toned down on the suffering side, making it more doable– only one shock obstacle at the end; more obstacles requiring the upper body strength to drag and pull oneself, and pretty easy running. Oh, and lots of mud and dust. I’m still getting it out of my nose, lungs, and ears. Yup. My EARS.
Worth putting on your life’s bucket list and knocking off with friends…

this is for tough mudder 2014.
i did tough mudder in 2012… it was actually pretty tough for an obstacle race. not so much this year. i don’t know if they’re marketing to a different crowd or what, but a large portion of the obstacles had lame sauce dripped all over them.
for starters, they did away with 3 great obstacles… this gigantic log pile up, climb over thingy… a giant muddy hill climb with a rope netting bridge thingy… and a 2 inch balance beam over a water pit thingy…
this year, everything was WAY too easy and extremely do-​able. which is fine, but don’t label yourself «the toughest thing you’ll ever do» when that’s not at all true.
example: walking on top of culverts for 10 feet? hopping over a series of 3 foot deep ditches? crawling under a net? a non-​slippery Everest? after spending most of the time running 12 miles with a few light obstacles every so often, i went home and did a 2 hour mountain bike ride just to make me feel like i got a little exercise.
the aid stations were plentiful and as before, all the staff are very amp’d up and helpful. you pay for everything, from parking (15 bucks) to bag check (5 bucks).
it’s way too expensive, even for early bird pricing to not get the challenge I was anticipating.

Tough Mudder 2013 in Mesa was a fantastic event. I was part of Team Troy, probably the largest team at the event, and I cannot stress enough how much more fun and rewarding Tough Mudder is with a good team. The event is well organized and seemed as safe as it could be with medics clearly visible at nearly all times. Fellow Mudders were very supportive and helpful and never in too big of a hurry to aid someone in need. I really have no gripes, I didn’t feel overly pressured to spend extra money or participate in any of the side events going on. I had a blast and can’t wait until next year. If you’re on the fence about doing a Tough Mudder you have to come out and try it. It’s hard, but so worth it.

I had a lot of fun at Tough Mudder — Yes it was tough! I would definitely recommend this as part of a team building experience since there are some obstacles that you would need some help with.
I anticipated Tough Mudder to be much more «tougher» since the video portrays a lot masculinity and whoo-​ras (This is Sparta!) hollers. However, it was just real fun with some regulated pain. I think I over strength trained for this and if you’re asking; there’s some upper body strength needed, but if you can do pull-​ups you’re good. I would say it’s all an endurance game. Make sure you can run at least 5 – 8 miles cause there are resting periods when the obstacles start to bottleneck so a full 12 miles is not ideal.
Be ready to get bruised, scraped, cut, and feel the sensation of being drowned! I think what I hated most is the small rocks and sentiments inside my shoes while running. It was just grinding inside — Blah! The shock treatments suck!!! There’s no other way to describe it or prepare for it. It knocked me out for few seconds and when I awoke, my face was in the muddy waters and I ended up drinking some — yuck! — Enjoy!

I just finished tough mudder yesterday! It was about 12 miles of fun mud filled obstacles. The challenges ranged from mildly irritating to exhilarating (it was nice that all but one of the shock obstacles was completely avoidable). They nickle and dime you so expect searching for team refund paperwork, parking fees, spectator fees, food fees: there isn’t even water available for free before the race. The aid stations are frequent and offer water and sometimes bananas. The race was not as hard as a marathon but definitely harder than the average 12 mile run and the obstacles play on almost every kind of fear you could have. Expect bruises. Teamwork was very important and everyone was really nice. The best surprise was a proposal at the end of the race! :)