For those readers who haven’t yet heard about the Tough Mudder, let me briefly fill you in on what you’ve been missing. The Tough Mudder is a grueling 10-12 mile obstacle course originally designed by members of the British Military’s Special Forces. The purpose of the event (and let me make this clear – it is not a race) is to test participants’ “strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie,” by pushing each participant to his or her limits – and beyond.
With a catch phrase of “probably the toughest event on the planet,” one might expect only the craziest of people to attempt it. And one might also think that only hulking, muscle-bound fitness nuts would even be worthy of completing such a course; that such physically demanding endeavors are better left to Navy SEALs or Green Berets or other such titans of toughness. But I am here to tell you that, although the Tough Mudder is certainly not a walk in the park, it is in fact possible for mere mortals to earn the coveted orange headband and become a “Tough Mudder” by completing the event.
On a rainy Saturday morning of April 14th, I found myself one of several thousand future Tough Mudders at the starting line of the Michigan/Ohio event at Amherst Quarry, OH. I stood alongside my four teammates (four of us are Drill Sergeants in the Army Reserve, and one is prior military) listening to the starting line MC as he worked the members of the 9:00 wave up to a frenzy right before our start. The excitement was palpable; I could taste it, feel the energy of the others in the crowd, knowing that, just as the MC said, we are all on the same team. Tough Mudder is not a race, it is a challenge to be completed alongside and with the help of your brothers and sisters in mud.
And teamwork is truly at the heart of Tough Mudder. The proceeds from each race go to support the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization aimed at helping wounded service members as they recover from their injuries – which aren’t always visible. According to the Tough Mudder Website, nearly 3 million dollars have been raised for Wounded Warrior Project through Tough Mudder events. And at most events, if you look carefully, you will probably find a team of veterans representing Wounded Warrior Project.
I looked around the crowd, and I saw that there were all kinds of types there. I saw college students, soccer moms, and military service members. I saw people of all levels of fitness and body types. I saw middle aged men with knee braces and frat boys without their shirts on. And you know what? Most of them finished. And most of them, I am sure, had a blast doing it.
The MI/OH course was around 12 miles long, and featured 27 separate obstacles. Because the organizers incorporate the terrain of each separate location, each course is slightly different, although there are several obstacles common to each event. Obstacles range from leg-blasting climbs (“Cliffhanger”) to outright torture (“Arctic Enema” and “Electroshock Therapy”) with almost anything imaginable in between.
Although the course was 12 miles long, it didn’t feel like a 12 mile run. Of course, after we were finished, I physically felt like I had run 12 miles. But during the course, it was different. In a normal race, there isn’t much to do but count down the miles you’ve completed. Sure, you can look around and enjoy the view, but there isn’t a lot to do. But as we ran the Tough Mudder, we found that rather than ticking down how many miles we had until we reached the finish line, we simply enjoyed running through the woods, swamps, and quarries of Amherst and looked forward to our next obstacle. It was intense, pure, unadulterated fun, made all the better by running the course with my brothers in arms alongside me.
Although Tough Mudder featured a wide variety of obstacles, I feel that two deserve special attention: The Arctic Enema and the Quarter Pipe.
The Arctic Enema required us to jump into a vat full of ice water, swim under a low beam, and exit the other side. Sounds easy, right? I thought so too, until the shock of the cold water caused my muscles to momentarily stop responding to signals from my brain. Or maybe the shock caused my brain to suddenly stop working right. Either way, it was tough, and a very mentally challenging obstacle, because as soon as I got out of the vat, we were off and running again, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I was wondering, “do I really want to do this?” But within a few minutes we had warmed back up again and had no further problems. We encountered several more water obstacles, and even came to enjoy them by the end of the race, despite the cold air temperature.
The Quarter Pipe receives special mention for another reason. It is one of the most difficult obstacles to complete, and teamwork is the name of the game. The pipe itself is at least twelve feet high, and steep enough that most mudders need to sprint up its slope and lunge for the hands of their numerous companions at the top of the obstacle. I loved it because, although it was difficult (and a little bit painful when I slipped and didn’t make it on my first try), the teamwork and camaraderie were nowhere as evident as they were atop that Quarter Pipe.
Finishing the Tough Mudder left each of us with a feeling of accomplishment – we had faced down the beast, and conquered it. But we didn’t do it alone. We each had the support of our teammates, and our team, in turn, helped other mudders along the way.
The challenge, the camaraderie, and a worthy cause, together with the outright fun of playing in the mud, make the Tough Mudder a worthwhile event for all those who seek to conquer what is “probably the toughest event on the planet.”
