It was a cool morning on Oct 20, 2012 in Maysville, KY. Perfect weather for a Tough Mudder (TM) to keep you warm. Wait, that may not be a completely true statement. I believe quite a few people may have left the course due to the very cold temperatures which couldn't have been helped by the Arctic Enema or other water obstacles along the course.
If you have ran a Tough Mudder event before this one was no different than most. Except the Kentucky mud and rock hilly terrain. I have heard from a few people that this may have been one of the more difficult courses this year combining the terrain with the temperature.
Set up/Organized
For those of you who have not ran a mud run/obstacle race the basic set up is usually the same. There are registration tents set up by last name where you pick up your bib number and other necessary items. Picking up your free beer wrist bands, bag check tags, and dropping off waivers are primary activities at the registration. Also at Tough Mudder this time it was greatly stressed that you have your proof of being in the military for the discount. It seems some people with lower levels of integrity may have been trying to get a discount without actually being in the military.
After registration was the bag drop to store your bag during the race. Past the bag check you will find the vendors, food tents, the all important restrooms, the stage for the band and the starting line are. The spectators can also leave from this area to view different areas of the course. One thing I do love about TM's is the access the spectators have to the course.
The Course
The hardest part of this course to me was the terrain. Many people walked the hills, up and down. They grew slick with mud and there were many rocks of various sizes to transverse as well making a recipe for trouble. Many people slid down sections on their butts due to the lack of traction. Many others found themselves on their butts anyway when they tried to stay on their feet. After getting up or down these changes in elevation you then had to deal with the TM obstacles themselves.
Here was the course map http://toughmudder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/12.10.20.KY-Final-Course-Map.pdf. If you want to see what the obstacles listed on the map are, I think the easiest thing is to go on youtube.com and search for "tough mudder (obstacle name)" and a list of videos containing that particular obstacle should appear. Especially fun to watch is the Electro Shock Therapy, and I highly suggest this one, watch the guy in the maroon shirt about 0:23 into the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHZ16MD0WhI.
Activities
In the tradition of most obstacle races there was a place to purchase beverages and a live band.
Support Charities
Tough Mudder is known for supporting The Wounded Warrior Project. To find out more please follow this link http://toughmudder.com/wounded-warrior-project/.
My Race
I definitely feel that the overall course terrain was the hardest I have seen in the mud runs, 25K trail races and any road race I've ever participated in. The hills were great! So many people hated them I know, but to me, that really helped separate people. I ran up many parts of them, walked with a fast pace where I didn't feel I could run effectively and made decent progress. I was rarely passed up a hill but I passed many people on their way to the top.
One of the toughest decisions was what to wear. The temps were suppose to be in the 40's but I ran Ohio in those temps and felt fine. However, Kentucky felt different. Thinking that it wouldn't be so different I only packed a light long sleeve tech shirt and a very thin sleeveless one which is what I planned on wearing, if I didn't go without a shirt. Once I was registered and ready to drop off my bag for the duration of my time there, I stayed with the thinner shirt hoping the temps would rise as the day went.
Another last second decision was gloves or no gloves, and I chose gloves. That was a key item I believe. They didn't help with grip much, the mud made them too slick for that, but they did keep the cold off my hands some.
I took off in the 9:20 wave with four other waves leaving before me. While I crossed the course, I rarely hit any lines or bottlenecks. The Kiss of Mud was easy and then came the Arctic Enema.Its a large dumpster full of ice water and half way across is a board that goes down into the water about a foot. The obstacle is to jump in the icy water, go under the board and get out the other end. My first TM I cannon balled into the water and the shock hit me hard. I definitely didn't want to go under the board but I did anyway. This time I eased into the water without any shock from the cold. After I swung myself under the board and came up out of the water that shock was there again. Its amazing what that can do to someone. Grasping for air I just wanted to get out of that container as quickly as possible. The ice was so thick I had to use the side to pull myself along until I got to the end and climbed out.
The biggest challenge may have been the hills. They were steep, they were long and it was difficult to find footing on them. The mud was slick and rocks would sometimes come loose and move when you stepped on them. I ran up areas on all the hills, sometimes I would walk at a strong pace, always moving forward, always pushing hard. If you go up a hill, chances are you have to come back down. On the downhills there were a lot of slick spots. I took a surfing stance and slid down where I could, a couple times sliding on my foot while squatting down to use my hands on the ground for balance.
About 7 miles in some cramps started to form. I knew I wasn't where I wanted to be physically. I had my appendix out a couple months ago and have been lazier than I should have been in my recovery. I kept pushing, enjoying the cold water to help relieve the cramps, and took advantage of the terrain as best I could. I made it up Everest with ease (see the video above), made it across the Funky Monkey, the Rings, and most all obstacles pretty easy. Training on the Mountain Goat course with Randy Wears definitely made me better prepared for this course.
My overall time was 2 hours and 40 mins. Not a bad time considering the terrain but I know I could have gone faster. If I would have pushed off the laziness the last couple months and trained harder it would have shown. With that said, I am happy with the time I pulled. I stopped to help 3 girls over the 12 ft Berlin walls. At each of the two walls I got on top of the wall and when the girl received a boost up, I grabbed their arm and pulled them on up to the top and made sure they dropped down the other side alright. I helped a chubby fellow conquer the 8 ft walls. As I came up to them he had tried to step on the board to reach the top and failed again. He was giving up and started walking around the side. I called out to him, "hey man, you wanna get over these? Let's do it." He asked if I could get him up and I told him no problem, I would get us through. I stood with my back to the wall, squatted down some and made a foot hold with my hands. He stepped there, then on the board on the wall, then I told him to step on my shoulder. He was able to get high enough to get his leg to the top and swing himself over. I then jumped to grab the top and pulled myself over. He made it over both walls and I think that's a big thing mentally. He wasn't going to be able to do it, he was giving up but I gave him the opportunity to conquer those walls, and we did. I hope he felt as good beating the walls as I did helping him and seeing him succeed. That's what the Tough Mudder is all about.
I hope all of you get the opportunity to do something like this. Push yourself, see how far you can go. Help each other along the way and find a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie. But to do that you need to train. I suggest not just training but creating a positive, healthy lifestyle. Let me know if you need help with that. Then get out and GET SOME!
