Just registered for Tough Mudder in Phx in January... who's with me?
08-13-2011, 12:14 PM
#1
Administrator/Jarhead
Thread Starter
Just registered for Tough Mudder in Phx in January... who's with me?
08-13-2011, 04:35 PM
#2
Registered User
Our son in law ran the one here up at Beaver Creek back in June. We went up there to cheer him on. If I recall they had over 7000 participants. He ran with a team from work.
The course was brutal. IIRC it was 10 miles. First it started at 9000 feet elevation and went up from there. The first part of the run was straight up the ski slope then we lost sight of them and took a shuttle to a group of obstacles up the mountain. They had to negotiate a single track up an extremely steep, rocky, muddy hill where if you put your hands out in front of you you could touch the ground (thats how steep it was) with big rocks that you had to negotiate, then crawl under approx 100ft of rope mesh (think low crawl under barb wire in basic) in the mud then cross over a river on cargo net, crawl through a very long culvert half filled with water and the bottom was lined with gravel, run, run, run some more jump into a huge tank of ice water (they were dumping ice in by the truckload) negotiate your way out of the tank, run, run, run some more then more obstacles. They used the snow making guns as a gauntlet to run through (think 20 fire hoses from each side) they used what was remaining of the snowboarding half pipe that you had to go up through and get out the other side then get up the back side of several other snowboard terrain park features (think steep as heck and slippery snow). Run, run, run some more. More obstacles run through 1/2 mile or so of meadow that is more like a bog with very deep mud and some water. One obstacle was like a giant skateboard ramp(more like the side of a bowl) that they greased that you had to get up and over, run, run, run some more. The last obstacle was a mud pit with a few different sections in it and dangling down from above were live electrical wires (hundreds of them) obviously it was not 110 but it was enough to let you know that you got zapped. Those are just the obstacles I saw.
It is not cheap to run in it. The later you wait to sign up the more expensive it gets.
It is mostly about teamwork and just getting through it as opposed to times. If I recall the ones that really want to run it timed and try to get into the final one are in the first group to go (they had groups go about every 20 minutes). If you qualify you are then invited to the final one in New Jersey I think it is which is a 24 hour race. I think I read the course is 10 or 15 miles and once you complete it you start over again and do it for 24 hours. It is supposed to be a fun adventure. Some of the teams wore stuff like pink tutus, g strings, various costumes most were normally dressed for such an event but a surprising number of dressed up ones. It actually looked like a lot of fun. In fact I told him I would run it next year.
By the way good luck it looked like a real hoot. You will need help on the course for some of the obstacles (at least at the one here) as you cant get them all done by yourself. That was one thing I saw was that everyone was helping everyone else it really was more about the challenge of getting it done and the camaraderie than the quickest time as they don't time you.
http://toughmudder.com/
The course was brutal. IIRC it was 10 miles. First it started at 9000 feet elevation and went up from there. The first part of the run was straight up the ski slope then we lost sight of them and took a shuttle to a group of obstacles up the mountain. They had to negotiate a single track up an extremely steep, rocky, muddy hill where if you put your hands out in front of you you could touch the ground (thats how steep it was) with big rocks that you had to negotiate, then crawl under approx 100ft of rope mesh (think low crawl under barb wire in basic) in the mud then cross over a river on cargo net, crawl through a very long culvert half filled with water and the bottom was lined with gravel, run, run, run some more jump into a huge tank of ice water (they were dumping ice in by the truckload) negotiate your way out of the tank, run, run, run some more then more obstacles. They used the snow making guns as a gauntlet to run through (think 20 fire hoses from each side) they used what was remaining of the snowboarding half pipe that you had to go up through and get out the other side then get up the back side of several other snowboard terrain park features (think steep as heck and slippery snow). Run, run, run some more. More obstacles run through 1/2 mile or so of meadow that is more like a bog with very deep mud and some water. One obstacle was like a giant skateboard ramp(more like the side of a bowl) that they greased that you had to get up and over, run, run, run some more. The last obstacle was a mud pit with a few different sections in it and dangling down from above were live electrical wires (hundreds of them) obviously it was not 110 but it was enough to let you know that you got zapped. Those are just the obstacles I saw.
It is not cheap to run in it. The later you wait to sign up the more expensive it gets.
It is mostly about teamwork and just getting through it as opposed to times. If I recall the ones that really want to run it timed and try to get into the final one are in the first group to go (they had groups go about every 20 minutes). If you qualify you are then invited to the final one in New Jersey I think it is which is a 24 hour race. I think I read the course is 10 or 15 miles and once you complete it you start over again and do it for 24 hours. It is supposed to be a fun adventure. Some of the teams wore stuff like pink tutus, g strings, various costumes most were normally dressed for such an event but a surprising number of dressed up ones. It actually looked like a lot of fun. In fact I told him I would run it next year.
By the way good luck it looked like a real hoot. You will need help on the course for some of the obstacles (at least at the one here) as you cant get them all done by yourself. That was one thing I saw was that everyone was helping everyone else it really was more about the challenge of getting it done and the camaraderie than the quickest time as they don't time you.
http://toughmudder.com/
08-13-2011, 04:44 PM
#3
Administrator/Jarhead
Thread Starter
Yeah, I've done a bit of reading on it... I'm gonna really work on training for it. Luckily there is a good set of hills near me, and I'm gonna look around for some swimming areas... Maybe just my pool with some ropes ties to me and the sides...
08-13-2011, 08:11 PM
#5
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Best of luck to ya buddy but I think I'll be sitting on the sidelines cheering ya on with a ice cold bud in my hand. My days of killing myself are over..
08-13-2011, 08:31 PM
#7
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I'm super excited. I've done a couple of Marine challenges, not this long, but tough none the less.
I'll post up before I go... I'm sure I'll get some good cammie paint going...
I'll post up before I go... I'm sure I'll get some good cammie paint going...
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08-13-2011, 08:58 PM
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08-13-2011, 09:06 PM
#9
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Yeah, you can forget that crap. It'll be cool here, but not that cold. 11 miles? You're nuts. Not running for my life, I'm running for fun. Besides, if you have to start running when you have on a g suit, you've done something wrong, and it's time for it to come off...
08-13-2011, 09:23 PM
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08-14-2011, 07:48 AM
#12
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Whew, saw the thread title and immediately thought of the tough truck events and thought, I can't believe that Madhat would enter his Cummins in an event like that. Was relieved to read the thread and see that it's only you, not your truck, being abused.
08-14-2011, 10:42 AM
#14
Sausage Aficionado (In training)
Madhat,
Why don't you pop up to Colorado next week and use this 6 day stage race as a training exercise for Tough Mudder.....
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/
The same company just finished the mountain bike version here in the Rockies in Alberta. The running version is next.
Why don't you pop up to Colorado next week and use this 6 day stage race as a training exercise for Tough Mudder.....
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/
The same company just finished the mountain bike version here in the Rockies in Alberta. The running version is next.
08-14-2011, 11:52 AM
#15
Administrator/Jarhead
Thread Starter
Yeah, I'd love to, but I'd probably die on that one... I have not been training for an event like this... just for Marine Corps stuff... I need to broaden my horizons a little. Hopefully the knee holds together and I can start doing half marathons and get back into bodybuilding...