Word Out 2014

Well we did it. Ladies and gentlemen of the internet I am proud to tell you that we actually did it. It was tough and tiring and the weather was completely miserable but we survived. 

For those of you following my posts, I promised a recap of the day so this will likely be a lengthy entry.

First and foremost it is definitely fair to say that Tough Mudder was TOUGH. 

We got to Mount St. Louis at 9am and the computer crashed so all of us waited in line for over an hour in the chilly morning rain before we were able to get through the gates into the mudder village. 

From there we stowed our gear, said goodbye to our friends who came to support us and headed over to the starting gates.

It was insane up there. From the moment we took off till we reached the finish line, we endured the harshest "summer" weather that Coldwater, Ontario could muster. We were greeted by torrential rains, temperatures in the mid teens and howling winds. There was even a patch of thunder that rolled through around the middle of the day. 

Aside from the weather the course itself was fairly brutal. The course map indicated 16 painful kilometres of mud and obstacles, not to mention scaling the mountain 8 or 9 times. 

Here's what I loved: 

Everest – Everest is an amazing team building obstacle where they have erected a half pipe at the base of the mountain. You have to try and run up the wall as high as you can and then either grab the ledge if you are able or grab a teammate's outstretched hand. It's really fun to do and you really need to work together as a team to overcome it. 

Mud Mile – As gross as it sounds, Mud Mile is what Tough Mudder is all about. They dig out 5 trenches and use the mud they dig out to create giant mounds in between the trenches. Then they fill the trenches with water so it becomes one big gloopy, muddy, slippery mess. You have to start at one end and slide down into each trench, wade through the mud and try to scale the other side. It is almost impossible to do alone so team work is essential. 

What I didn't like: 

Electroshock Therapy - As a finisher for the race, you have to run through a field of dangling live wires. If you hit one it will drop you to your knees! I got hit twice and thankfully never fell face first into the mud but I saw more than a few guys go charging through and drop straight down. 

The Mountain - The mountain isn't an official obstacle but because of the way the course is laid out on a ski resort, you are constantly running up and down the mountain. Some of the ascents were very steep and all of them were treacherous due to the rain and mud. These were absolutely brutal and you could feel your stomach drop when you round the corner and stare up at the peak of a mountain you just climbed down. 

All in all however I absolutely loved it. All of my teammates finished and we made sure we never left a man behind. We had a few close calls, some of our team was borderline hypothermic at one point while a few of them also cramped severely. That being said we made it through together as a team and we grew so much closer for it. 

Unfortunately for most of you reading this, you have to be 18+ to run it but when you hit that magical age, I would highly recommend that you grab some friends and give it a go. You will not regret it.