OCD FOR OCR

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. 24 hours of mud and obstacles. 24 hours of perseverance and determination. 24 hours of laughter and hugs, tears and screams, pride and joy. All of this is used to describe World’s Toughest Mudder. My wife, Susan, and I embarked on this lengthy journey from Canada to tackle this crazy event. I have a difficult time calling it a “race” since the battle is typically with yourself and not with those around you. The only person you need to be better than is who you were yesterday.

• Parking:

Being that the event takes place on a horse farm/training facility, there are ample open areas for an abundance of parking. However, (and I say this trying to muster a smile) the trek to registration/Mudder village/the pits were, to say the least, a pilgrimage to the promised land. Being no less than half a mile, some were uphill and some were downhill. And yes, there were shuttles running back and forth (if you wanted to wait). But, being Mudder’s, we scoffed at a mild 1/2-mile walk. (on the return trip, we did take the shuttle).

• Registration:

This process went extremely quick. We just gave them our name and they have everything ready for you. Your bib, your timing chip and your free beer ticket. Then it’s off to the pits you go.

• Pit Area:

New this year, was online pit selection. In the past, participants would show up as early as possible and scramble to locate a vacant pit. It made for much congestion. This time around, all this was done online, with different days and times prearranged for selection, depending on which category you fall: Contender, 5X Legacy, Holy Grail, Open. You still needed to scramble in a way, especially if you had your mind set on a certain pit area or wanted to group with your friends pits together. But things were tremendously simpler on the day of setup. Needless to say, it took more than one trip from parking to transport all our supplies (we had a 3rd member, Brian, who was pitting with us).

• Mudder Village:

This area was just next to the vast pit area. There was the typical Merch tent, as well as a few other vendors. There was also a Mudder Cafe, where participants, pit crew, and spectators could grab a hot chocolate, coffee, or cider throughout the day and night.

• The Start:

Personally, I had no big expectations of myself. I was more there for Susan & Brian (a first timer), and to help those around me. The Man, Sean Corvelle, was gearing up the crowd for what awaited them for the next 24 hours. The powerful words and emotions he conveys, bring tears to your eyes. And at 12:00 noon, on Saturday, the three of us set out together.

• The Course:

Right out of the gate, Susan had to veer off to use the washroom, but told Brian and me to just keep going. So, we did. The first lap is a sprint lap, meaning no obstacles are open. This gave us an opportunity to chat and survey the course as we ran past the obstacles. We weren’t going for any speed records, and elected to take it pretty easy. After all, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We ran together right into our 3rd lap (each lap is 5 miles/8 kms). About half-way through lap 3, Brian failed Funky Monkey. Since it carried a hefty penalty of jump rope, 400m walk, and dragging a mat, Brian shouted for me to just keep going. So, I did. The back half of the course was pretty heavy with water-based obstacles (King of the Swingers, Blockness Monster, Cage Crawl, Arctic Enema), so the cold can get you, if you don’t keep moving.

After that lap, I hit the pits, not knowing where Brian or Sue were. As I was about to leave the tent for lap 4, Sue came into the tent following her 2nd lap to get into her wet-suit. Feeling really good in my Frogskins, I decided to run that next lap with her. Sue is not as proficient on obstacles as I am, so I figured I could help her get over the wall and across certain obstacles. And while out on that lap, she said she was having a great time doing that lap with me, since we rarely race together anymore. That made me smile. Well, eventually the slower pace and wait times at penalties allowed the cold and the shakes to get the better of me. I was not enjoying myself. And that’s not what I journeyed there for. So, at the end of that lap, I decided to stop, take a break, reset, and go back out in the morning. Looking back, I should have put my full wet-suit on for lap 4, but at the time, I was feeling great. Not cold at all.Anyway, Brian came rolling into the tent shortly after, shaking and angry that he forgot to take his Bleggmits with him and made a wrong gear choice. We talked him into taking a break with us. It wasn’t worth the suffering. We spent the next few hours wandering the start/finish area, the pits, and chilling in the tent. The whole time, Susan was thinking about her placement: she was currently 7th in her age group. Fast forward to 7 AM. We geared up and headed back out on the course together, determined to be finishers.

This year, they had wristbands to achieve once you hit 30 miles/6 laps. These bands enabled you to bypass any one obstacle of your choosing at any point. There were also Carabiners available. The Carabiners allowed you to take certain routes to bypass obstacles and mileage. These “biners” could be found, or earned on course. They could be buried in Mud Mile, or at the bottom of Blockness Monster, or just hanging in various locations. Or you could perform certain tasks to earn them from the volunteers. Anyway, we had not seen a single “biner” until our 2nd lap that morning. We got through the first bypass by undertaking a riddle with the volunteer. We negotiated with a staff member that we would pick up all the garbage around an obstacle, thereby earning us 2 “biners” each. The next task was performing 20 push-ups. Needless to say, that lap went quite well.

We finished up at 11:30 AM and, of course, Sue went to check the standings. She was delighted that she jumped up to 5th. While debating whether or not to go out for a final lap, she was convinced to do so and adamant that she had to do it alone. Having changed, I gathered some food and water into a backpack to meet her at the half-way point. NOTE: a new addition this year was Coach at midway, cranking out tunes, where the pit crew(s) could pass food and drink to runners.

Not seeing her coming, I proceeded to run the entire course trying to catch her. Getting almost to the finish line, I heard Brian from the pits yelling that she was there at the tent. Relieved, I made a dash to the pits. Getting there, I noticed she was crying. Fearing the worst, I anxiously asked what was wrong. She looked up with tears and said, “I’m in 3rd.” OMG!!!! I couldn’t be happier and prouder of this woman. She pushed through and refused to quit!

• The Bling:

This year, at Tougher, Toughest, and World’s Toughest events, there were medals. There’s the orange WTM headband and the black 24-hour headband for finishers (for completing a lap after 8 AM Sunday). The shirts are a tech t-shirt. Also, runners who completed 25 miles received a 25-mile patch (other mileage patches were available for purchase).

• Overall:

Remember that gargantuan journey from the pits to parking? It’s even worse after you’ve been on a course for hours and your gear is all wet, muddy, and smells worse than the worst swamp. WTM gets a 4.5 out of 5 and only because of the parking-to-pit marathon. Things were well organized and laid out. The CEO of Tough Mudder, Kyle McLaughlin, was even at the finish line to congratulate runners. That’s classy respect. Next year, the event moves to Dallas, Texas. Sue will be returning. She’s training for this one event. I have decided to be her pit crew and help to push her further than she’s gone before. It means more to me to see her achieve her goal.

Article Written by: John Cross & Susan Rice.