The Tough Mudder

For this blog assignment I’ve been given the opportunity to talk freely about any topic I feel sparked an interest in my life. Recently I’ve been getting involved volunteering at Tough Mudder events in the local surrounding areas near Cincinnati. You might be asking yourself what is a Tough Mudder, and why am I choosing to talk about it? Well first, it’s just the event itself; it’s about what purpose behind this event and I will later explain what it benefits.

The Tough Mudder is recognized as “probably the toughest event on the planet” physically and emotionally. It was created to replicate some of the training that the British Special Forces go through daily. Tough Mudder is 10 to 12 mile hardcore obstacle courses designed to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. With races on 5 different continents it is one of the biggest racing events in the entire world. The Tough Mudder isn’t considered a race but a challenge; it is a challenge to even the most professional runners. This race pushes you to your physical and mental limits and just before you don’t think you have enough to go on…. it pushes you even further to limits never thought possible. With 36 obstacles the Tough Mudder could potential throw at you, which include the Electric Eel, Everest, Island Hopping, Ladder of Hell, Mud Mile, Trench Warfare, King of the Mountain, Kiss of Mud, and underwater tunnels, and much more you can see average only 78% of participants complete the race. With most dropping out due to injury, dehydration, or lack of stamina you can see why as said before is considered “probably the toughest event on the planet”. If you aren’t convinced, please go ahead and check out the obstacles you could potential face on the website at Toughmudder.com.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Tough Mudder was founded by Englishmen Will dean and Guy Livingstone. Dean came up with the idea while at Harvard Business School, and it was a finalist in the Harvard Business School’s annual Business Plan Contest. He brought on Guy Livingstone to act as Chief Operating Officer. On an $8,000 marketing budget, they used Facebook to launch the first Tough Mudder event on May 2, 2010 at Bear Creek Resort in Allentown, PA. Since then, the number of Tough Mudder events has increased exponentially with 14 events in 2011, 28 in 2012, and over 50 events in 2013 and 2014 scheduled. (toughmudder.com)

Once a year there is a World’s Toughest Mudder competition held. This isn’t like any Tough Mudder. It is the top 5% of Tough Mudder applications from both the men and women. This extreme competition puts the World’s most hardcore “Mudders” through a grueling 24-hour challenge designed to find the toughest man, woman, and 4 person team on the planet. (ToughMudder.com) The winner is decided by the most amounts of laps completed in the fastest time. The winner receives cash prizes and bragging rights for a year.

 

The Tough Mudder is partnered with the Wounded Warrior project which comes to the purpose of the Tough Mudder. The mission of the Tough Mudder and the Wounded Warrior project is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors that have served overseas. Part of the money raised for the Tough Mudder is donated to the project and to this date has raised over 6.1 million dollars for Wounded Warriors.

I have a lot of close friends and family that have served in the military so participating in the event would mean a lot to me. I’m hoping to participate in the next Tough Mudder in Columbus this May. There is a lot of preparation needed to be done if I want to finish the event. There are tips and training guides online about how to prepare for the Tough Mudder that include cardio and other forms of exercise.

If you are looking to participate in the Tough Mudder, DO IT! It will be an exhilarating experience that you will never forget. You can receive more information from the website Toughmudder.com. There are also videos of types of training and Tough Mudder races that show the types of obstacles you can encounter. But sign up now prices will increase the closer it gets to the event!