Tough Mudder #4

Event: Tough Mudder
Date: 17th October 2015
Distance: Approx 18km
Type: Obstacle Race
Where: State Motorcycle Sports Complex Broadford
Event Partners: Bosch Blue Power Tools, Garmin Australia, Coates Hire, Under Armour, Soldier On.


I’m no stranger to Tough Mudder.

I’ve done 3 others.

#1 – Tough Mudder Melbourne 2013

#2 – Tough Mudder Melbourne 2014

#3 – Tough Mudder South Australia 2014

TM2015-Start1

On Saturday 17th October I earned my yellow (4-6 Tough Mudder) headband.
The location for the 2015 Tough Mudder changed from Phillip Island to Broadfoard.  It also saw a change of date from March to October.

I will be honest and say that I didn’t train seriously for this event.  Well, not hardcore like I have done in the past.  Life, family and work meant that I didn’t find the right type of balance.

But in saying that I have done the event 3 times before so I knew what to expect.  Let’s just say I’m glad that I’m a runner and a trail runner at that.

With a late night due to working the prior night, we drove from Ballarat to Broadford on Saturday morning.  We got there around 10 am.  By the time I checked in and dropped off my bag, I didn’t see the point of waiting around.

I entered this Tough Mudder on my own.  While waiting at the start line, I started talking to two guys that were dressed up as Sailors.  Their names were Paul and Al.  They were no strangers to Tough Mudder, having done 7 between the two of them.

Waves were every 20 minutes.  As we had missed the previous wave by 5 minutes, we had to wait around. After about 10 mins we will transfer to the warm-up area.

TM-Melb-15-wu

Virgin Active helped us to get warmed up.  All I could think of was “my omg this guy has really skinny chicken legs”.  Seriously he did.

Once we were warmed up we got to move 500m to the start line, to get our second chance to get pumped up.

TM-Melb-Start2

This year Tough Mudder was supporting the Soldier On.  Liam, a soldier who lost his eye site due to a roadside bomb in Iraq was in the very first wave. He finished alongside his team. You can see his story here.

I had full intentions of being in his team but was unable to get there early enough due to working late and travel time. Hopefully next time.

This year also saw a Tough Mudder Wedding! The first of its kind for Tough Mudder Australia.

TM-Melb15-Wedding

Yes, I kid you not.  They were in our wave.  And before you ask yes they raced in what they wore to their wedding.  (She changed to runners I might add).

Now that is a wedding to remember.

After we made our pledge we were released onto the course.

The first obstacle was Kiss of Mud 2.0.

TM-Melb15-KissofMud2

There was no chance of staying clean after that.

At the hold your wood obstacle we met Tara and Rach, there are nursing students studying at Melbourne University.  They are from Canada.  We helped them with the obstacle, and we had another 2 addition to our team.

We all helped each other, and we chatted about everything.

We gave every obstacle a go.  I failed at the leap of faith.  I knew I would, but I gave it a go which is what matters.  Tara was amazing at it, she was like a little monkey.  Apparently only the 2nd female that day had completed it.  Rach and I were screaming joy for her, we were so excited for her.

I lost my green headband during the “king of the swingers” obstacle, which was the 2nd obstacle I failed out.  I jumped, it the swing but just couldn’t hold on to it.

The headband must have come off during impact or in the water.  It wasn’t until I was halfway through the next obstacle that I realised it was missing.  Al gave me his sailor hat to wear because he kept losing me, as he was looking for the green headband that wasn’t there.

TM-Melb15-KillaGorilla

Killa Gorilla was a hill obstacle.  You simply had to get over it.  But at a 30% grade, it was tough going.  I didn’t stop, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, occasionally walking backwards to give my legs a rest and also to take in the view.

All my trail running and hiking definitely paid off for that one.

TM-Melb15-CryBaby

Obstacles that I loved were Cry Baby & Funky Monkey.

Cry Baby, saw us crawling through a tunnel with artificial tear gas.  I chose to go through it with my eyes closed.  However, it was actually really refreshing.  It was like Vicks (menthol) vaporiser cleanse.

Having just gotten over a cold, it was a great decongestant.

TM-Melb15-Funky Monkey

Totally nailed Funky Monkey.

I concentrated on what was in front of me and didn’t look down.  I think this helped me to get to the end with ease.

Also having done a similar obstacle at Spartan I knew what to expect. 
Out of all the Tough Mudders I have done, number 4 was by far the hardest, my challenging but also the most fun.

It took us just under 4 hours to complete, but with a smile on my face.

Unfortunately Paul didn’t get a photo (or I couldn’t find one).

Will there be another Tough Mudder?  At this stage I’m not sure.


What I wore:

Top – 2xu Long Sleeve Top (Run Melbourne 2012)
Bottoms – OMM shorts
Undies – Kmart sports underwear
Socks – ProCompression
Shoes – Brooks PureConnect 2

61 thoughts on “Tough Mudder #4”

  1. It sounds like you had an amazing race! I can’t imagine going into something like that undertrained, but you did it, and still raced well! The Soldier On group sounds like a wonderful group to support.

  2. Wow! I’ve never actually been “walked through” a Tough Mudder race before. Not only is it super interesting… The name is definitely justified – TOUGH. It sounds like you did great and deserve to be super proud! I’m also impressed by the bride who completed in her gown. Strong women!

  3. WOWOWOW I cannot believe you’ve done 3 and counting…such a strong woman…love it!! I’ve wanted to try one…but I always chicken out 🙂

    Sarah @creatingbettertomorrow

    1. Which is why I wore my old shoes. The first one I did you could donate your shoes, and they would clean them and then give them to people in need.
      I just cleaned them up with the pressure washer, dried them and used them for the next mud run.

  4. Way to go!!!!! I have thought about doing an obstacle event like this…I’m not afraid of the challenges, but am horribly klutzy. I fear injury!! They look like a lot of fun and a great challenge to your fitness and perseverence 😉

  5. Congrats on another Tough Mudder finish! I can’t get over the wedding! And they wore their clothes for the race? I can only imagine how gross that wedding dress must have felt going through those obstacles! Yuck!

  6. Wow! I’ve always been impressed by anyone who could finish one of these events. I’ve never done a tough mudder before as I have a tendency for clutzyness which equals injury for me. Great job and awesome pics! I look forward to hearing about your next event!

    1. Last year I met a guy who did the 24 hour TM, and he did 17 laps of the course, now that is seriously impressive. I have total respect for anyone who does a TM, they are hard work. But such a great confidence boost.

  7. Marissa_WhereINeedtoBe

    Those are some skinny chicken legs he has. Tough Mudder looks like fun! I’ve done a Spartan Sprint and it was SO challenging. Have always wanted to try a Tough Mudder. Congrats on finishing your 4th!

    1. I have chicken legs, but seriously his legs are way more chicken-y.
      Spartan is def more challenging physically, I have to agree with that.
      This TM the obstacles were a lot further apart, so more running involved. I don’t mind the running though.

  8. Hi, I’m visiting from the hop. I am so impressed that you do this and it was your 4th too! It looks like fun, but I would be so out of my comfort zone and afraid I’d seriously hurt myself. The names the give the obstacles are quite entertaining. I love the idea of a wedding on the course.

    1. Thanks for stopping by, it’s much appropriated.
      TM isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok. Marathon’s are not for me, but they are for some.
      I too also love the names they give the obstacles.

  9. Stopping by from the blog hop! and WOW. I have never done a Tough Mudder race nor do I know anyone who has so I really had no idea what went into it. That’s SO impressive! It sounds incredibly challenging, but fun. That menthol fog sounds interesting! Refreshing, definitely. Congratulations on finishing your 4th race! That’s amazing!

  10. Catherine @ foodiecology

    Hey, dropping by from the blog hop. Um…you go, girl! 4 Tough Mudders?! I’ve never done one, but it’s something I’d love to try…eventually. Right now I’m definitely not strong enough. I can’t get over the wedding! Guess they both really have a passion for such races. Congrats on finishing, even if a few of those obstacles got the best of you.

  11. super impressed! Not sure if I could do one, much less 4! But who knows, I never thought I’d be training for my first marathon either! (you can read about it at wholisticwoman.com). I do want to do trail running though. Thanks for being an inspiration and showing that all of this IS possible while maintaining balance.

      1. I had a team and since then my running group has gotten smaller 🙂 You’re right, I should do it next year!

  12. Congrats on your race! These obstacle course races sound like such a challenge! I’ve been debating doing a shorter distance one, like a Spartan Sprint, just to see how I might do. All of the obstacles sound so fun!

  13. These races look so fun, this is one of those series we actually have here in the states too:) Love the wedding couple, yes that definitely would be a wedding to remember:)
    Congratulations to you doing this, seriously you really do have to be tough to pull one of these off! I love that they did a pre-warm up, and I agree the guy does have some seriously skinny legs:) Love all the photos, and love that everyone on your team became great friends chatting and helping each other, true sportsmanship!!!!

  14. Every now and then I think about doing a Tough Mudder. It usually doesn’t last past remembering that here in the UK one of the obstacles is being given electric shocks as you crawl through dangling live wires. Not something I would ever want to do.

    Congratulations on completing your fourth one!

  15. Thanks for sharing your experience! I have been thinking of doing one of these! Although I am no runner, so I am focusing on that first but would eventually like to do an obstacle course run as well. Is there a specific reason you are not sure you might give this another go?

  16. Hi Matilda! Congratulations on completing your 4th Tough Mudder! That’s such a huge accomplishment! I have always wanted to do a tough mudder or something along the lines of one, so this post was awesome motivation for me to see if there are any in my area for me to try! I have been slacking on my running schedule due to some hip issues, so I will have to do some training with running beforehand though! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

  17. Congrats!

    I am so over mud races :(….I had a bad experience and just cant get past it!

    I have always wanted to do tough mudder though!

    A Mudder wedding…that is one for the books for sure!!!

  18. Brandy @ Pounds2Miles

    I admire you for participating in Tough Mudder! I have a fear I’ll pull something or break something so I just watch from afar. Nice job!

  19. I so respect you for for doing Tough Mudder! I am all about pushing myself outside of my comfort zone but Tough Mudder is so far outside my comfort zone I I cannot fathom doing it! People think I am crazy because I plan to run a 10K on my wedding day, I wonder what they would think if I got married at a race…

  20. You are amazing!!! I have always been kind of terrified of obstacle courses. I am always in awe of those who finish them! I can’t believe that lady did it in her wedding dress!!! WOW!
    I finally did a 5k course called the foam 5k last May. It was fun and I wasn’t sure I would finish all the obstacles, but I did! I was pretty proud of myself. Maybe one of these days I will do a tough mudder!
    Thanks for sharing your fun race recap and for the beautiful pics!

  21. Hi Matilda! How are you? Found your link from the Blog hop. 🙂

    Sounds like you had a lot of fun! Congratulations for finishing your FOURTH Tough Mudder! OMG! That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to try one but I don’t think I’m ready to do it (it’s on my running bucketlist haha). 😀 😀

    Polly @ Pollydefiesgravity.wordpress.com

  22. Wow! I’m not the tough muddier type, but I’m always super impressed by people who complete them–and you’ve done 4! Awesome job!

  23. wow! I’ve never done a tough mudder or read a recap from one. I’ve heard of them and seen them but just knew they aren’t for me…I’m SOOO not tough enough for this. lol Although, after reading your recap…I’m tempted to look into one. hmm…we’ll see. Congrats!!

    1. Check out Miss Muddy or Mudderella, they are shorter and focused just for women.
      But it’s ok to not have a desire to do one, it’s up to the individual. For example I love to run, but I wont be running a marathon any time soon. No interest what so ever.

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