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.

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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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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What I wore:

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