Race Review: Tough Mudder Adelaide

Back in March when I completed my 2nd Tough Mudder I knew that I wanted to do another one.  It’s just so much fun.

I wasn’t sure If I wanted to Melbourne again though.  So I bought an open ticket, which gave me the option to do any event in Australia.

Around July I decided that I would do Tough Mudder Adelaide instead.

The location of the event in South Australia is out in Langhorne Creek.  It’s a winery area about 1 hour’s drive west of Adelaide.

I decided on Adelaide for the following reasons:

• A change of scenery
• It’s the same distance to travel to Phillip Island as it is Langhorne Creek
• 2 events in 1 year

Having not been to South Australia for a long time, we decided that that’s where we would go for me to tackle my 3rd Tough Mudder Event.

We found and booked a holiday house in Clayton about 20mins from the event site.  We organised the kids to have a day off of school on Friday, and I organised leave from work from my shift on Saturday.

We were set.

After working an 8-hour shift on Thursday, we packed up the car and drove to Naracoorte, and stayed overnight there before making the rest of the trip via Robe to Clayton.

I will be honest and say I wasn’t really excited to be doing this event until the night before. It wasn’t until I was cruising the Tough Mudder Facebook page I saw some aerial views of the course and some obstacles.

Then I discovered that the legionnaires got a special obstacle called Fire in your Hole.

Now I was excited.

After a good night’s sleep and my regular breakfast, we took the short drive to the event site, where I was dropped off to meet up with my Tough Mudder friend Paul.

This would be Paul’s 2nd event and my 3rd.

I made the choice to get my game face one.  Why not hey!  Then I went over to the merchandise tent first to pick up a hoodie, which I was unable to get after my last event (they sold out).  They had heaps of gear that I would have loved to have purchased.  But it was cash only, and I only had enough for the hoodie.

Making sure I had everything I needed, I check in my bag, and then Paul and I jumped into the 9 am wave. We were ready to get this done.

There were a lot of first-timers in our wave, but I could see a heap of orange headbands, but alas I was the only green headband (2 x mudder), in this group.

The MC pumped us up, told us what to expect, and then we were off.

I truly loved this course.   We ran along the vineyards, in paddocks, on dirt roads, on grass of varying lengths, and in dry and wet river beds. It had it all.

While it was warm there was plenty of shade.  So full credit to the Tough Mudder Crew for the design of this course.  There were plenty of water stations and 3 feed stations along the way too.

All the volunteers I came across were wonderful, and helpful and all had the Tough Mudder spirit.

There were obstacles that I had done before, like Glory Blades & Berlin Walls.  The Mud Mile in the Adelaide event was 10 times harder than Melbourne. Philip Island is more clay base, while here in SA it was soil base, so that made for mud, lots and lots of more mud.  It also made getting up the mud mile a lot more challenging.  But that’s the beauty of Tough Mudder, we all helped each other, and with this Mud Mile, we needed it.

There were also new obstacles that I hadn’t done before like Pole Dancer & Hangin’ Tough. Pole Dancer I did slowly, and yes I had to have a rest at the top, but I made it.  Hangin’ Tough I failed at, if the rings were 10cm closer then It’s possible that I would have made it.  My arms just weren’t long enough.  I did get to witness one guy do it was such grace, he made it look easy.

The highlight of the event for me would without a doubt be Fire in your Hole.

Only Legionnaires can take on the beast known as Fire in Your Hole. This stunner stands high above the course and has a drop that’s nearly vertical. Every step you climb up to the top of the obstacle serves as a reminder of how hard you’ve worked and how far you’ve come. Conquering it is proof that you Bleed Orange. Fire in Your Hole is so badass, we tend to save it for last. But don’t take our word for it – earn your Legionnaire headband and come try it out for yourself.

Paul and l crossed the finish line in approx 2h40mins. I wasn’t wearing my watch (it’s died, again officially, getting a new one, so watch this space for a review), so not sure of the exact time, but the fact that we did it under 3 hours makes me super happy. We walked parts, and we ran slowly, but we had a great time.

I don’t know if I was fitter or stronger but I didn’t pull up as sore or tired after this event as I did at my last event.

Sure I needed help on the Berlin Walls, and totally failed on Leap of faith, but I gave every obstacle my all. Came away with some grazes and bruises, but that’s all part of the experience.

Wish they offered a non-alcoholic option at the end instead of beer, as I’m not a beer drinker (or drinker at that).  I had about 1/3 of that beer and it was enough. If it was lemonade, I properly would have skulled it.

If you are looking for an event that is challenging but fun, then do consider Tough Mudder.  It will test you mentally, physically & emotionally, but betting to the end and earning that orange headband makes it so worth it.  Because it makes you realise that you can do anything.

Will I do another Tough Mudder?  Damn Straight, I want that yellow headband.