Some call it a sport. Some call it fun. Many call it complete madness! Crawling through dirt, jumping into ice-cold water and scrambling over haystacks is only the bare minimum and doesn’t appeal to everyone, but does it appeal to you?
My Experiences
Marine Commando Challenge
My first obstacle event was the Marine Commando Challenge in Exeter, with a group of 3 female friends we travelled down and prepared ourselves for the challenge, I knew there was a lot of running in the course mixed with obstacles, the atmosphere was amazing, the marines and air ambulance were out in force cheering us all on! I had been nervous at the thought of the ‘sheep dip’ one marine launches you underwater through a tunnel and one the other end drags you out, it was over so quick and part of the fun that I didn’t get a chance to think about it! The meandering 25metre tunnel, that was only the size of a person on all fours, with rocks as the base really affected me, I didn’t have a known fear of small spaces, but once in the tunnel in total darkness, I was surprised how my adrenaline spiked! Overall a fantastic experience and a very worthy cause!
Nuts Challenge
I was asked by our group of ‘boot campers’ if I would like to take part in the Nuts Challenge, a mud run in September 2017, of course, I said yes! I remember the morning, we all met at our gym at 7 am with nervous anticipation, although we were all laughing and joking, and the event was obviously a fun one, we are all quite competitive and wondering what we had signed up for!
I remember standing on the start line, the sun shining down, we were the 2nd wave out after the ones going for a time, which was a great start time, I was going to say as it would get muddier as the day went on!!! The mud was intense, I wiped my eyes, only to put more mud on my face! Although the course was tough, slippery, wet and exhausting, the sun shone down, the smile kept coming, the more I pushed my body the more I smiled. Another cargo net to throw myself at, a platform to launch myself off, a river to swim across, or a tyre to run up a hill with, whatever challenges there were I pushed myself. I suffered with huge bruises and cuts but I loved every minute of it, the camaraderie was amazing, I was part of a team and we met up later in the evening for drinks and laughs!
To find out I was the 7th woman home on the day out of 344, 8th woman home over the two days and 52nd overall men/women on the Saturday event alone (although they got my category wrong, I should have been in the 50-55 age group) was a lovely feeling that you are never to old!!
Some of my clothes were thrown away and my trainers were put through the wash a few times!! As was I! The mud just kept coming!
Age-Amazing story from our very own, Tracey Leslie. Take a look here at Tracey getting stuck in!
Events
There are many places up and down the UK offering this type of intense sporting activity. A well known one is Tough Mudder, which is a series of hardcore 5-12 mile obstacle races or known as mud run events, designed by British Special Forces to challenge and test mental as well as physical strength and is probably one of the toughest events on the planet! A growing trend in extreme sports just like mud runs are not for everyone, but don’t let midlife stop you from getting stuck in!
If this sounds weird, it’s even weirder if you try it! One moment you’re running normally, on moderately muddy turf, the next minute you are swinging by your hands on a series of greased monkey bars, then you are running or straggling again. You then might be wriggling on your stomach through a narrow tunnel that’s nose deep in liquid mud and much more cruel and wild activities just like this! The Tough Mudder obstacle course takes up to three and half hours to run, crawl, climb and swim your way round. Many people take twice as long, but it’s not a competitive race, so there is no rush to get first place. Now if this is not grabbing your fancy yet, you will get a free pint, Tough Mudder T-shirt and a headband at the finish line! Participants will have paid between £50-£120 to take part.
Anyone can be a Tough Mudder, watch 2018’s Tough Mudder events trailer to see if you are brave enough to take the challenge!
If you have already done something like this we would love to hear you’re most memorable and funny moments of the event, so that our readers considering to get involved will feel more inspired.
