Down and dirty
So how did I get myself into this mess? (literally)
Well…a colleague of mine (Anna Peniaskova) thought it would be a great if a bunch of us from White October signed up for Tough Mudder — and to be honest it didn’t take much persuasion from me.When I replied I had no clue what Tough Mudder actually was, I just thought okay if everyone else is doing it, then yeah..why not? — If all my friends were jumping off a bridge, then yep I’d probably go with them.
But then I google searched the words ‘Tough Mudder’ and and saw pictures from previous years, and thought, Oh. My. Gosh! What have I gotten myself into?
This is what I first saw. #WTF #ActualFire
Turns out we signed up for the Tough Mudder half, so thankfully no flames.
What exactly is Tough Mudder?
It’s 5 miles of running in mud and dragging yourself over, under and through obstacles. Sounds great right…
Anna managed to rally up 12 of us, even the CEO Dave Fletcher had no idea how he got wrangled into it.
Read Anna’s blog on how she managed to recruit us all.
Some of the obstacles
Kiss of Mud 2.0
This was the first of the muddy obstacles and boy was I covered in it! You basically drag yourself under barbed wire through mud. It wasn’t quite a slip and slide as a I got hooked onto some barbed wire, luckily I had a teammate to unhook me.
Birth Canal
I think after this obstacle I decided that I don’t like being in small spaces, especially when you’re being weighted down by a gauntlet of sloshing water.
Pyramid Scheme
This was all about teamwork, or rather climbing on top of your colleagues so you get to the top. Let’s just say I dragged the whole team down with me, If I was going we were all going!
The Block Ness Monster
This was by far my favourite obstacle, not because I plummeted head first into freezing cold water, but because it gave me a chance to wash off the mud that I was covered head to toe in. Imagine being shoulder deep in muddy cold water with 3 rotating barriers in-between, where we had to push our fellow mudders over, pull ourselves up, and dive roll over the other side of each barrier into this icy water.
My face tells you all just how cold that water really was!
Mud Mile 2.0
This was literally like quick sand. At first I was like oh this isn’t so bad, but every step I took the mud got thicker and deeper. But I managed to get through it, and struck a fierce pose at the end.
Everest 2.0
Sprint and jump. I mean that’s all you have to do. To get yourself over a 15’ tall wall with a curved top which makes it extra hard to get a hold of, but with the strength and determination of the whole squad we all made it over in one piece. (Even if it did take a few of us a few tries)
You can see the full list of the obstacles here.
Highlights
Whooo we did it!
It felt amazing to cross the finish line, be crowned with a Tough Mudder sweatband, be handed a Tough Mudder 2017 Finisher t-shirt and an ice cold cider.
Looking back it wasn’t so bad, I actually enjoyed it, despite my descriptions of some of the obstacles. It was a great experience and great team building activity. Would I do it again? Erm.. yeah… I’m not so sure about that….
Here’s what some of the team have to say
“Loved it! Very fun and developed good teamwork” — Luke Harris
“At first I was terrified when my colleague signed me up, I ended up thanking them afterwards” — Jordan Baker
“A great adrenalin and mud fuelled experience, only downside was the cold shower at the end.” — Josh Burgess
“The Tough Mudder (Half) was a really great experience and a fantastic opportunity to work as a team to overcome obstacles of mud, water, walls, tunnels and more!” — Jonny Blacker
“Finally I could play with mud without being grounded” — Cesare Lucatti
“I signed up for Tough Mudder knowing I’d feel great afterwards but thinking I’d hate every moment of doing it. Actually I had great fun and it was a great bonding experience — there’s nothing like being covered in mud and climbing on your colleagues!” — Frances Place
Feel like you can tackle the next Tough Mudder? Find out more here.
