Tough Mudder Utah 2012

If you like exercising, pushing yourself to the limits, and a good adrenaline rush, the Tough Mudder is for you. It's a great mix of endurance running, upper body strength, and a test of pain tolerance. The Tough Mudder seems to be the most popular obstable race out there and their slogan is "Probably the toughest event on the planet." A statement like that is bound to catch my attention so I had to put it to the test. The course consisted of 12 miles and 21 obstacles. On top of that, it was 45 degrees outside when the 8am heat started. Here's a list of the obstacles (disclaimer: I didn't name them):

1. Kiss of Mud: army crawling 50 feet through mud underneath barbed wire that is about 12 inches off the ground.
2. Arctic Enema: jumping into a pool of ice water (about 30 feet long with more ice than water) swimming underneath a barrier in the middle and wading across to the other side.
3. Berlin Walls: scaling two sheer eight foot walls back to back.
4. Bale Bonds: climbing up and over a 10 foot stack of hay bales.
5. Hold Your Wood: carrying a 40 pound log around a quarter mile loop.
6. Kiss of Mud #2: army crawling 50 feet through mud underneath barbed wire that is about 12 inches off the ground.
7. King of the Mountain: climbing up and over a 20 foot pyramid of hay bales.
8. Trench Warfare: army crawling 50 feet in pitch black through an uncomfortably tight, enclosed trench.
9. Dirty Ballerina: going through a series of 10 mud pits that are about 8 feet across and 3 to 4 feet deep.
10. Lumber Jacked: jumping over two logs that are 4 feet off the ground and a log that is 5 feet off the ground.
11. Electric Eel: army crawling through ice water under barbed wire with live wires hanging down shocking you. The shock here is minimal and feels like a pinch.
12. Balls to the Wall: scaling a 15 foot wall with the assistance of a knotted rope.
13. Mud Mile: a series of mud pits with a big pile of dirt between each.
14. Boa Constrictor: army crawling through a small pipe angled down into a mud pit, and up another pipe out of the mud pit. Breathing here is difficult if you are crawling face down.
15. Berlin Walls #2: Scaling two 10 foot walls back to back. There is a 2x4 secured to the wall about 2 feet off the ground to run and push off of to jump and reach the top.
16. Cliff Hanger: jumping into a mud pit, then climbing out and clawing your way up a steep muddy incline.
17. Funky Monkey: going across ascending, then descending monkey bars. Careful, the bars spin. If you fall, there is a pool of water below.
18. Just the Tip: traversing across a wall with a 2x4 to stand on and a 2x4 for your hands. The middle section gets skinnier with one inch boards to stand on and hold onto. If you fall, there is a pool below. If you rock climb, this shouldn't be a challenge.
19. Walk the Plank: Climbing up a 15 foot wall with 2x4 cross sections and jumping off into a 15 foot deep pool of water. That's just asking for a backflip.
20. Everest: a 12 foot tall slippery quarter pipe. Run as fast as you can, push off, and jump for the top. Then pull yourself up and over.
21. Electroshock Therapy: Running through a 40 foot long by 15 foot wide canopy of live wires hanging down shocking you as you go. Don't underestimate the power of the current. It's not going to kill you so man up and run through.

Rolling is the fastest way through this obstacle, 

but you get very dizzy. 

 Climbing out of Arctic Enema. I was in and out 

so fast that the cold didn't affect me much.

 They didn't get any pictures of me going through Electroshock Therapy, 

but here's a guy who got knocked off his feet going through getting shocked.

A couple of the obstacles actually scared me. The first was the Boa Constrictor. I couldn't breathe when crawling out of the escape pipe because the water was so high in the pipe. I barely had room in the tight space to turn around on my back so my face could reach the air. Second was the Electroshock Therapy obstacle. I grossly underestimated the power of the current. I didn't think it would be bad because of the weak current in the Electric Eel obstacle. I ran through all cocky with my arms out and next thing I knew I was face down in the mud. The shock literally knocked me unconscious.

Mud Mile

The hardest obstacle for me was the mud mile (above). It was absolutely exhausting getting through the mud pits, and up and over the piles of loose dirt. By the end I was crawling on my hands and knees up the dirt piles and rolling down into the next mud pit because all my strength was gone.

Walk the Plank

They didn't get any pictures of my backflip off of 

this obstacle, but this picture is even better.

The most fun was the Walk the Plank obstacle (above). Cliff jumping is one of my favorite things to do. My only complaint is that it wasn't higher.

I got some mud on my face from when I got knocked 

out by Electroshock Therapy moments before this.

Every Tough Mudder race is a qualifier for World's Toughest Mudder. The top 5% of finishers in each Tough Mudder qualify to run in this 24 hour obstacle race on steroids. I finished with the fastest time on Utah's course so I will be going to New Jersey next month for the ultimate test of physical and mental endurance.

Official Tough Mudder Utah Event Video