Tough Mudder 2013

[MWTB]

Anyone looking at doing it or have done it before? I'll be there getting my hands dirty! Could be cool to get an AFF team going! It's in mid September so there's still plenty of time to train up for it!

http://toughmudder.com.au/

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 20 km-long obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses and 700,000 inspiring participants worldwide to date, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

Tough Mudder will punish you, no matter your shape, size, or current level of fitness. As such, we encourage all Mudders to increase their physical training in anticipation of the event. That said, the event is as much about mental toughness, grit, and camaraderie (and having a great time) as anything exclusively physical. In terms of what you are looking at: each Tough Mudder course will have 10-12 miles of hills, mud, water, ropes, walls, electric shocks, and fire. Check out the course map for the specific event(s) in which you’re enlisted to learn more.

How fit do you need to be? Basically, you should be in good physical condition – complete slackers need not apply. At a minimum we recommend that you are running regularly (2+ times a week, working up to 5 miles per run), able to do 15-25 push-ups in a row, able to bang out 6 pull-ups in a row (especially the dudes), and able to swim 50 yards without stopping (although you can skip the water obstacles).

It certainly helps to be a strong runner, and like we said you should be running regularly as part of your TM training, but a large share of our participants have never run 10 miles straight before. It’s not necessary to be a marathoner or half-marathoner (bor-ing) as your lungs will get a break when you do each obstacle. We mix up the drudgery with belly-crawling, wall-climbing, mud-slogging, ice-water dunking, monkey-bar traversing, huge slip n’ slides, etc.

As we like to say, Tough Mudder is about completing a fearsome challenge and discovering a new sense of accomplishment, not about running your knees into the ground or testing your maximum lung capacity. So while some Mudders are ultra-marathoners and others are super-jacked Rambo clones, most are regular people who take care of themselves and are looking for a true all around challenge, a super fun day with friends, and a goal on the calendar that will force them to step up their workouts.

[MWTB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5HdPM_QuE

[AndyXR6T]

Not doing tough mudder but have signed up for Warrior Dash and Valley Stampede. They are all great events for a bit of fun. I did both last year and looking forward to this years events. Just a bit of fun and a reason to be sore for a few days lol

[The Monty]

I want to do one of these one day. Im in for an AFF team in Brisbane for any of them.

[MWTB]

What sort of advice can you give for someone doing this for the first time, Andy?

I'm in the process of weight loss at the moment, currently down 25kg and got another 20 to go which will hopefully be well and truly gone by September. I'm using competing in this as an excuse to stay focused and as motivation to get in shape. If I don't finish I will be disappointed but I won't be disheartened. I know that even competing will give me the motivation I need to succeed next year.

[Bossxr8]

I'd love to do the obstacles and stuff but buggered if i'm going to run 20km

[MWTB]

Me too, that's what I'm going to be training hard for.

[Geez Louise]

My son did this a couple of weeks ago at Phillip Island. He hadn't done any training for it and finished the course in just over 4hrs. I didn't realise the course was 20kms and only found out the night before!

I am proud of him. He said he was going to do it, and he did! He signed up with a few friends and had a blast! The only issue he said, was that the water holes had a bit of a queue happening and the water was cold. That being said, he will be doing it again next year for sure

Cheers
Col

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

My son did this a couple of weeks ago at Phillip Island. He hadn't done any training for it and finished the course in just over 4hrs. I didn't realise the course was 20kms and only found out the night before!

I am proud of him. He said he was going to do it, and he did! He signed up with a few friends and had a blast! The only issue he said, was that the water holes had a bit of a queue happening and the water was cold. That being said, he will be doing it again next year for sure

Cheers
Col

Is your son a member here? I would be very interested to pick his brains. Or if he could relay information through you maybe?

Just curious as to how fit he is, general height and weight if he doesn't mind sharing that kind of information with a stranger, whether he can do chin ups, how long he can run for etc! I just wanna know exactly how fit I have to be to consider doing this and whether I have the fitness in me now or not to give myself a reasonable idea of where I'll be at in September.

I'm fine with heights, being a electrocuted, the fire etc...but the jumping into the ice cold water is making me cringe even now.

[Geez Louise]

Well I can tell you, my son is no light weight. 6ft 4' and 110-115kgs. He really does not do any exercise, other than going to the gym every now and then when he feels like it.

Going on his condition before he did it, I really didn't think he would finish it, but most people did it is 3-4hrs so his time was pretty good. There was one wall he said took him a little bit to get over the top...but he managed it in the end.

I can tell you, that after you register, they give you a time that you will set off on the course and they stage it in 15min interviels so that everyone doesn't get bunched up, but as everyone's levels of fitness were different, there was the occassional jam but he had a blast! Still talking about it and he did it on the 19th Jan

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Col

[tankclare]

friends of ours have done it before. One mate actually done it back to back on both days but said it killed him doing it with a hangover lol. My brother is pretty keen to have a crack this year.

As for me not a chance in hell lol

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

Well I can tell you, my son is no light weight. 6ft 4' and 110-115kgs. He really does not do any exercise, other than going to the gym every now and then when he feels like it.

Going on his condition before he did it, I really didn't think he would finish it, but most people did it is 3-4hrs so his time was pretty good. There was one wall he said took him a little bit to get over the top...but he managed it in the end.

I can tell you, that after you register, they give you a time that you will set off on the course and they stage it in 15min interviels so that everyone doesn't get bunched up, but as everyone's levels of fitness were different, there was the occassional jam but he had a blast! Still talking about it and he did it on the 19th Jan

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Col

That definitely does help, thanks heaps!

So far the AFF members looking likely to be doing this so far is:

1. MWTB
2. pundit

[MAD]

There's quite a few of these type mara-stacles popping up now.
True Grit is an Australian designed one. (http://www.truegrit.com.au/)

I think I'll be doing the winter Tough Mudder in Melbourne this year.

[Mk II]

I'm doing Sydney in April and did Sydney last September. Lots of fun, pretty painful the next day!!

MWTB feel free to pm me any questions you may have.

[whitelion65]

I did it in Sydney last year, with a group of friends.
I'm 6'3" and around 100kg.
My main fear was running the 20km.
In prep I did a lot of 5 to 8km runs and a few 10/11km runs. This was all done in very hilly terrain.
Additionally, we had some boot camp mornings, including an ice bath and an electric fence.
You don't get used to the electrocution, but at least you know what to expect.
A few weeks out from the event I damaged a tendon in my arm, and exacerbated it in training (Over-hand chin-ups).
In retrospect, I would've spent more time doing leg-work. That said, I powered through the run, and would've liked to do it faster, but as pointed out earlier, there are a lot of bottle necks.
In summary, do some training, get a team together, practice getting over the berlin walls (watch your jatz crackers for those who assist from the top. Still wiping tears from my eyes!), and go out and enjoy.
It is a challenge, not a race.
Steve
ps If you are going to take a FORD flag, make sure it is a synthetic one, preferably Teflon. The mud is a shocker

[AndyXR6T]

My advice is go for a run every night. Even if its only a 2km job through the streets just to get use to running on real surfaces (as opposed to a treadmill). I'm not overly fit. My job is pretty physically demanding at times, i occasionally go for a bike ride and do some light weights every now and then in the garage lol. Just go have fun. Don't try to out do yourself. Run it this year at a pace you feel comfortable in and then next year step it up a notch

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by whitelion65

I did it in Sydney last year, with a group of friends.
I'm 6'3" and around 100kg.
My main fear was running the 20km.
In prep I did a lot of 5 to 8km runs and a few 10/11km runs. This was all done in very hilly terrain.
Additionally, we had some boot camp mornings, including an ice bath and an electric fence.
You don't get used to the electrocution, but at least you know what to expect.
A few weeks out from the event I damaged a tendon in my arm, and exacerbated it in training (Over-hand chin-ups).
In retrospect, I would've spent more time doing leg-work. That said, I powered through the run, and would've liked to do it faster, but as pointed out earlier, there are a lot of bottle necks.
In summary, do some training, get a team together, practice getting over the berlin walls (watch your jatz crackers for those who assist from the top. Still wiping tears from my eyes!), and go out and enjoy.
It is a challenge, not a race.
Steve
ps If you are going to take a FORD flag, make sure it is a synthetic one, preferably Teflon. The mud is a shocker

Thanks for all the replies people! The thing that worries me most is the 20km run too, but I will be training very hard between now and then. I'm currently 120kg an 6'3, aiming to be down to 95-100 by that time. I do an hour of cardio every day on top of what I do at work.

Thanks to the guys who offered for me to PM them too, I will definitely get some questions together and ask you!

[whitelion65]

MWTB, if you want to get those kilos off quickly, get onto Sandra Cabot's "The liver cleansing diet".
I did it with my wife some years ago, went from 98 down to 84 kg. And it is a healthy diet, not like some of the ridiculous ones out there.
I also did Dry July last year, and held off until mid Aug. But no weight loss ???
I did have one or two (or three??) "vitamin tonics" the night before the event.
Steve