Training to run a "Tough Mudder"

[teddy12b]

I think I've finally found something that's got me excited to get out and start training. It's been really easy for me to slack off lately since I was finishing school and we had a newborn, but now I'm done (again) and he's getting a little older and not so needy. I saw some guys I'm friends with on facebook did a "Tough Mudder" obstacle course and it looked awesome. One of my favorite things to do in the Army was an obstacle course and this looked like an obstacle course on steriods. I've been contacting some buddies of mine to see if they'd be interested in training with me, but I'm figuring that for every 10 I ask, maybe one will.

Have any of you guys here ran a "Tough Mudder"?

 

[Plinkuh]

I think I've finally found something that's got me excited to get out and start training. It's been really easy for me to slack off lately since I was finishing school and we had a newborn, but now I'm done (again) and he's getting a little older and not so needy. I saw some guys I'm friends with on facebook did a "Tough Mudder" obstacle course and it looked awesome. One of my favorite things to do in the Army was an obstacle course and this looked like an obstacle course on steriods. I've been contacting some buddies of mine to see if they'd be interested in training with me, but I'm figuring that for every 10 I ask, maybe one will.

Have any of you guys here ran a "Tough Mudder"?

My buddy's girlfriend ran it this year and last year. Tough course, chilling water, stiff mud. Looked fun and daunting all at the same time.

I believe this year, one of her teammates caught hypo and dropped out. She'll be running it again in March. Best of luck to you if you do decide to give it a spin. Stay warm!

 

[redneckmedic]

A buddy from church is competing in the 24hr one for the elites coming up. That's the extent of my knowledge on the subject... God Speed.

 

[WETSU]

Haven't done a Tough Mudder, done plenty of 15 and 18 hour adventure races though.

 

[teddy12b]

Haven't done a Tough Mudder, done plenty of 15 and 18 hour adventure races though.

I think an adventure race sounds like a blast too, but I'd probably do that after the tough mudder. I have to work my way up to these things and going from zero to tough mudder in three months will be tough enough.

I've been doing a better job of watching what I eat, but that's not to say I'm doing a good job yet. I have to start working out and pushing myself or there's just no way that I'm going to be able to knock out a 10-12 mile race that they say should take 2.5 hours.

 

[xdmstu]

I ran both the Mini-marathon and the Warrior Dash (5k version of the Tough Mudder) this year. I swear the Dash was harder! There are other 5k and 10k mud runs as well that would be good training. Have fun! Maybe I'll see you on a course.

 

[Gabriel]

I ran the one in November and I'm thinking about doing the one in March.

As far as training goes, I didn't find the course to be as difficult as I thought it would be (although, it wasn't exactly easy). It's mostly a test of how well you can endure being cold.

I would mostly suggest trail running and pull ups. If you can trail run six miles and do ten or fifteen pull ups in a row, then you'll be plenty ready.

 

[teddy12b]

I ran the one in November and I'm thinking about doing the one in March.

As far as training goes, I didn't find the course to be as difficult as I thought it would be (although, it wasn't exactly easy). It's mostly a test of how well you can endure being cold.

I would mostly suggest trail running and pull ups. If you can trail run six miles and do ten or fifteen pull ups in a row, then you'll be plenty ready.

That sounds good to me. The one they had in Indiana said between 10-12 miles and that it should only take 2.5 hours. That's a pretty fast pace considering the time at the obstacles. I have no illusions that I'd be in this race to win it, but I would like to complete it in a respectable time.

 

[Gabriel]

That sounds good to me. The one they had in Indiana said between 10-12 miles and that it should only take 2.5 hours. That's a pretty fast pace considering the time at the obstacles. I have no illusions that I'd be in this race to win it, but I would like to complete it in a respectable time.

It took us 3 1/2...about 40 minutes of it was waiting at different obstacles, though. Most of them didn't have lines, but a couple of them had long wait times. I'd never run twelve miles before, so we kept the pace pretty slow to prevent us from getting exhausted too soon. A lot of that particular course is in swamp water up to your waist and slippery muddy four wheeler paths, so running isn't much of an option (the mud back there is so slick that almost everyone I saw that was trying to run through it hit the ground pretty hard).

The nicest thing about it is the atmosphere. It's no race. Everyone is there to have fun and help each other through at all costs and it shows. It's definetely worth participating in for sure. I really want to do the one in March, but the $125 entry fee is a little more cash than I have free right now before the holidays.

 

[teddy12b]

I got the impression that it wasn't much of an actual race from seeing peoples pictures, but the website makes it look like one. So basically what you're saying is that there's not a whole lot just flat out running involved in it. This is starting to sound better by the minute. The $125 is pretty salty for what this is, but I also think it's something I want to have crossed off my bucket list.

Any recommendations on clothing & footwear? I wouldn't wear anything I wasn't ready to throw away, but I can't tell if I'd be better off in hiking boots or runnign shoes. Looks like everything is going to get water logged eventually anyway, but I don't want to twist any ankles either.

 

[Gabriel]

I got the impression that it wasn't much of an actual race from seeing peoples pictures, but the website makes it look like one. So basically what you're saying is that there's not a whole lot just flat out running involved in it. This is starting to sound better by the minute. The $125 is pretty salty for what this is, but I also think it's something I want to have crossed off my bucket list.

Any recommendations on clothing & footwear? I wouldn't wear anything I wasn't ready to throw away, but I can't tell if I'd be better off in hiking boots or runnign shoes. Looks like everything is going to get water logged eventually anyway, but I don't want to twist any ankles either.

I didn't see many people doing any flat out running. Mostly just jogging and trudging through the swamp area. The larger group you are with, the slower you will be over all since you'll be waiting for everyone to get over obstacles. We stopped and helped a lot of people, which slowed us down further, but was a lot of fun.

To be honset, for what they put into the run and the obstacles, I don't think $125 is too much. I just don't have that lying around to sign up. The price doesn't increase agin until 01-31-2012, so I have some time to save up the cash after Christmas.

I stressed about the clothing issue a lot before I went. Ended up wearing a synthetic t-shirt and running shorts, knee high socks and road running shoes (it just happened to be all Under armour stuff since the outlet store is right down the road). Don't wear anything cotton as it'll soak up water and make you cold all day. Don't worry about the grip on your shoes, once they're covered in mud it won't matter at all. Just wear some that are comfortable. Duct tape your shoes on and your laces down before the run, and do it tight. The Badlands surface is covered by gravel about the consitancy of kitty litter. We stopped multiple times for my brother and his friend to get rocks out of their shoes. I didn't have a problem because of the duct tape. The knee high socks kept sand and mud from coming into the socks as much, but I still had a ton of sand in them when it was all over with.

My brother wore something similar to cold gear under his shorts and shirt. That might work out well, but I overheat quickly when I run and the shorts and shirt were good enough. I will say that something covering your elbows and knees would be nice. My elbows and knees were really scraped and scratched up, while my brothers were not.

Bottom line is start comfortable in clothing you've trained in. About a half mile in you're going to be dunked in ice anyway and after that it won't matter much.

I actually did some running before hand after soaking myself and my shoes with a hose to see how long it would take me to warm back up after freezing myself. It wouldn't hurt to try it with long sleeves verus short sleeves to see what you prefer. Yes, your neighbors will think you're nuts.