Obstacle Course/Mud Runs

lukeruss

I have just signed up for my first 5km mud run/obstacle course. Is there anyone out there who has done these and can give me some training tips.

Thanks

Sunshine_And_Sand

I’ve done the warrior dash. It’s a lot of fun. Honestly, I found it was easier than a regular 5k because there were a dozen or so obstacles and we ended up having to wait in line at all of them, so lots of rest breaks. DH and I did this race together. To train for it we alternated run days and strength training days. Just do your best and enjoy yourself. You can skip any obstacle that you don’t feel comfortable doing, it just disqualifies you from placing, so unless you think you’re gonna win it’s not a big deal. As far as a tip, I’d say that if there are race employs at an obstacle giving advice, listen to them. There was one very steep hill at our course that you had to go down. It had rained the day before and there wasn’t much as far as rocks and roots for footholds. The guy at that obstacle recommended sliding down on your butt. One of the people who ignored him ended up tripping and breaking his foot 😬

mochapygmy

Wear polyester preferably. Or wool. Cotton absorbs water like a sponge and your tshirt will be triple it's weight once wet. I wouldn't buy anything special for your first ocr. If you like it/ want to do more then you can get an ocr wardrobe.

I like to bring a complete change of clothing so my car doesn't get trashed. Shoes too.

Just have fun.

MikePTY

I did one in April that was about 6.5k. Each mud run tends to be different, so I would see if you can get some more intel on it for training purposes. Is it going to be very hilly, or mostly flat? Is there any penalty for skipping an obstacle, or can you just go around it?

I think my race was certainly a lot harder than a 5k, although I agree that the running aspect of it is not as difficult, because of the breaks. However we had a lot of extreme uphills and downhills durinig the course, so even walking, it was difficult. And we had a 15 burpee penalty for any obstacle that was failed (I did it in a team and if one person failed, everyone did the burpees). So I ended up doing a total of 90 burpees. But the nice thing is you are not usually caring much about your time, only finishing, so you can take it at your own pace and go as slow as you need to.

As far as training, for my race, I think the best way to train would be hiking/stepmaster, burpees, and upper body strength exercises like push ups and pull ups. A lot of the obstacles tend to be about climbing things.

But if you don't have much time to prepare, or aren't in great shape, don't worry. I wasn't, and I still completed by pushing myself hard.

lisaepell

I've done a couple. I agree that the running aspect is easier because you're only running between obstacles not the whole distance. But mine had an obstacle where you had to run up a building and then back down, harder on my lungs than running. For training, i agree with the posters above, and grip strength helps too (monkey bars). As for clothing, I like to wear long pants and long sleeves (mine had a tunnel where you use your arms and knees to move forward and I found the long stuff helped). Definitely bring a change of clothing. There will often be showers, so consider bringing a towel too. Some mudruns will have a shoe donation at the end, so bring flip flops or something for afterwards and donate those shoes. Mud runs are amazing and like other posters have said, don't worry about your time, just enjoy the experience.

littlegreenparrot1

Make sure to take a complete change of clothes, clean trainers for the drive home, towel and wet wipes.

Your journey home will be much more comfortable!

They're great fun.

HilTri

I did a Tough Mudder 8-10 miles and 25 obstacles I believe. I had the best time. We did it in a team and were able to help each other over the obstacles. Like someone said, there was a bit of a wait for the obstacles. The run was nothin- the obstacles were the main event. Someone suggested that I wear trail shoes as opposed to running shoes—a great tip. Have a blast and wear something you don’t mind throwing away.