Tough Mudder Electric Shock Therapy...

Hey,

I've signed up for a TM later this year, in the UK.

I'm interested to know what you thought of the event in hindsight as it sounds like you started off pretty much how I am now (with the mind games)

I'm a skinny guy who feels the cold and the event that most bothers me mentally is the Arctic Enema. I intend on just getting in and out like everyone suggests, but I fear that when I plunge in (after being hot from the run) my body will go into shock and not function. How did you find it?

Also, did the fact that someone died in Walk the Plank weigh on your mind? How did you find that? I have visions of my feet getting stuck in mud at the bottom and getting trapped; the guys that should have been in the water helping him out really let him down in my opinion.

Finally, the Electric Eel - what was your experience of that, as it seemed to be a worry of yours from the start.

Thanks for your time.

I know this wasn't aimed at me, but I've done two Obstacle Courses now and fortunately for me both have been rather warm days. I have a colder (forecast for 21C/70F) run next week.
Babbling aside, I found the Ice bath to be refreshing both times. Yes it was fecking cold, yes it took my breath away and on my Tough Mudder I spent WAY too long in there (helping someone about to freak out about putting their head under the water). I'll update after a colder run next weekend.
I had no worry about the walk the plank. Though the death happened and is a tragic accident, TM definitely learnt from it and have taken many steps to help prevent it happening again.
Of course you can never moron proof an event like this, at the TM I did last year I heard a couple of people saying they couldn't swim, yet they still did Walk the Plank (GGGGRRRRRRR)
I've got no comment on Electro shock therapy/electric eel. I am not overly phased by the electric shocks.

I should qualify that as it sounds a bit weird

I'm interested in knowing which shoes you will be / have been running in.

Hi both,

I completed my first Tough Mudder this weekend at the London West event. Our course was 12 miles long with 20 obstacles through a hilly country estate. There were so many hills to climb / descend that we found we could only jog about 7 miles of the course for risk of sliding down the hills. There was never really more than 3/4 of a mile between obstacles so as long as you can do lots of short jogs then the cardio is a breeze but it will work your calf and thigh muscles if like me you're used to flat road running.

For the obstacles the main training I'd recommend is lifting your body weight as there is a lot of climbing up / over things that are above head height. Whilst I'm ok at chin ups and could pull to that height I wish I'd trained more for the next stage where you have to push yourself over your hands.

Clothing wise I just wore my normal running shoes. Some people seemed to be wearing specialist trail shoes but they do checks to make sure you don't wear any spikes etc. as they are dangerous to others. My main advise would be to wear tight man made fabric under armour clothing. Long legs and sleeves help protect from minor scrapes and will keep your body warm as they dry quickly. Whilst the Arctic Enema is the coldest it is over pretty quickly and I warmed up really quickly running to the next obstacle. For me the hardest by far was the cage crawl. Although warmer than the AE you are in it a lot longer and practically fully submerged as you claw your way 20 metres under metal fencing. Some people recommend ear plugs for this one.

I've signed up for next year already and the only thing I'd change would be my choice of gloves. I went for Polyco Mad Grip which were great for protection from rocks etc. as they have thick rubber palms but, once wet & muddy, couldn't grip at all so I had to take them off for the Funky Monkey and Hang Tough obstacles. I'm tempted to go with two pairs - one as above and then some material gym gloves which whould grip better.

I managed to avoid being shocked in the Electric Eel but took a few big hits in ElectroShock therapy which almost knocked me down when my whole right side contracted at once.

I wasn't concerned with Walk the Plank as it's a 12 foot drop and they said the pool was 4m deep so it would take a lot to hit the bottom. The marshalls were really good at counting people in and out and making sure everyone took turns. The most dangerous for us was the Mud Mile (6 mounds / dips of mud about 6' high that you have to scramble over) as these were really slippy and there was loads of flint under the mud so lots of people were getting cut. I think they may have closed the obstacle just after we went through as it looked empty when we looked back.

If you have a good buddy / team to run with then just have a laugh and go for it. Everyone taking part was so nice it was like being part of a 1,000 strong team - I lost count of the number of strangers I hugged / high fived throughout the event.

You can go past the obstacles if needed, I know that the ones I've been to they have always advised at the start that if you can't swim, don't get in the water (I know that the person that drowned could swim, but if you have issues with jumping into the water you don't have to do it).

Our guys have always loved it and they also love Dirty Weekend which is the worlds biggest obstacle course (20 miles, 200 obstacles).

Mixed comments from our guys about the electric shocks, I think that the electric shocks are intermitten/random so depending on where the shocks are depends on how many times and how hard you get hit, running through like a ninja swatting flies seemed to be quite effective for our guys and they also took a run and slide at the electric eel.

It's a great excuse for adults to play in the mud:)