Tough Mudder Races

[David Barclay]

Races like this seem to be gaining in popularity. I am from an endurance background (triathlons and running) and I don't recall ever seeing anything like this 15 years ago.

In fact, it seems like just the thing that a former fast runner, now on the wrong side of his 30s, with an affinity for Gymnastic training, might get a kick out of doing.

http://toughmudder.com/

As anyone else done these races? So far as I can tell, I'll need to get my half marathon legs back, but other than that, continue hitting the WODs with the occasional tiger crawl down the football pitch. Or is that sort of attitude just asking for trouble...?

cheers,

David

[Blairbob]

I've wanted to do one for 2 years, getting some of my buddies to go. In 2010, I couldn't get the time off at the gym and in 2011 I wasn't in CA.

I really want to do one, especially to see if I'm up to it. Especially the walking through fire. I hear there is a great BBQ for those who finish it all. I want to be one of those guys.

Honestly, I wasn't going to change my training for it which was basically gymnastics predominantly with some light jogging and lower body barbell work. To note, I was also doing a lot of gymnastics event work at the time (not much PH or HB).

I'm pretty sure I would have done alright. 5 mile run woulda sucked but I've done 3 decently.

t 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).

I dunno, the running sounds like the most unpleasant thing there.

[Ryan Verma]

Im from a military background and I competed in a similar race called the Sandhurst competition which is held at the US military academy at Westpoint. It's limited to members of armed forces from across the world, but it was a ton of fun. The best part about them is the training lead up to it and the sense of solidarity you build with your team mates through the whole thing.

When I did that a couples years ago, I hadnt discovered GB yet, but there is definitely useful carryover. Any strength you can build through the WODs and training with bodyweight to overcome obstacles will be extremely useful, but you'll definitely need to work on your endurance. That was the toughest part of those races for me - I rarely do cardio or running. I work sprints and plyometrics for sports, but I find running boring. I certainly paid for it when I did the race though!

A few of my old team mates are canvassing on facebook for interest... I may see you out there!