He is One Tough Mudder

The following trip report is from John Edmondson, Liberty Mountain’s Outlet Sales Specialist.

The Tough Mudder in Tooele, UT, for me, is about proof and support.  Proving to myself that I have what it takes to compete. Supporting our troops that have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

I participated in the Tough Mudder held at the Miller Motor Sports Park in Tooele, UT. The 12-mile course of mud and water was riddled with military style obstacles with grueling names like: Arctic Enema, Boa Constrictor, Electric Eel, Electroshock Therapy, Fire Walker, Gauntlet, Kiss of Mud, and Underwater Tunnels. The Arctic Enema was an ice water swim where the water is kept at 32 to 34 degrees.  The Electric Eel and Electroshock Therapy obstacles had un-avoidable wires surging 10,000 volts of electricity that make it feel I was like getting hit with a bat each time my body touched one. All the other obstacle involved pits, tunnels, walls, jumps, crawls, and carries… it had it all.

The event was cold.  The outside temperature never went above 45 degrees and the mud and water obstacles were frigid. We were told at the starting line that more than 1/3 of the participants would quit before reaching the finish line. This startling fact became evident after the second obstacle and more so as the day progressed.  More than 2/3 of the participants were younger than me, and often more “fit” than me; and many of them gave up and quit.

The event is definitely designed to celebrate your strengths and expose your weaknesses. Despite pain, fatigue, depleted motor skills due to the cold, and daunting obstacles, the Tough Mudder allows a person to realize what they are capable of.  It challenges yourself and others. It allows you to achieve and help others to achieve what you started out to do.  The Tough Mudder was definitely one of the toughest things I’ve done, and the most fun as well.  It was comforting to prove that this old pudgy guy can still hang with the young ones and even beat them still at some things.  It’s a great event, a great cause, and a great challenge; one I plan on doing again.

Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world and they partner with the Wounded Warrior Project and have raised, via participants and donations, over $3 million to benefit the WWP.  There were many of our military brothers and sisters at this event.  Some with physical wounds they were overcoming and others with mental wounds.  Tough Mudder is designed to show these veterans that they can still compete, lead, and participate in demanding events; and beat whatever they feel could hold them back.