I didn't want to bog down the daily with my Tough Mudder experience from Sunday, but there were some cool new obstacles this year, and I thought if anyone was considering doing one of these, sharing some of the day might help. This was my second Tough Mudder - I did the 2014 with a lot of the same folks who did it this year. The event is held at the Road America race track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. They have a Saturday and Sunday race:  the Saturday version had over 8,500 people. Sunday's was not so crowded. I guess like around 1,000 folks? We were blessed with perfect weather - sunny and around 60° at race start. Both of my sons, my daughter-in-law, her sister and one other woman and six other guys were on our team "Mind Over Mudder."  As we waited for our starting time at 10:00 AM, I looked around at all of the people eager to take off.  No grandma or grandpa looking types to be found. Why am I doing this again??? They played our National Anthem and there was no more time to think about it. We were off!

My youngest son didn't train for this. At all.  I knew he'd have youth on his side for some of the obstacles, but the running would probably kill him. The course is on uneven trails with lots of uphill and downhill climbs through the Road America grounds. We probably ran around a mile, then hit the first of 16 obstacles - the Kiss of Mud - which involved getting down on your belly and crawling through mounds of mud trying to stay under barbed wire in the process. No problem!

2.  The Ladder to Hell, which was a 12 foot wall with boards spaced about a foot apart that you had to crawl to the top and then come down the other side. If you weren't afraid of heights, this was one of the easier obstacles.

3.  Next was the Mud Mile, which they revamped this year. There were 4 walls of mud which were too high to crawl over without someone at the top giving you a hand. Each wall had a water pit behind it that you had to drop into, then scale the next wall. We had great teamwork on this one and managed it just fine.

4.  The Beached Whale was new this year. It was an inflated tube about 8 or 9 feet high that you had to crawl up and over. It was hard to get up but with the guys on the team giving a hands up to the 4 ladies on our team, we got over.

5.  I think I told you about Arctic Enema last year. This year they "improved" it. You had to crawl up on a platform, slide under chain link fence into a dumpster filled with water that was 35° to begin with - without adding the bags of ice - then slide over a wooden bar back into the frigid water and climb out on the other side. That water was so cold!!

6.  Devils Beard was heavy rope that you had to lift over your head and work your way through to the other side. I got behind my 6 foot son which made it a little easier.

7.  The Warrior Carry was different this year too. This is a 2 person event where one carries the other to a halfway point, then you reverse and the rider becomes the carrier. I lucked out being the "carrier" on the first part which was downhill. My partner had to carry me uphill for about half a city block. Tough work!

8.  Birth Canal was another new obstacle this year. You had to crawl on your belly under a heavy plastic liner that had water on the top of it to reach the clearing on the other side. The weight of the water made this really tough. At least the lining was white. If it had been dark and you were claustrophobic, this would have been difficult.

9.  Liberator was also new. This involved a 10 foot wall that had holes in it. You had to take pegs to work your way up the wall, then crawl over and down the other side.

10.  Hold Your Wood was next. This was a team obstacle where you had to carry a 4 or 5 foot long tree trunk over and through some wooden walls.

11.  Balls Out was different this year. There were hanging ropes on an angled wall that you had to try to work your way across. I didn't get all of the way across. Trying to figure out how to place your feet on the wall and reach for the next set of ropes without falling off required more agility than I had!

12.  Berlin Walls was a series of 10 foot walls that you had to climb up and over. The guys were great about boosting the women up far enough to grab hold, reach the top and scale down the other side.

13.  Funky Monkey 2.0. Another "new and improved" obstacle this year was a set of monkey bars over a mud pit that you had to get across, then reach for a trapeze and end with a bar to slide across to get to the other side. I thought all of my practice doing full body pull-ups would help me, and I managed the monkey bars okay, but when I reached for the bar I had no more strength. Down in the mud pit I went!

14.  King of the Swingers was a new obstacle, and I think this one was my favorite. You had to climb a platform, then jump out and grab a bar trying to swing far enough to ring a bell before falling into the water below. The volunteer on the platform kept telling me "that bar is closer than it looks - just reach for it!"  I was able to jump out and grab it but couldn't swing far enough to ring the bell. But it felt good to get some of the mud rinsed off!

15.  Everest was a half-pipe that you had to run up, reach the top and crawl down the other side. Strategically placed right after a water obstacle, the half-pipe was wet and slippery - and very difficult to navigate! One of the guys on our team hyper-extended his knee on this one. I felt so bad for him, because this was the second last obstacle.

16.  Electroshock Therapy. The grand finale. Hanging wires over a mud pit that had a nice little charge to them. You either had to go beside them or under them. I got zapped a couple of times but made it through okay.

Imagine running in shoes soaking wet and filled with mud, pebbles, and other delightful items. Toenails were lost and blisters were found! My socks had holes in the toes and I didn't even try to salvage the shoes I ran in. They had a nice cold beer waiting for us when we finished the race. My husband was kind enough to miss the Packer's opening game to come down and take pictures along the course. He got some great shots!

It took our team around 3 1/2 hours to complete the 11 mile obstacle course. We lost my youngest son around the 6 mile mark. The running did him in, and after coming out of "Arctic Enema" he had some serious leg cramping. He was so bummed out because he didn't finish but has already signed up for next year. Me? I'm on the fence. I've got a couple of days to think about it before I lose the "$99 deal". It's been three days since I ran this and I'm still sore! I think I may have one more year in me.....

Awesome report Jeanne!! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it.  I hope pictures will be added soon.  You really are an amazing athlete...forget about the whole over 60 thing...you are a great athlete!  I think I'm going to stick to running.

OMG Jlynne! You've got to be nuts. I love reading about these races of yours but just can't imagine doing one of these. So what happens if you don't complete an obstacle? I sure hope you post some pictures soon!

Congrats, jlynne.  A couple years ago, my daughter and now son in law did this.  I don't think I'll be trying it.

TomS

This is the 2nd best Tough Mudder race report ever, well until photos get added, that is!  You absolutely rock! I can't imagine training for this, it's not like you can fill a pool up with ice water in your back yard, well I guess you could. Electro Shock, really? That sounds dangerous to me.  You are one tough mudder/grandma/athlete.  Was the whole gang there to watch?

12.  Berlin Walls was a series of 10 foot walls that you had to climb up and over. The guys were great about boosting the women up far enough to grab hold, reach the top and scale down the other side. 

Of course the guys are willing to boost the women up. This whole race seems like a hands on, helping each other over the obstacles.  That's really cool, just not for me.

ETA - the photos are great!

Pictures! OMG, I just don't think I could do this. I have a hard enough time running through mud, much less being immersed/covered in it! Well done!

WOW!!!  Those pictures are great!! I definitely don't think I could do this -- YOU are one Tough Mudder!!