The toughest one day enduance race on the planet - Tough Mudder (Page 2)

I'll be doing the colorado event in 2011...looks like tons of fun

Something like that would be a lot of fun, but look in the FAQ section and see if you can find the not-so-subtle slam on triathlon.  Hint - "Is it really the toughest event?"

I'm planning to do the SoCal event in May 2011. The course is on a ski resort, at altitude. There will be carnage!

I just completed the Austin Tough Mudder this past weekend.  It was a fun and challenging event.  There was little to no waiting at any of the obstacles as it spread out pretty quickly on the course.  The only backup was at 'Walk the Plank' as people go up to the platform and didn't want to jump.

You will be cold and muddy!  I lost a shoe on 3 separate occasions throughout the day and still have scrapes on my forearms, knees and shins from the crawling.  I wouldn't do this prior to an important race as there is an increased risk of injury due to the more severe nature of the course.  (There are large parts of the course that are muddy sludge with little secure footing.  My knees were stressed at the end of this.)

Despite the organizers' claims, IMO IM is tougher than Tough Mudder.  That said, I would do this again.  There is one scheduled for Dallas in October.  It's on my radar.

Yea, from reading it certainly is no joke, but when I see them claim, "if it takes you longer than four hours, you're not a tough mudder. and the average person takes 2 1/4 hours."  Doesn't the average Ironman take around 13-14 hours?  How can you not consider that to be a brutal mental grind.  The fact that it can be so boring as they state means you have to be very mentally strong to push through that. 
Still looks like it could be a lot of fun.

Did you do this as part of the team? How difficult was it to climb the walls?

Funny that some wouldn't jump the plank!

That looks like a fun event.  But I do have a problem with how they are marketing it.  Why slam other sports and races?  Just seems unnecessary.  And the registration/spectator fees seem high for me as well. 

I don't care about how they brand themselves through smack-talking (I enjoy humorous smack-talk). They want to appeal to a certain type of consumer and they're going to market themselves accordingly. FWIW, what I saw was "Ironman meets Burning Man." I didn't see them say "This is tougher than an IM." Not that I care either way; those aren't my hot button issues.

It was the course layout and emphasis on camaradie that interested me. We have trail races all over Florida; this is an entirely different animal.

As for the price, it costs less (as much as $50 < ) to do this event than to do the St Anthony's Olympic triathlon. Both are about a 2:15 - 2:30 cardio event. Tough Mudder is a better bang for my entertainment/hobby buck, does not require expensive equipment/gear (just my old running shoes), and will require more strength training on my part. I like that combination. Mucking about in mud is just bonus points.

Not for everyone, obviously. We get to pick our own poison, no?

I did get a chuckle out of the bolded part in the first paragraph. The reference to working together as a team really appeals to me; it's why I enjoy the Ragnar Relay races.

FACT – Marathon running is simply boring. And the only thing more boring than doing a marathon is watching a marathon. Road-running may give you a healthy set of lungs, but will leave you with as much upper body strength as Keira Knightley. At Tough Mudder, we want to test your all-around mettle, not just your ability to run in a straight line, on your own, for hours on end, getting bored out of your mind.

Tough Mudder is also about experiencing a true sense of camaraderie that, sadly, is rarely seen outside of the military these days. To get over some of our obstacles you will need the help of others – they are simply too much for one man to tackle alone. Tough Mudders, unlike some other types of endurance runners, are team players; they help out other Tough Mudders. We want everyone to compete, but being a Tough Mudder is also about making sure no man is left behind, not worrying about your finish time.

Edited by Renee 2011-02-02 1:38 PM

Just saw this thread resurrected and figured I'd share my experience.  I did their event in Englishtown, NJ in November.  It was fun.  And challenging.  Slightly crazy.  Definitely better to do as part of a group.  There was a clock there, but I have no idea what my group's finishing time was.  Oh, and it was cold!

Walk the Plank at our event was certainly one of the tougher ones.  It was about 40F with some wind that day.  The water was "breath-taking".  Literally.  You jumped from about 10-15' up into the water and then swim/wade about 100ft across to the other side (going under 3 more times to get through obstacles).  Some people were being pulled in right from the jump spot as the shock made it hard to breath initially.  I had to help drag one of my teammates until she could get her feet on the bottom as she was unable to get her body to swim at first.  Then you exit the water for a few hundred yards before having to wade back across again.

The Monkey Bars which came later were also tough--a 'climb and descend' version (as opposed to horizontally straight across).  I made it to the peak, but slipped coming down and took another plunge into the cold water.

There was one steep Mud Mountain where people who made it up would wait and try to help those behind them who got close enough to grab.  We had a human chain trying to get far enough down to help people.

And our team had a little 'system' of getting everyone over the walls.  They were possible to do alone for some people.  But having a hand up sure helped.

These pics don't do it justice, but you are welcome to check them out if you want:  http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=66416&BIB=938&LNSEARCH=1&PWD=

As far as "slamming" other events, I'd consider it all good clean--er, muddy--fun.

As is the Western States 100 (IMO)

I did this event last April and am doing it again.  I was worried about it but after completing it my first thought was "That wasn't s tough'.  It was a hell of a lot of fun and I enjoyed helping others and getting help when needed (I had a bit of trouble getting over the second wall...must have been the guy in the thong going over the wall next to me causing me to dry heave) which is why I signed up again.  I thought my first Oly was tougher than the Tough Mudder.  Oh, I also loved helping raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project!

my thought too....

I'm doing the one in Wisconsin this July and I'm skeptical of it being the toughest one day event on the planet.  I'm am really excited either way.  I'll be sure to report back.

I'm trying to talk a few folks into this...although I'm not too sure about the voluntary electrocution!

It adds to the fun.  Run through there with your hands in the air

I'm doing this as part of a team in March in GA.  Hoping it warms up a bit, but I doubt it will.  Watched a clip of it on youtube the other day, and almost pee'd myself watching people go through the electric wires.  Some of those people went down hard.

Looks like parts of it may be miserable, but it will be hilarious talking about it later.