On Saturday, I ran the Tough Mudder race in Frederick, MD. It was awesome. Below is a recap and some lessons I took away from the race:

Tough Mudder is Extreeeeeeeeeme

The race entailed 12 miles of running and 20 obstacles involving mud, mud, and more mud, water, electricity, climbing, jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling and more. And on top of that, we did it all in a torrential downpour, basically running the entire race sloshing in mud and more mud! Crazy.

I’ve done a Mud Run in the past and that’s nothing compared to the Tough Mudder. This is a true test of both mental and physical strength and endurance. My entire body is killing me, I have cuts and scrapes all over my arms, legs, and torso and I even have bruises underneath my fingernails. It hurts to type this blog post, seriously.

Teamwork, Camaraderie and Perseverance are Essential

You can’t run this race alone. I ran it with two of my buddies and we pushed each other throughout the race. But it also felt like every Mudder was my teammate, as everyone helped each other scale the Berlin Walls, climb over the mounds in Mud Mile,  and complete many other obstacles. And even though it felt great for me to get past each of the obstacles, it actually felt better helping others complete them.

Everest was a killer obstacle where you had to run up a 15-foot-high quarter pipe coated in mud and grease, then leap and grab the hands of other Mudders, who help pull you over the top. One of my teammates had a lot of trouble with this one, primarily because “tall” isn’t a word you would use to describe him. In front of a gallery of hundreds of people, he tried to climb Everest about five times, each time sliding down in shame and embarrassment (I imagine he felt that way). On his final try, he was able to get a solid leap and we were able to grab his hands and pull him up. He never gave up and we worked together as a team to get him through it. It seems cliche but that’s what Tough Mudder is all about.

Poor Organization Made This Event Even Crazier

I don’t know whose fault it was, but the traffic going in and out of the event site was insane. 10,000 people converging on the country roads of Frederick, MD made for one hell of a traffic jam. It was so bad that we parked our car about two miles away from the event site and had to walk those miles before and after the race!

Overall, the Tough Mudder was amazing and I’d totally do it again. I have a sweet t-shirt and bright orange headband to prove that I finished. We’re going to try other similar races, like The Spartan Race, to compare. I’d love to hear from other people who completed the Tough Mudder or any other races about what they think.