Tough Mudder, a 10 – 12-mile long course with obstacles, has been testing participants’ mental and physical strength since 2009. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to do it. Then again why would I sign up when I hate running? haha. My friends and I did the 5k Color Run back in February and Chelsea and I got this crazy idea to sign up for 
Tough Mudder (very different from the Color Run). Against Rodrigo’s wishes, I signed him up too, and then his best friend, Vince, who has completed Tough Mudder twice before, signed up with us.
We woke up early on a Sunday morning on October 29th and made our way to Lake Las Vegas where the course was built. I was a little bit nervous, but mostly excited to complete it. We entered the village, where they had port-a-potties, food trucks, and bars. We put our race bibs on each other and dropped our phones off with our bags. We had the 9:30 start slot with around 50 0ther participants. Thankfully there was an announcer at the start who was very motivational. He erased every nerve I had and made it very clear that the goal was to do your best, no matter how long it takes. I wish I could remember his name but he’s been involved in Tough Mudder for years and he’s doing a great job.
Then we were off, at first in a big group but people started to slow down or speed up. There were water stations and port-a-potties every couple of miles. We didn’t get to the first obstacle for awhile and they started off pretty easy – a net to crawl under, tires to jump over, a short wall to climb. I was pretty impressed with Rodrigo’s athleticism for someone who didn’t want to do it. The hardest part of the race for me was the hills. My weakness is going uphill. I had to stop running every time we came to a hill. I’m a baby I know. The obstacles, on the other hand, were not that hard for me. I have some upper body strength, so where Rodrigo and Chelsea struggled, Vince and I did pretty well. There was one obstacle that I thought sure I wouldn’t be able to complete, but I just went for it and somehow I was successful! It was so exhilarating! I felt like I was on American Ninja Warrior.
Others obstacles consisted of swimming through the lake or through ice water, army crawling under barbed wire, and running through electric wires. The last obstacle next to the finish line was called electroshock therapy. There were at least 100 wires hanging down and the bottoms of them would zap the runners. It was all muddy and we had to climb over two mounds of hay. The announcer was seated in front of it narrating what was going on. Vince opted out of it since he has done it before. Rodrigo tried to opt out but I made him do it. I honestly didn’t think it would be that bad. Chelsea and I just sprinted to the first hay mound and, oh my gosh, was it PAINFUL. Numerous wires zapped me before I got to the first haystack and once I climbed over the first one I woke up as I was smashing my chin against the second haystack. I felt funny, like how did I get over to the second one and not remember running over there? Why did a piece of my memory seem to be missing? Then I heard the announcer say “Oh, she just blacked out.” OH MY GOSH, that must have been what happened!! How did that happen?! I try to get over the second hay mound as quickly as possible but I got zapped three times in the same spot on my back and had to crouch back down in the spot. Honestly, I thought someone was going to have to come save me. I was freaking out. I didn’t know how to get out. Nobody came (not even Rodrigo who hadn’t even started the obstacle yet), and after a minute I finally was able to crawl to safety and over the finish line. Rodrigo was close behind me.
It took us about five hours to become finishers. We probably could have jogged a little more in between obstacles, but I was happy, especially since I lost consciousness for a moment, haha. That free beer at the end never tasted so good. We washed all the mud off and stuck around for a little to see other people get shocked. Then we went out to eat for a well-deserved meal.
So here’s what you need to do if you plan on doing Tough Mudder:
Go at your own pace. As long as you finish and try your best then you should feel accomplished. Even if there’s an obstacle you think you can’t do, you may surprise yourself like I did.
It’s all about TEAMWORK. I cannot stress this enough. Of course, Rodrigo, Chelsea, Vince, and I were helping each other out immensely, but there were also strangers helping us, too. There’s no way Chelsea and I could lift Vince or Rodrigo up some of those walls, but thankfully other guys offered to help. Just as others helped our team, when we got to the top we turned around and helped other people. Don’t be nervous to do Tough Mudder alone, because you’re never really alone. Everyone is there to help.
It is not cheap. I think I spent a little less than $200 on one ticket and we signed up way in advance when tickets were at their cheapest. I’d suggest signing up ahead of time because it will only get more expensive. Everything also costs money. It was $20 to park there and then to store your back it was $10 more dollars. 
Other than your one beer, one shirt, and one headband all the food, drinks, and merchandise cost money.
It is not all mud. Depending on what city you do your race in, it might be more dirt and rock than actual mud. The Las Vegas track is definitely more rocky, meaning more painful. The only time they really had mud was at the end with the electrocution obstacle. It is gonna hurt your arms and legs to army crawl on those rocks. You’re going to get muddy, but you may also get bloody.
Lastly, have fun with it – Duhhh! It’s more important to have a good time than to actually have a good race time. For the first seven miles our team’s spirits were really high and we were loving it. The last few miles though I think we were just ready for it to be over, not going to lie, haha. If I were to do Tough Mudder again I would certainly do a few things differently. Vince and I are now talking about maybe giving the Spartan Race a go.
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”