Tough Mudder

Does the prospect of paying to wade through mud (and other things) and overcome all sorts of physical obstacles appeal to you? Then COME TO THE DIRTY SIDE. We have Dos Equis.
Now before you start protesting about how out of shape you are and there’s no way you’re gonna last for 10.3 miles of pain, let me tell you the good news: every obstacle has a go-​around route that takes you around the hurdle to relative safety (if you REALLY must). But that’s defeating the whole purpose! And although Diablo Grande is a real pain in the arse (and thighs, and calves) because of the massive hills, it seems like one of the better locations because of the fantastic weather around this time of year (April). Just cool enough to prevent overheating while running, and just hot enough to help your clothes dry from the watery obstacles. Also, great views of the entire course at the top of each hill! My training regimen consisted of 3 outdoor runs, and light gymming 2 – 3 times a week. By no means was I overprepared.
But the most fantastic thing about Tough Mudder, no matter where you choose to go (and one of the main reasons you should do this), is the MUDDER SPIRIT. The whole point is not to see how many people you can pass or how quickly you overcome each challenge, but to help your fellow Mudders at the obstacles. At every stop, complete strangers were cheering each other on and I can’t even count the number of times arms just magically appeared and caught me as I slid down a slope or dragged me over a wall. Even if you’re a brave, lone wolf, people are so so so eager to provide support if you seem like you’re struggling.
Case in point: Mudders helped a man in an adapted wheelchair climb safely over a wall. While in the wheelchair.
Anson W does an amazing job of summarizing the events. My favorite challenges though were probably Balls to the Wall, Arctic Enema, and Hell’s Ladder. And of course you get the classic Electroshock (ing) Therapy finish. I’ll let you figure out what those are — don’t want to spoil any of the fun! ;) GoPros proved their durability throughout this journey and we caught some pretty awesome footage. The photos taken by TM staff were supposedly tagged to our numbers, but in the end we ended up having to scroll through all the available picture previews to find ourselves. If you do have friends willing to pay, there are areas where your fans (or your sadistic friends) can roam across and watch for your mud-​streaked arrival.
I do feel like the event was a bit understaffed — at one point when I rolled my ankle, none of the volunteers at the obstacle we were at knew what to do or what supplies were at hand. They sheepishly offered to call a cart (NO) or walk to the Medical Service tent (another 1.5 miles away). The showering stations were absolute chaos. Nor was there anyone preventing me from going down the opposite side of the showering area into a giant pool of muddy water, effectively nullifying the point of the shower. But, it’s not like we expected to come out clean anyway. Volunteers at the rest stations along the track were very cheerful and kept up pace with snacks to the constant flow of Mudders streaming by.

Simply awesome It was a great , recommend to all just take water and sunscreen because the weather is nice but the sun will burn with all the in and out of water and mud!

Amazing! I am a huge adrenaline and fitness junkie, and this event met all my expectations, surpassed them, and kicked my ass! Oh those hills! But the best part really (besides all the running and scrapes) are the OBSTACLES! They are well executed, fun, and pushed people to their limits.
I met so many fun people here. It’s just a great environment, and they really support camaraderie. No person left behind because it’s not a race but a TEAM challenge and accomplishment.
I will definitely do this again, probably the one coming up in Tahoe. I recommend this to everyone who is looking for a challenge, a good time, getting in shape, and a nice kick in the ass. I definitely felt like I belonged there, scrapes, mud and all.
I do recommend actually training for this if you want to do it RIGHT. Yes, some people walk the whole thing and bypass obstacles, but don’t you want to EARN your headband and shirt, let alone push yourself? There was a guy in a wheelchair doing it (so inspiring). TRAIN. Push yourself. You will thank me later.
See you in the mud!

Did TM last Saturday for the first time! It hasn’t even been a week since the course and my team and I have already signed up for another one! The course was brutal, tons of steep hills! Great obstacles! Lots of water stations with energy gels/​bananas/​etc. Overall it was the hardest thing I have done to date and I loved it! I am hooked!

Tough Mudder Norcal returns to Diablo Grande!
The name of the location describes the event well. Just a quarter mile in, even before the first official obstacle, was a muddy swamp to get across. Running in dry shoes is NOT the Mudder way. And it wouldn’t be tough without some serious elevation like Diablo Grande’s to kill your calves. No whining allowed.
There were 22 obstacles on this course for first timers, and an additional 3 available only to Legionnaires, those who have completed two or more TM events. Most of the obstacles were quite fun, but some were a little short, like running over a couple mounds of mud with shallow water in the middle (Quagmire), and crawling through tubes (Prairie Dog) being half as short as some other locations.
Still other obstacles like Arctic Enema (two words that should never be used together), Walk the Plank and Everest provided lots of satisfaction. And there’s no denying that the feeling of completing a Tough Mudder is incredible.
It was great to have lots of volunteers on the course, staff at each obstacle, and water stations every two miles, with half of them providing food.
Some suggestions for improvements? The lines to the showers were too long. We need more showers, or more efficient showers so that people don’t need to take as long. And be more lenient about letting people claim their Dos Equis at the end of the course. I missed my free cup of beer in the finisher’s area, tried to go back for it later, and was denied re-​entry despite still having my Dos Equis wristband. And the unknown «rule» seemed a bit arbitrary anyway, since another volunteer had advised me that I could go back since I had my wristband.
So overall, was it a blast? Would I do it again? Heck yeah! Though next time I’ll be sure to incorporate more hill training into my workouts, because the hills here live up to their name — diabolical.

Team Skid Marx — Saturday April 12^th, 10am.
Ever go anywhere and immediately get the feeling that you belong there?
That was the exact feeling I got arriving at Diablo Grande. I have been ready for Tough Mudder since 2012 but every time it came around there was something there to stop me. either not find a team of people crazy enough to join me or having an injury. Booo! This year however, I had an awesome team and although I was still coming off of a pretty bad Knee injury I wasn’t going to wait another 4 months to do it and I’m so glad I did because it was so freaking fun!
”Arguably the steepest Tough Mudder terrain in the world”
Such a bold statement may put many people off but this excited me more. The elevation level was less than my last Half Marathon but the inclines were steeper which made for lot’s of people cramping and to the point of crawling in some places. This is why it’s important to hydrate throughout the event people!
The first 4 miles of the course was practically all Running (or actually more like Hiking) with very few obstacles which then gave way to 2 miles with a few close together and then back to another 2 with next to nothing. This year had the introduction of ”Legionaries Loop” which was between mile 8 and 9 where thereafter was packed full of even more obstacles right before the finishing line.
This years event had a few additions:
”Family Feud” (just before Electroshock Therapy) where Mudders walk across balance beams and spectators swing buoys to knock them off. I heard this was apparently for ”Legionaries” only (??). Screw that! I did it anyway and the Volunteer was great at letting people too.
— Legionaries Loop. Designed just for Mudders who have done more than one event. I didn’t like this idea as where it was nice for returning Mudders to have extra obstacles, those who’s first time it was were not allowed though. The whole idea of Tough Mudder is camaraderie. You complete the ENTIRE course as a team. First timers did have their own section but it was just a zig zag up and the down the hill with a long wait for the rest of our team mates that were Legionaries.
My personal favorites:
* Funky Monkey. Despite Arctic Enema not long before having my Triceps stiff and on the verge of cramping (they did shortly after this obstacle) I miraculously made it all the way across swinging 2 bars at a time and taking me back to my childhood. Fun times.
* The hills! The uphill at least, I love incline Running and powered through those inclines like crazy.
* Cage Crawl. Despite the rather un-​nerving color of the water (yellow-​ish) it is nowhere near as scary as the pictures look and I laughed all the way through.
* Kiss of Mud. Lot’s of Mud. Which is the whole point, right?
* Balls To the Ball. A real test of upper body strength. Those ropes were slippery!
* Hearing ”Beeeast” shouted as I ran past people up the hills as well as ”Damn, girl” and ”Woah, way to go” when I completed an obstacle or did something unexpected of somebody my size. The camaraderie was amazing at this event. Strangers helping strangers and cheering people on really made you feel part of something amazing.
”So was it tough?”
Some of the obstacles were but I personally didn’t find it any more intense than one of my regular workouts but it really does all depend on who you ask as I saw lot’s of people really struggling and many have to pull out including one of my team mates due to severe cramping. Boo!
‘Any bad points?”
Yes. Long ass lines at all of the obstacles. There was meant to be an ATM on site but wasn’t, Spectators had to pay $ 3 just for water and $ 8 for what my Husband called ”a microwaved Burger”. The only music on the entire course was right at the start line and at mile 9, really could have done with some during the obstacles and while we were waiting.
”Would you do it again?”
Hell yes! I would have done the Sunday event for $ 50 if it didn’t mean doing it solo. I WILL work my towards that black headband. Bring on Tahoe in August!
TIPS:
— Take a hydration pack of some kind. You WILL need it as the water stations are only every 2 miles.
— Do not wear Cotton. It absorbs water and mud like crazy and will weigh you down.
— Wear sunscreen (waterproof). It gets hot out here in the Valley and there is no shade
— If you need medication on the course (Asthma pump ect) put it in a sealed sandwich bag.
— Take a towel, change of cloths (footwear included) and a trash bag to put dirty cloths in.
— Baby wipes come in useful if you can’t get to a rinse station.
— Have fun! And don’t take it too seriously.

Tough? Not really
Muddy? Yes
Dirty? Yes but not in a good way. There was turd floating in the foul smelling water. Human? Dog? Dinosaur? We never did find out
Not enough water stations and not enough aid stations meant a lot of injured people had to wait for help
Would I do it again? Yes. But I’m twisted.

One of the most incredible things I have EVER done by far! I trained pretty hard for this event and it really paid off. The only thing I wish I did more of was hill training. This course was almost all uphill! I did pretty well but if I had had some hill training under my belt, it would have been much easier. It was also super hot on Saturday with temperatures in the 90’s. Luckily I came well prepared. Here are a few of my tips:
–Camelbak. Must have. I filled mine halfway the night before and stuck it in the freezer. Just topped it off at the water stations and I had cold refreshing water the whole time.
–Gu/​Sportbeans kept me energized during the event
–Hat protected my face from the sun and it actually stayed on my head
–Sunglasses with strap, I would have died without sunglasses
–One piece Speedo swim suit with Nike running capris. So many people were stuck wearing cotton t-​shirts weighed down by mud and water
–Sunscreen, duh
–Chapstick
–Jugs of water in the car for «showering»
This event was pretty well organized. I had no issues signing in or anything. There was such an amazing vibe and you could just FEEL the positive energy in the air. Tough Mudder partners with The Wounded Warrior Project which is a great cause. There was such overwhelming support and respect for our military here which I really appreciated.
The obstacles were a total blast and I enjoyed just about all of them. I didn’t get shocked too badly at the electric eel but lots of people were being shocked and you could hear the screaming. The Berlin walls were pretty challenging and one of the hardest obstacles for me. I did not like the underwater tunnels as the pond smelled like poo. Hauled ass through it just to get out of that skanky water.
Im not a beer drinker but that ice cold beer at the finish line was the best damn beer I have had in my life. What a great refreshing treat after being crowned with the coveted orange Tough Mudder sweatband.
I am beyond proud of myself and my team for doing so well at this event. We all trained so hard and worked well together to make it through. It was so rewarding to really challenge myself and push myself well beyond my limits. You bet your ass I am doing this again next year.

I think that this was a very unorganized event. Everything from running out of water, broken ATM machines, CASH only everything, spectators paying $ 40 at the gate only realizing they won’t really be spectating but waiting to 8 picnic tables that is suppose to cater to tens of thousands of participants and spectators.
This was my first time at tough mudder but most likely my last. I have heard mixed reviews of last years tahoe event and a lot of mixed reviews from this years diablo grande event. The course was steep, the obstacles were designed fairly well yet lines of massive tough mudder participants would have to wait and wait. and wait. Everyone was given starting times but there was no way to differentiate when a group was suppose to start. Everyone would crowd the first few heats leaving almost no room for trial and error for obstacles.
The worst part of all is that it was over 100 degrees and they decided to run out of water and gatorade. The food was also cash only which is fine until BOTH atm machines decided to go offline and not work.
All in all, I believe that this is an extremely fun event. Good course but the organization of the event fell short. They also had a live band which we all agreed was a waste of money. A middle aged woman butchering «Call Me Maybe» and forgetting the lyrics to Katy Perry and starting to mumble to the tune is not what you want to hear when you are dying of thirst and covered in mud.

i believe 2012 was the first year that tough mudder hosted a norcal event at diablo grande, which is actually a golf course in patterson. i think they only used venues in tahoe for norcal in the past. anyway, the 2012 tough mudder norcal diablo grande was my first tough mudder event. honestly, it was a little different from what i expected; but, wow, it was a lot of fun!
i first signed up for the tough mudder at the beginning of 2012, when one of my friends from u.s. taekwondo academy in sunnyvale started to assemble a team at our dojang/​studio/​school. right away, i started doing the official tough mudder workout. then i ended up signing up for crossfit at norcal crossfit san josé and attended crossfit classes about four times a week. i was pretty serious about training for this event, and i guess it really paid off.
on the challenge day (saturday, september 29, 2012), i guess i was a little surprised to find that the event was more hiking than obstacles or running. i mean, i did see some really, really tough participants run more than others; but i so a lot more people hiking than walking because the terrain was just so hilly. also, the course was a bit different from the map that was posted ahead of time. the obstacles were more at the beginning, the middle, and the end with long distances between those three. some of the obstacles were switched out. some of the my teammates had problems: one guy’s shoe totally fell apart. a couple of others had bad muscle cramps and/​or got pretty exhausted. i felt pretty good throughout the entire course, but i think that’s because our team stuck to the pace of the slowest members in order to stay as a team. had i tried to run as much of it as i could, i would definitely have been a lot more tired. however, that’s one thing i learned about this experience: it’s more about teamwork than i had expected. after all, i had trained so much on my own or at least away from my team. next time, i’ll try to get our team to train together more. i think this is actually a really good teambuilding event as long as everyone in your group is at least sort of fit. i heard that 22% of participants don’t finish, and i would say that is probably true. i saw many people get carted away; so this stuff is in fact legit; very legit.
i heard that 15 thousand people showed up to this event, but i can’t find confirmation of that number. it might have been more or less. i also heard that 80% of the participants are male. however, i think up here in norcal, women tend to be more athletic, adventurous, fit, and active than in other parts of the country; so i bet the percentage of participants that were female at this event was quite a bit higher than that.
anyway, i totally recommend this event. i think it _​is_​well. organised, and i can tell that the staff and volunteers work very hard. it is a fun event; so bring a good attitude and sense of humour.
check out this video here to see how muddy it is:
even though kids can’t participate (you have to be 18+), you can bring your family to watch. it’s pretty hot and very dusty though. if you want to try to stay «not as dirty,» as a spectator; then you can hang out on grass at the golf course.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears (9÷29÷12)
Like my fellow crazy companions I geared up for a long grueling day at the Tough Mudder event on the Diablo Grande course site. Only thing is I took the easier route of being a volunteer worker instead of a competitor.
I chose Bag Claim as my volunteer spot, which turned out to be the best place to showcase my skills, still see all the action (guys that is), and make new friends. While trying to keep all the bags in check I dug up some good info if I ever decided to do this again.
A. Only Volunteer Once
B. Register to be a Paid Worker
C. Bring your own Food and Water, despite what it say’s online.(volunteers don’t really get breaks)
Had I known these things before hand I wouldn’t have gotten all the crazy looks and questions from all the «Yellow Shirts» I was working with, yet I still had no regrets. Overall it was a fun day, I got in free, played a little, had a beer, took some cool pics, didn’t die, fell in love in with a boy (or vice versa). Who could ask for more?!