http://mattbdavisruns.com/2012/06/6-10-12-beaver-creek-colorado-tough-mudder/
Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000
When I checked the weather that evening I was alarmed to find out it was going to be 35 degrees at the 8am heat start time and only get to the high 40s by the time I was finished.
Death March Hill |
I will tell you that less than a mile into the race, we were faced with a huge hike that had one dude throwing about 1000 yards up the the hill. (A sign of a great event, wouldn’t you say!?)
The remainder of the race was made up of, somewhat challenging, and fun, standard, Tough Mudder obstacles with a few special snow based obstacles as well. The team at Tough Mudder had built a few hills made of snow to climb over. Those were fun, except where they had a dude blasting you with a water hose. (If I ever get to run on a warm day, these will probably seem pleasant I am sure).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I spoke with the lead Tough Mudder course designer and he told me that it was “the hardest one yet”. It was 12 full miles and we climbed almost 3000 feet of elevation twice. I am proud to say that I did in a little less than 3 hours and 45 minutes.
It was also interesting to run the event solo. I had run my first one with good friends in a team of ten. Even though that team of 10 broke down to a team of myself and two others by the last 5 miles, we were there to talk, laugh, and encourage each other all along the way. This time around, I did it alone which means finding people to help me up 10 foot walls and Everest. That is not difficult with the atmosphere that is created. However, the mental aspect is completely different running it alone. I found that I had to dig much deeper when I was winded or wanted to walk, as the constant camaraderie and unspoken teamwork that comes into play when you run it with friends was not available.
I had lots of fun both times and felt personally challenged both times. There are just different sets of lessons doing it along or with a team. I would reccommend that if it is someone’s first event, be safe, and do it with a team.
My next Mudder will be with a guy I used to drink and party with (back when I did that) in 1997-98. So that will be an entirely different adventure I am sure.
Matt B. Davis
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