If you follow me on social media you know this that last Saturday I completed, Tough Mudder Classic in Whistler with my Great Little Box Coworkers. This event includes 16+ KM of mountain terrain with 20-25 obstacles including elements of mud, water, ice and electricity.

Read on for  my 2019 Whistler Classic Tough Mudder race recap and personal highlights.

I will be the first to admit that I was not overly enthusiastic about the idea of Tough Mudder.  My preconceived image of the event was that is catered to a bunch of ego driven testosterone junkies trying to prove themselves.  In addition to this I have also heard of staph infections and other serious disease as a result contaminated mud and water.

However all of my co-workers survived last year’s race without serious incident, and raved about their experiences…..so I thought why not??  The serious injuries are likely rare, and part of the appeal is the risk of the event.

The reality is that his race is designed to bring the best out of you, both mentally and physically, it will take you way out of your comfort zone. It’s different to your usual endurance challenge in the sense that there is no winning time and there are no podium finish.  Instead it’s about camaraderie, teamwork and having fun over a muddy and challenging obstacle course.

At the beginning of the race, everyone starting at the 9am time slot with us got down on one knee.  It is at this point were were reminded that Tough Mudder is not a race.   At this time we also took a group pledge to “overcome all fears” and not to whine (“kids whine.”)  That everyone at that starting time is part of the same team,  and that we will all help each other along the course. After a motivational series of Hoorahs, we were off.

Where?

Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley. Just 20 minutes south of Whistler, it was the  venue for the cross-country skiing and ski jumping in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Obstacle Overview

*** Level of difficulty is based on my perceived physical challenge.   It should be noted that the number Highlighted  beside each obstacles titles indicates my perceived level of discomfort out of 10.  Which for many of the challenges is the hardest part.

Devil’s Beard 3                                                                          Difficulty 3/10

Crawling your way through this 50′ long obstacle, covered in 1,500 square feet of giant heavy netting. We started out easy with this obstacle a bit hard on your knees but nothing noteworthy.

Berlin walls 4                                                                         Difficulty 4/10

Here you have to conquer two 10-foot-high walls. If you are shorter or afraid of heights this would have been especially challenging, but I didn’t have an issue with it.

Texas Hold’em  3                                                                    difficulty 3/10

See-sawing triangular platform  the only way to get across is to do-si-do it together.  You grab hands with a teammate and lean back as you shuffle across.  The leaning back while holding hands adds an element of trust to the obstacle that was a bit challenging at first.

Bushwacked  3                                                                         difficulty 2/10

This was just a short hike through some bush, with uneven mountain terrain.  As and outdoors person I found this relatively simple.

Hero Carry 6                                                                              difficulty 6/10

Classic 200′ long challenge where you alternate carrying a teammate. It should be noted that this was on a hill, making it that much more challenging. This Obstacle was challenging for me because of the pelvis injury I had during pregnancy.  I had to lean forward and take the weight across my back rather than on my pelvis.

Entrapment  7                                                                          difficulty 4/10

Crawling low through 30’ of narrowing space that has electric wire hanging down to zap you. This one was a tight squeeze through some rock terrain, and I got zapped once in my shoulder which stung.

Quagmire   7                                                                               difficulty 6/10

Three 10′ crater of glorious and cold mud,requiring you to make three  8′ climbs out. This is a teamwork obstacle for sure.

Arctic Enenima     10                                                               difficulty 4/10

 You have to slide into a pool filled with iced water, and then if that wasn’t enough, dive underneath a tire, fully submerging your head. Even though this obstacle takes only a few seconds to complete,  It was my least favorite.  The ice cold water made too my breath away.

Skidmarked    6                                                                          difficulty 5/10

These walls aren’t as high as the 10′ Berlin walls obstacle, but they are at a  45 degree angle.  Due to your center of gravity, your feet automatically tend to move towards the direction of the wall, when trying to get over the edge by jumping up.

Iccy Tunnels    7                                                                     difficulty 4/10

Craw though a 20’-long culvert pipes filled with snow.  It was cold, and if your claustrophobic you might not like this one. The cold snow was uncomfortable on your knees and hands, I was glad I wore gloves.

Lumberjacked  4                              difficulty 4/10

Two 4′ high log hurdles, I didn’t find this hard but I am on the taller side and was able to get my leg over relatively easily. However that being said I saw a few of my shorter teammates struggle with this one, and a few painful looking clotheslines.

Kiss of Mud 7                                    difficulty 5/10

Crawling through 1,000 gallons of mud for 40 feet with barbed wire just 18 inches above you.  There were rocks in the mud and it was all elbows and knees so this was a bit challenging and really muddy.

Tight Squeeze 6                                                                        Difficulty 4/10

Sliding under pipes in the mud which was more of a comfort thing than really being hard.

Hydrophobia  6                                                                        Difficulty 4/10

Crawling through semi-submerged 20’-long culvert pipes which again wasn’t that hard unless you are claustrophobic.

Ladder to Hell 7                                                                    difficulty 5/10

A 12-foot structure made of massive tree trunks with boards mounted between them, Ladder to Hell requires Mudders to climb up and down its looming frame while forcing themselves not to look down. Ladder to Hell stresses the importance of three points of contact.  This one was a bit trickier than it initially looked because when you got to the top you couldn’t just flip over you had to get between the beams to keep your 3 point contact.

BlockNess Monster  8                        Difficulty 6/10

Push and pull your way through this 30′ long obstacle with 60′ wide rotating blocks in 4′ of water.  This was a challenging obstacle that required team work but it was also the most fun!  The tricky part was realizing at the first block that if you did flip fast you would be going face first into the muddy unknown.

 

Mud Mile  8                                         Difficulty 7/10

This 30′ trek through waist deep mud pits, and up-and-over 8′ high slippery mud mounds. There were huge rocks in these pits, and it was hard to get out without proper footing and team work. In addition to this it was also unnerving getting into them because you didn’t know what was at the bottom.

Bale Bonds  4                                                                           Difficulty 4/10

Clearing  6 foot tall bale of hay with no hand grips. It was harder than it looked with a surprising drop on the other side.

Everest 10                                                  Difficulty 9/10

This is a 13 foot quarter pipe located at around the 13 km mark, equating to me starting to feel tired and hungry.  You start sprinting, and run up the steep and slippery half-pipe.  This was by far the hardest challenge, although I made it up my first try it wasn’t without help from my Mudder teammates.

Black widow 8                                                                         Difficulty 4/10

A series of 30’ long elevated tightropes suspended over water. Relatively easy but I was hesitant  of this one to start and thought there was a hidden surprise.

Death March  9                                                                         Difficulty 7/10

Taking on the Nordic ski hill at whistler mountain…..this march was no joke.

Cage Crawl  9                                                                            difficulty 5/10

At Cage Crawl, you have to make your way through a ditch filled with dirty, cold water by dragging yourself backwards along a fence above your head.  Since that fence is only a few inches over the water, you’re always in danger of swallowing some water. This obstacle made me uncomfortable, I didn’t like not being able to see or hear.

Agustus Gloop  8                                                                      Difficulty 4/10

High pressure jets of water pouring down from every angle make this claustrophobic vertical climb up a ladder in a 10 foot culvert pipe.  Not so hard unless like me you have contact, then you wish you brought goggles.  Fortunately I had sunglasses which I wore on my head all race except during this obstacle.

Electric shock THERAPY  6                     difficulty 3/10

 Running through hanging electric wire.  While this obstacle is far from being a pleasure, I didn’t find it as bad as Electric Eel.  Firstly, you can make it through the obstacle quickly. Secondly, the electroshocks aren’t amplified by the water, as in Electric Eel.  I ended up getting lucky and  didn’t get shocked at all.

Mudderhorn 7                                          Difficulty 5/10

 The tallest obstacle ever seen at any Tough Mudder  a three-story cargo net A-frame with a net you have to crawl under.  This  was an intimidating final obstacle. I got off to a slow start because my hair was getting caught in the netting. Once I sorted this out I was OK.  I am not afraid of heights so this wasn’t too hard for me.

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT:

Tough Mudder is so much more than than a race. Taking part in one of the Tough Mudder challenges takes grit, determination and teamwork, and it’s hard to find a greater sense of achievement than when you cross that finishing line. It’s not about fierce or individual competition, it’s all about fun and camaraderie.  If I would have done this with a friend it wouldn’t  have been the same experience.  This event should be done with a large group to get all the feel good teamwork vibes.

Final word…..

Tough Mudder isn’t  defined by the length of the race, timed results, or the lack of them.  It’s not the free beer at the finish line, or even the mud itself.  What defines Tough Mudder is the opportunity for people to work together to achieve a common goal, a concept that I think resonates in today’s politically polarized world.   After all, there is simply no way to scale a slippery 13 foot quarter-pipe than without a helping hand, or someone pushing your butt over. 😉

In a world where we are all looking to belong to something  bigger, this event provides a glimmer of hope that maybe we already do.