Europe’s Toughest Mudder: When Strength Wains and Obstacles Loom

Featured shot from the OCR Report Facebook page – Credit OCR Report

Introduction

I’ve just completed Tough Mudder 2022 with some work colleagues and couldn’t stop thinking about the Infinity runners coming past us and what it might be like to not only run an ultra marathon while climbing over potentially 100’s of obstacles. After a little research and deliberation I enter Yorkshire’s TM Infinity for 2023, with little plans other than to enjoy it and see what it’s all about. Fast forward a year and I’ve come 4th out of 179 finishers.

Now don’t get me wrong the gap between 4th and 1st was sizeable and I was under no illusion I’m the next Dasos Gonnella, but I was hungry for more and it seemed logical the next step up would be Europe’s Toughest Mudder (ETM). Lucky for me ETM was going to be hosted at the Yorkshire site in 2024, so I would already be familiar with the terrain.

For those unfamiliar with Tough Mudder and in particular Europe’s Toughest Mudder, see list below breaking down the basics and format of the event:

• Event starts at 8pm and finishes at 8am (12 hours)
• Last lap must be started before 7am
• All full laps completed before 8am are counted
• 20 obstacles, with various opening times scheduled throughout the event.
• All obstacles are mandatory
• Some obstacles have penalties if you choose or fail to complete
• Failure to complete an obstacle, results in disqualification

I’d joined the various Facebook groups and read previous posts on strategy, nutrition plans and gear choices and started to formulate a rough plan. This plan was further refined after listening to the UK OCR podcast with host Alan “Muddy Duck” Moore (apologises Alan I didn’t know your name when I called you the “Podcast Guy” while queuing at registration). The podcast and tips were an excellent resource for tips and tricks to strategy in the early stages, what obstacles to avoid and other things to consider. So thank you Alan and the others for breaking down the event for me and others.

Preparation

So I’ve been back ultra running for just over a year at this point and felt the races I’d got planned leading up to ETM would prepare me sufficiently. Now my upper body strength and grip strength needed some focus and just assumed I could pick that up a couple of months out from ETM and that would get me through (first lesson).

With regards to gear and equipment, I knew I’d need a water resistant head torch, potential a glow stick for my back and maybe a shorty wet suit (second lesson).

Mental preparation for this event didn’t even cross my mind and maybe should have, but I’ve completed several longer ultra’s and plenty of night running. Some consideration was given with regards to in and out of water each lap, but I tend to run hot and unless it was going to be considerably cold I’d be alright.

The Monday before the event I’d run with a friends running club and one of the runners wanted to run through the wood and I followed. It was great with fallen trees to jump over and muddy puddles, this was just what I needed before Saturday and I think I got a little carried away and could feel my left calf tightening. I stopped and gave it a little massage and carried on running, uh oh! didn’t feel right and so I walked most of the way back with a little run towards the end and it didn’t feel right. Long story short here, I thought this was game over and was thoroughly grumpy about the whole thing.

All I could do is try to relax and rest it as much as possible, easier said than done…..

The Start Line

So just before the start of the race there was plenty of hustle and bustle to secure the good spots in the pits and get everything set up before the long awaited start at 8pm. I’d roped Rory a colleague from work to crew for me so we discussed the plan, various things to prompt me on and I apologised now if I was short or snappy with him throughout the night and to take it with a pinch of salt.

I’d woken up at 2am on the Saturday and couldn’t get back to sleep (usual pre-race sleep for me) and tried to grab an hours sleep in the car before getting ready to start. This just resulted in me resting my eyes really, but I’m sure it helped a little. A quick change into what I was running in and a few last check of kit and our pit area and it as time to start funnelling into the start area.

Various announcers took us through safety, what to expect, rules etc. and eluded to an announcement in the morning. Then it was time for the warm up, I’d unfortunately got myself towards the front and half heartedly committed to each of the warm up exercises. I’d had an issue with my calf on the Monday before and just wanted to use the first couple of miles to see how it fared (it had been a real worry at the start of the week).

No sooner had we finished the warm up and we were into the countdown. Quick reminder to go easy for a couple of miles and see how my calf gets on and we were off!!

The Race Experience

So the first lap was a “sprint” lap, no obstacles to spread out the field a little and ensure obstacles don’t get backed up. I maintained a steady pace, watched my footing and focused on my calf. Two miles passed and we started to head back down the hill and I felt nothing. So I made to decision to push and if it goes it goes, but if it doesn’t “Game On!”.

First lap passed very quickly and it gave us all a good opportunity to check out the obstacles and their layouts that awaited us throughout the night. I came into transition well ahead of my schedule, grabbed a couple of gels and pressed on. I started to remind myself of if I could maintain this pace I could bypass some of the obstacles early on and used this to fuel me and almost quell my thoughts about pushing to hard.

Second lap brought on the first taste of obstacles, which my memory doesn’t serve me well if I was able to just bypass Cage Crawl or this was my first obstacle. Either way I was soon working my way towards an obstacle that would be a stable diet throughout the night an that was HydroPhobia. Then on to Blockness Monster, which I feel reasonably confident on now. I wasn’t quite fast enough to avoid Mudderhorn opening up, so up and down we go and before I knew it I was completing Lap two.

Through transition and another quick grab of gels, slurp of drink and took some flapjack with me. Rory reminded me as I left that Mud Mile opened at 22:30 and knew I wanted to try and miss it. I pushed the pace and as a result just couldn’t get the flapjack down. Into this third lap and my first taste of the Hero Walls this year and they came as a bit of a shock for me.

At Infinity last year, I’d bounced over these, but there was no 4×2 a foot off the ground to help get you over. This was the first time I realised that I’m really under equipped in the my upper body strength and this will be a constant theme throughout the night. Already sapped from two Hero Walls I push on, with cage crawl, Hanging Tougher and Lumber Jacked all opening up. I check my watch and think I’m well ahead of schedule and should easily miss Mud Mile. Mud mile comes and goes with 20-15 minutes spare.

It’s important to note here that Mud Mile was singled out on the OCR podcast and facebook pages as one to miss due to it’s energy sapping, time consuming and painful crossing. with this in mind and heading towards completing my third lap, this would enable me to receive a wrist band that would allow me to bypass one obstacle each future lap. I already decided that this would be used on Mud Mile unless a particular obstacle couldn’t be completed or took a long time to complete and made Mud Mile worth tackling.

The night was upon us now and I’d chosen to come into the pit area to get some nutrition on board, before pushing on my laps. Rory reminded me I’d got plenty of time in my bag on my schedule, I told him i’m going to slow it down now and walk a little more to conserve energy, but most likely things would naturally slow down now as more obstacles open up and some I’d feared could force me to have to complete the penalties.

Into the fourth lap I go, and barring a few obstacles, most were opened up now and anything that required my grip or upper body strength I started to struggle with. Hero Walls I was literally dragging myself over them, Hanging Tougher resulted in me having to drag the mats via the penalty and I just couldn’t master the Everest this time round (not sure if it was technique, weather/grip due to the ramp being wet or just general fatigue at this point) so further penalties incurred in the form of 20 burpee’s. Kiss of mud opened up, which was fairly painless and I was soon back in the pit.

With roughly 4 hours passed and 4 laps under my belt, this made for easy math’s and felt confident I could push on for 8 laps, but 9 might be a push. I wasn’t under the illusion that my upper body strength and endurance could result in an early finish for the event, so respect should be given and any help to reduce the fatigue would be appreciated at the Hero Wall’s and Mudderhorn.

I’d briefly spoken to Kevin Dent before the start of the race. Kevin had been a guest of the OCR Podcast and sounded like a great guy doing some great things via his social media and workplace with regards to mental health. He’s a similar age to me and a Dad too, so if I got the chance I was going to try and chat more to him after the race and wondered how he was getting on in the race. Unfortunately I’d later find out on Kevin’s sixth lap he turned his ankle really bad and had to be driven off the course, which means he’d have to take a DNF.

With a change of tops and more food on board, I pick up another band and push into lap five. I’m still running well, with no niggles at this point other than the usual and still nothing from my calf. Coming off the second Hero Wall and a slight cramping of my hamstring reminds me to be mindful of how a navigate the obstacles efficiently and were possible avoiding any unnecessary strain, which could bring on an injury or worse a early stop to my event.

A few more obstacles are traverse, some with added penalties and the ritual of handing over my band at Mud Mile continues. As I approach Blockness Monster we are informed that it will close in les than 2 minutes and if we waited could save a bit of energy. I was up for that, but the Volunteers did mention to myself and another runner that there was one guy still in there and if he couldn’t complete the obstacle on his own he would be disqualified.

A few looks back and forth to the stranded mudder and my fellow land lubbing mudder, we agreed to jump in and help him complete it. he was very grateful of course and I felt we had stuck to the code we repeated at the start of the race. More burpee’s, more mud from Kiss of Mud and up and over Mudderhorn before trotting into the finish (still no electric finish yet).

Into lap six and I’ll be honest here, this is when I started to think about when I’m done. how much more I’ll have to endure and if I’ll even make this next lap, never mind three more for eight. I manage to get some help over Hero Walls, that saves me some energy and hopeful that I can traverse Chunky Monkey the first time. As soon as I grab the first monkey bar, I feel I’m going to struggle across here, I make it to the first wheel with my grip loosening and try to reposition. I reach for the next wheel and my grip gives in and into the drink I go.

This signals to me that I’ll be completing the penalty on Chunky Monkey every lap onwards now and the Hawk Taur felt painfully slow. with penalties at Chunky Monkey, Hanging Tougher and Everest, these were all eating away at my time and ultimately what would be possible with regards to total laps. I came in from lap six and Rory confirmed what I already knew, I’d need to pick up the pace if I wanted 9 laps, I came back with “I don’t have it in me”, “upper body is zapped”.

This is were some lesson’s were learned, my upper body strength and endurance were lacking, the cold was taking its toll a little and maybe adding to general fatigue, which could have been helped with having a shorty available as we entered the colder part of the night (this has got to be a must have available if temperatures could be any colder).

Lap seven and eight were much of the same and a struggle at best with regards to my upper body fatigue and coupled with Artic Enema and Electric Shock Therapy to finish you off each lap made for a miserable end. At some point on the eighth lap, Paul Wood would past me, putting me in 12th place and more importantly and unknowingly to me with how the placings were unfolding put me in 4th place and off the podium. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing and reflecting back to that last lap, I’m not sure I could have made the lap 7 minutes faster and will never know.

So as I dragged my body through Electric Shock Therapy for the last time and trying to avoid being shocked one last time. I walk over the finish line, into the pits and sit myself down knowing I’m done. Rory confirms I’ve lost a place and now in 12th, which I’m over the moon with. I just assumed I’d be in 4th or 5th for my category and when I find out I’m in 4th it makes sense, it’s only later I find out how close it was and wonder what if. again hindsight aside I’m pretty happy with myself.

Reflections and Takeaways

Physical toll: Running wise I was fine, upper body needs some focus if I’m to do this again

Mental highs and lows: A little low towards the end, which may of had me walking more, but fairly positive throughout.

Support: Rory was on point with crewing for me, reminded me on nutrition, obstacle strategy and picking up my band leaving the pits each time.

I’m not currently planning on doing any more than one OCR per year, this was going to be the last event I would do and then I would focus on my ultra marathon’s I have planned over the next couple of years. Although the big announcement I eluded to earlier has got me thinking, so that announcement was that World’s Toughest Mudder (usually held in the States) is coming to the UK for the first time. So kind of another sign that I should enter and not miss this opportunity to run in the World’s.

Now the World’s isn’t like stepping up from Infinity to Europe’s Toughest Mudder, it feels a bigger leap than that and if I do choose to enter I cannot afford to be lax on my upper body conditioning.

Conclusion

If you’ve completed an Infinity event and feel you want to step up to the next level, I think it’s the perfect next step. Don’t forgo on upper body training and if you’re already strong here focus on running longer or for a longer duration. Consider you equipment and clothing choices for the event location and time of year. Special thanks to all the other Mudders and Volunteers who make the event what it is and of course the Tough Mudder Team making the event what it is.

When the dust settled I came in 12th out of 311 finishers, I’ve made contact with another Mudder who is doing very well in these OCR endurance events to look to get some advice on training for next year and maybe see you at World’s next hey?…….. 😛