The date: February 25th, 2012
The time: 11:20am
The place: Vail Lake, CA
As we prepared for the event, this moment was constantly lurking in the back of our minds; That moment right before you go into battle when the knots in your stomach don’t matter. That moment when there is no turning back and nowhere to seek solace. That moment when you take the first step towards your opponent, perfectly aware of the impending doom that is to befall one of you.
We finish chanting the Tough Mudder credo with the rest of our wave of warriors, take one last breath and off we go, down an embankment and towards the first of many inclines that would claim what strength we had available in our legs that day. Onwards towards the hill, when… a 30 yard pool of mud. But, have no fear we say to ourselves. Only an idiot would lose their shoes on the first obstacle on this 11 mile trek… and then it happens, not once, but twice. We ARE those idiots who lose their damn shoes on the first damn obstacle… First, our point man, OB, and then Hairy Knuckles right behind him.
And so began our long, strenuous day taking on the Mudder. We ran, we walked. We jogged, we cramped. We laughed, we cried. But finally, we prevailed. Along with 7K+ other Mudders, we took on the course from hell that sent us from sub-freezing waters to muddy inclines and through live wires ready to deliver a 10K volt shock and we emerged victorious. (seriously, no joke, two of our foursome got hit with 10K. Video is below.)
We got knocked down, but we fought our way back to our feet. We got knocked down again, but nothing could hold us back. At the end of the day, the impending doom that was to befall someone that day fell squarely on the shoulders of the one they refer to as Big Mudder. But, I have a feeling we will see this beast again soon. I imagine our next encounter will be at a higher elevation, closer to the Gods. Perhaps somewhere near 8K feet at a place where the beer flows like wine and the Mudders instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I am talking about a little place called Tahoe.
So, if you want to join us, we welcome all as we, yet again, approach the starting line with knots in our stomach and doom awaiting us around every bend. It is only a matter of time before the Mudder prevails. We are, afterall, on Its turf…
The Final Obstacle: Electro Shock Therapy – Watch as Vandy, on the left, gets 10K volts to the neck and hits the deck hard
Tackling the Everest Quarter Pipe – We are the furthest from the camera
