OVERSEAS REPORT:
14-11-2014 Tough mudder sydney
Location: southern highlands (wingello)
By tim ruinemans
Hey mates, hows it going up there… the survival season is already going on and i am missing your reports on the website….. Here’s mine from down under. If you are to lazy or you cant read english, scroll down to the dutch version. Any comments after are welcome and appreciated.
To keep my level off fitness up, i picked a couple of sport events for me to complete. I already was known by the famous tough mudder events around the world for a couple of years because i checked a lot of the youtube vid’s and so. When i came to sydney the first week i checked the dates for events and they where really close. A late entry ticket was already $230,- dollar. I found a seller on gumtree for a ticket on Saturday 14-11-2014 And planned my way to this event. We quickly made a deal and the voucher was fast in my mailbox. Now i had to train and prepare for it. That was not a problem at all. In Bathust i did some great workout routines with Campbell and run up the v8 race track mount panorama. Also in Coogee and Bondi some sick workouts with lots off stairs to run up and down. If you follow me on strava, you now.#tim imotp
The week before the event i traveled to Wingello. My plan was to get a job onsite by helping/ setting up the event. Unfortunately they had no jobs left. So they missed the experienced dutch guy qualities. So i was forced to fill my time up doing training and preps before the run. I told myself noworries and took over the campsite and created my own sports area. Some awesome mtb trails where there i rolled over, good fill ups for the time. The run came closer and the last night before 3 uk guys showed up at the camp. We made a campfire together and talked about toughmudder. Tom already did it before and challenge me to beat his time( 2h20min) i accepted the challenge and didn’t sleep good that night. I was to exited to get back in a run. Groningen summer 2014 was my last run. I got out off my tent really early, made a real tough breakfast, packed my bag and jumped on my bike to the event. Like we dutchies do all the time. 20min on the bike is a good warming up. And guess what… The only one on a bike there.
The main event.
After checking in, you have to face mark your self and other toughmudders to identify your body after…. A cool vibe you get from entering the scene. They dont do warming ups like we now before a survival race. So i did mine and walked up to the first start introduction speaker. (Lee Campbell) This guy gives you tips and advise over the track and obstacles. Then its on to the start ground, after climbing a wall first… Good test! Again you get a pep talk and safety warnings. After that you have to bend you knee and take a valve of commitment.
3,2,1 TOUGHMUDDERS GO.
8:00am i took off with a lot off other first group tough mudders. I started recording by clicking on the stopwatch and gopro. Me and the first 9 tm-drs followed the track up the hill and in to the forrest, that was already impressive. Next to the track where already signs saying: stop whining, start running, you now and can feel this is the point 70% is thinking wtf why did i do this*****???### My goal was to finish in 2 hours.
The obstacles in following order:
KISS OF MUDD. The breakfast obstacle, in your best tiger crawl under de barbed-wire. EZ
GLORY BLADES
Or in normal slang, overhanging walls. Some techniek required and you start knowing yours arms are working.
At the ARTIC ENEMA you will wake up, and now you are doing toughmudder. A icecold dive and i lost my GOPRO in de container. F**k thats cold, but i am now leaving without it. After a wile i found it and jumped out. Picked up the pace to get fast warm again from running hard.
On the MUD MILE, it got tough. Some you can do bey yourself. Some not. So as all toughmudder have sworn. You help each other! I helped Ted, and Ted Tim. From here i had a company to run with. And we soon arrived at DEVILS BEARD. Not much more then the standard helicopter cargo net crawl. As we arrived a HOLD YOUR WOOD, my instinct took over. Like the survival runs in Netherlands. Pick up a big log and run a lap. I showed Ted how i was trained for this and he saw the end off my log getting smaller and smaller.
The next stop was probably the best obstacle off all. SOLDIER SLING. Carrier a small volunteer french girl 200m and go on. Haha.
From french to BERLINS WALLS. My first technic learned from survival came at use. 2 big walls and back on the pace. The southern highlands country was really ideal for this. Lots of long hill climbs and here and now a rockwall to manage. LUMBER JACKED and PRAIRIE DOG past bey like the music pumping at mazda’s dj stand. And then the newest obstacle in tough mudder. LEAP OF FAITH. We where told about this one. I though yeah finally a sort of survival cargo net climb and swing. Unfortnaly the only option was climbing over and on top. This was a serious obs for the biggest part of all the participants. At the POLE DANCER. I had to use my brain. And NO it dint hurt Micha Muller! 2 bars in a rooftop shape climbing only by hands. Like doing dips at you local workout station. This was the 14km point and my breathe was still okay. So i changed a gear higher and shifted my goal under 2hours.
I still had to overcome 4 smajor obstacles. And the first one waiting for me was EVEREST. The famous tough mudder quarter pipe climb. My first try ended up in a special move towards the spectators. On top- 2 fingers in the nose and a yeaaaH yell.
WALK THE PLANK. One for Rick van Santvoort. 10feet jump in a pool. Here where Ben and Neigthan (from the camp night before) volunteering. From there impressed faces i got a good boost towards the finish. HANGIN’ TOUGH was my favorite obstacle. Like the triangles at fit zeist. Big reach was needed to grab the next one and a couple more. As a was swinging like a full grown monkey with a banana in my mouth. The volunteers laugh with me. Then the final sprint to the finish came. Trough a pineapple-tree forrest in the last water basin before you hit ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY.
F*ck this was tough, harder and longer than the lane in the strongman run and mudmasters i can remember. I got hit hard and landed on the floor, got back up and run even faster out, the last couple shocks really did it, my legs in particalry where so shocked and tenced as a hard shaken soda can. I will never forget.
After finishing and getting the well earned orange headband
I stopped the stopwatch at a surprising fast time (1h52m).straight after running through the finishers lane to cooldown the just shocked muscles.
So tough mudder was done and official off the bucket list, and what do you do after…… You just do it again for charity. No shower, no change off clothes just some home made pasta and some free muscle milk and back to the start area with Andy and his team.
Andy is a 35 smart guy with Cerebral Palsy.
And he was doing all of the course with help from the 10 horseman. First disable man ho does a toughmudder run on this planet. And these are the fellow heroes running beside’s Andy and me.
Lee, Frank,Dino, Scotty, Paul,Dave, Damien ,Ben and Ted. A great adventure to do and tell about. But that will keep you stuck on the chair. So get up and do a run for charity! Hit the link below and see Andys tough mudder race! Sorry the link in not yet online. Will post it when it is!
All with all it was a great day witch great effort from everybody on course! The day after i did volunteer work at the course and that i really can recommend to you readers. Its heaps off fun and cool to do. I will defiantly come back again on a toughmudder event. And i am still waiting on the drink Tom owns me after beating his record. Cheers to you guys! Thanks for reading!!!
Tim Ruinemans
Downunder reporter for SGFZ.