Its that time of year again, thinking about signing up for the Scotland one in August. Cant really decide.
So whos done one and how hard was it?
I am fairly fit, can run 10K (not sure about 10 miles), fairly strong from lifting weights & karate. I reckon I could do it.. but do i want to??
Nobody?
There's your answer, right there.
Smacks of silliness to me. If you want something hard, enter a proper long tough endurance race, plenty of them around. No need to crawl under wires and have wannabe squaddies screaming at you.
I reckon I could do it.. but do i want to??
THAT is your answer. If you aren't sure, then the answer's no.
Having done the real military bit these sort of things have always seemed a bit ****y. The real mob barely tolerate them so the thought of paying to do it with a bunch of wannabes- not for me.
I've pre registered for the north west one. Should be a laugh.
I've been tempted to do it for charity but wouldn't do it just for fun.
was tempted too but couldnt find anyone interested, got a bloody injury now, looks proper tough though, lots of different events about though
Heard it summed up as being a number of short runs broken up by a lot of queuing.
did the northwest in november lot of fun ,not really hard an i,m only average fit, remember its not a race ,my lad did tough guy a couple of years ago ,even though a lot shorter distance (6mile run) it was a hell of a lot tougher with quite a few british an foreign military personnel participating , i say doit and enjoy the sense of achievement ,its like everything dont knock it till youvr tried it
Smacks of silliness to me. If you want something hard, enter a proper long tough endurance race, plenty of them around. No need to crawl under wires and have wannabe squaddies screaming at you.
Obstacle races are a very different thing to an endurance race. A lot of people who would do well at endurance races would be rubbish at doing an obstacle race, and vice versa.
I'm pretty fit, could easily run the distance, and I got a mates place in a similar obstacle race last year when he was ill, and whilst the running was easy, the obstacles can actually be proper hard, particularly when you've got 20 people clambering over you to get over them too. I also did a few a few years back when I was fitter, and again, the lack of upper body strength, and the lack of training at jumping up stuff really hammered me.
If you can run anything like the distance okay, and have some upper body strength, they're great and really fun. If you have good upper body strength, and ability to jump high, you can make up for a really slow run too - I've been beaten by significantly slower runners in the past.
The ones I've done, it isn't really anything like the military, even the 'Tough Guy' one which is very military themed in theory. It is actually like a childrens adventure playground, but on a massive adult scale - basically, if you like climbing up things, jumping off things, playing in mud, swimming outside, zip wires, massive waterslides or anything like that, they are a real laugh to do. If you are the sort of person who goes down the waterslides for fun when you take your kids swimming, and you're not fussed about getting muddy or bruised, you'd probably enjoy them.
Oh and don't worry about fitness levels - they attract a very wide range of fitnesses, way more than your average running race - whilst the people up the front are very fast, I can get top 30% in one of these without real training, and I'd be at best halfway down the field in your average fell or trail race.
The front of the race is still fast mind - I've got a friend who primarily does obstacle races, and at the Dovedale Dash normal trail race, he got out of his van just after the starting horn went, came from behind the back of the extremely crowded field to pass me in the first 5 minutes, and finished well up the field, something like 10 minutes ahead of me, despite losing a shoe 1km from the finish. Bastard.
Heard it summed up as being a number of short runs broken up by a lot of queuing.
Only if you're slow off the start. Worth pushing hard at the start before the field spreads out.
new event xtreme storm in southport this year 18km with 35 obstacles ,april 20th would be rude not too being so local
http://www.xtremestorm.com/
Did winter Tough Guy twice, good fun but over priced. Joe is right lots of forces from around the world do it, none shouting at you because they're too busy finding it hard going too.
I think a lot of these obstacle races are trying to cash in on the popularity of tough guy, fair play to them if they can put on a good event.
Im doing the south one in june. Looking forward to it. Dont worry about the run as its all broken up with queuing and obstacles. I only do regular 5mile or so runs, and am not worried. I use to do a fair amount of trailquest stuff and when broken up with heckpoints 13 miles wss not a problem. Bit worried about upper body strength, but im not competing, just finishing.
Did the Spartan Beast at Brands Hatch back in November - similar sort of thing - 20km odd obstacle race. I'm doing the Tough Mudder Southern one in June.
Good points - something competitive to train for and raise a little for charity too. Was a good day out and nice to be able to benchmark my progress fitness wise against by own expectations. Well organised and nice to do as part of a team (we're doing the TM with a team from my gym). The atmosphere during the race was good - a laugh at times but a mix of people taking it (and themselves) super seriously, and those running it in full fancy dress. There were a few eejits more interested in making sure they looked good in the pics which made me giggle. Can't say there was much in the way of shouting or screaming at you either.
Bad points - the Spartan wasn't very well marshalled - some people just ran round obstacles which made a mockery of the timings etc. They didn't even try to enforce penalties, not even asking people which you'd have thought would be sensible given they make such a big thing about what a challenge it is. After all a 20km walk / run isn't beyond the majority. It can be an expensive day out at £50+ for entry and at times at the start of the race there was a bit of queuing.
I was surprised at how easy I found it TBH.
Be interesting to see how the TM compares. It looks to be better organised but it's expensive...
(EDIT: oh, and +1 on upper-body strength - plenty of rope climbs, wall scaling, monkey bars etc)
IMO it isn't 'tough' at all, just scrambling about in the mud. Did the one in November. The obstacles aren't difficult if you can manage the distance, but the freezing temp (around 1 degree) at that time was miserable.
The only harsh thing was the last obsticle, which was running through live wires of varying sttrength - I blacked out, utterly incopasitated, upon hitting one and was literally thrown to the floor where I came round by having my face smack into the floor. Something like this guy
I'd rather set fire to my pubes.
A friend was trying to convince me to enter this, but I resisted due to a combination of the event having no race results - for that money I want everyone to know how awesome I am, plus I have stick insect arms and legs and thus a natural instinct to run round obstacles. Plus I'd laughed at too many of the electric shock videos to be able to do it.
usually there's timings available to anyone entering - there was for the Spartan at least (I think that was one of the justifications for the cost; that everyone had a timing chip)...
its like everything dont knock it till youvr tried it
I'd rather set fire to my pubes.
Whatever.
Obstacles are fair enough but electric shocks are bang out of order imo.
I've got a friend who primarily does obstacle races
Such a person exists? Niche.
I've got a friend who primarily does obstacle races
We should hook up, I'm primarily an obstacle in races
My mate The Yak has done a few of these but he's pretty hardcore. He got banned from here for being friendly to folk but I'll ask his advice. He trains like a bastard when he's not using.