My parents shook their heads with confusion when I signed up for Muddy Buddy. They were a little more concerned when I signed up for Warrior Dash. But this year, when I announced I was registered for Tough Mudder, they were already numb to my crazy races. My mistake was to show them the YouTube video of the course when I went home for Easter. Now they’re worried and insisting I get a tetanus shot.
For those not familiar with the growing popular mud races, Tough Mudder is 10-12 miles with 25 obstacles such as running through waist high mud for a mile, running through gasoline soaked hay stacks on fire, and crawling through water and mud filled pipes. The obstacle that really has me nervous though is the electroshock therapy. Running through live wires, randomly charged, some up to 10,000 volts.
At first I thought I’d just sprint and hope for the best. After watching a few YouTube videos of people completely face planting after getting shocked, my new strategy is to make my boyfriend be my shield and run directly in front of me. Fingers crossed he goes for it.
As crazy as it sounds, the nervousness aside, I am actually quite excited. I love the energy at these events, and while I might not be having a super fun time the whole three plus hours it will take me to finish, the sense of accomplishment at the end is incomparable.
I never did get around to getting a tetanus shot, but don’t worry Mom, the risk paragraph doesn’t list lockjaw as a potential problem. Only broken bones, torn ligaments, concussions, spinal injuries, paralysis, heart attack and death. None of which a shot will prevent. Wish me luck!
