Preparation

I like obstacle mud runs because they're a great, fun way to stay in shape.  Having an upcoming event on my calendar gives me something to shoot for, and it also gives me a purpose for my training.  I know that there are some folks...because I've met them...who will just get up one day and decide to run these events.  For the 5K distances, I think that's great...for the Tough Mudder, though, the first thought to run through my mind is, "...good luck with the day after the event."

Training
First off, let me say this...I am NOT an exercise physiologist or expert of any kind.  I do not have formal training in anything closely related to training for these kinds of events.  All I can do is share what I've found works for me.  Also, I'm not a professional athlete, nor have I ever been.

The 2012 Super Spartan event in Leesburg, VA, was held at Morven Park, an equestrian center.  There was a huge field with a lot of steeplechase jumps...things horses would jump...set up.  The event organizers wound the course back and forth over all of the jumps, so there was a lot of stepping or jumping up, and then jumping down.  For folks who were not used to this sort of activity, it took a huge toll on them later in the event, and the following day.

The 2011 Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder was held at the Wintergreen Ski Resort, which, as you might imagine, has a lot of up and a lot of down, and little in the way of flat terrain.  There was some, as you wound your way through the housing areas and across the golf course, but the varied terrain took a toll on folks, and in many cases, the downhill stuff was worse than the uphill.

I've found that the Manassas Battlefield Park is a great place to train.  You get to run on varied terrain, with hills (the hill behind the Visitors Center that runs down to Rt 29 is awesome), and you can get just off the trails and run through the woods, jumping over downed trees.  Also, when trees fall over the trails, the rangers come out and cut the trees up into logs...and no one cares if you pick up one (or more) of these logs and drop it some place else in the park.  ;-)  My point is that varied training, including hill work, will not only help you with the event itself, but also limit the effects that you feel over the days following the event.  Find a hill (or two, or seven...) to include on your route, and if you have a pretty good sized hill, have a "hill day"...warm up, and then do hill repeats.  Do it three times, then move up to 5, or 10 times.  Go up, then your recovery is coming back down.

Something else that I like to do after I finish a run is to do lunges, or box jumps.  What I've also done during a run is, I'll push it up a hill and then stop and do a round of pushups, situps, and jump squats, and then immediately get back to running.  This simulates the aerobic-anaerobic transition that you face with obstacles, without having an actual obstacle.  If you can find one of those fitness trails that you will see in some neighborhoods, or there's a school yard on your route, try adding in some pullups.

Variations
Like many folks out there, for me, doing the same work out over and over would get boring, so I like to have variations.  There are times when I'll do an exercise for volume, going for max reps on each set, and other times when I'll do a set number of reps, but keep that up for either a specific number of sets, or as many sets as I can.

Some simple exercises can also be varied.  Take the pushup.  Do a pushup.  Then do it with your feet elevated.  Or, start by doing 5 'normal' pushups, followed by 5 with a narrow hand position (hands close together), followed by 5 with your hands widely spaced, then back to 5 'normal' pushups.  Or, try "walking" pushups...start with your hands at a normal width, but staggered with one slightly ahead of the other.  Do a pushup, and then move the rear-most hand forward, in a walking motion.  At each step, do a pushup.  I know it's hard, but I first saw this exercise in a kid's gymnastics class.

Obstacle events require a good deal of upper body strength and endurance, with a lot of pulling.  You can do variations on pullups...palms in, palms out.  Hands close together, wide, or staggered.  You can have a normal width, but pullup to one side, and then the other.  You can do weighted pullups, holding a dumbbell between your feet.  One way I've found that really works for me to increase the number of pullups I can do is to do at least one max set of pullups every day, 5 days a week.  This is in addition to my normal workout...if I go by home gym for any reason, I'll stop in and do a set.

Keep it varied, keep it interesting.  Work out by yourself, work out with a partner, or a group.

Travel
Working out can sometimes be tough if you travel.  If you're going someplace you've never been, it may be difficult to find someplace that's both accessible and safe to run.  This is where "prison workouts" can be very useful; these workouts are specifically designed for small confined places, and can be easily performed in hotel rooms, or any other area that you may have access to.  They usually involve high-volume/high-rep body weight exercises, such as pushups, situps, lunges, burpees, body weight squats, squat jumps, and any variation thereof.  A great workout idea is to pick at least three exercises, pick a number of repetitions, and cycle through them in a circuit.  For example, my home gym has a squat rack with a pullup bar, so I'll go through a "circuit" of 35 pushups, 10 pullups, 25 body-weight squats, 25 situps/crunches, and 25 4-count flutter kicks.  You can do this for time, or you can just keep doing circuits until...you can't.  If I'm traveling, I can do the same circuit, and replace the pullups with reverse-rows under a desk or table.

I've been in professional positions that required travel, and in a couple of cases, I couldn't leave the hotel room.  I had a pelican case that weighed 65 lbs fully loaded, and I used it for a lot of things.  I'd do pushups off of it, do jumps over it, and use it for bent-over rows and overhead presses.  Sometimes, you may have limited space and time, but it's not difficult to squeeze in a workout...I've even done situps and planks while watching TV.

It's also easy to pack a jump rope in your luggage so that you can get in some aerobics, as well.  When I was doing a lot of traveling, well before these events were available, I had a number of exercises I would perform, as many times, I ended up spending a considerable amount of time sequestered  in a hotel room.  In addition to the previously mentioned exercises, I had a pelican case with me (as part of my job) that weighed in at about 65 lbs, so I would do bent-over rows, as well as hop over the box itself.

Final Thoughts
There are a lot of ways to get ideas for exercises and workouts.  I've "Liked" various fitness-related pages on Facebook, and the Spartan folks will send you a workout-of-the-day (WOD) email.  YouTube and fitness magazines are great resources for workout ideas.

One key for a lot of these exercises is correct form...you don't want to hurt yourself while you're getting ready for one of these events.  Be careful, pay close attention to any requirements regarding form, and most of all, have fun!

Also, for all of this to work correctly, you need to eat right.  I'm not a nutrition expert, I just know that the best way to see improvement is to couple your exercise with good nutrition.

Event Flavors

I originally got interested in mud run/obstacle events because they sounded interested, and after running three marathons in my 20s, as well as a number of 10Ks, I'm not at all interested in just running on the road, particularly for several hours.  I wanted something that was different, a bit of a challenge, a lot of fun, and keeps me in shape.  As an added benefit, when I started looking around, I found that some of the events support and benefit various charitable organizations, such as the Wounded Warrior Project.  For me, raising money to support our wounded veterans is a plus.

One of the things I really like about these events is that they each have their own "flavor" or "culture".  In trying to establish their "brand", each of the events, regardless of distance, brings something new and different to the table.  I'll give you my take on the differences between some of the events.  Terrain can only vary so much, and the obstacles on the course tend to mirror the culture of the event.

Tough Mudder

As of Nov, 2011, Outside Magazine will tell you that the Tough Mudder is one of the big four events.  I'm presenting it first here simply because it's the first one I did, and I've done it more than any of the others, due primarily to the proximity of the events.

The Tough Mudder is billed not as a race, but as a challenge.  Everything about this event pushes that mindset, from the logo, to the signs that appear on the course, to the motivational speech that each wave receives prior to launch, to the lack of participant timers.  It's all about the challenge, camaraderie, and helping your fellow mudder.  There are going to be obstacles that you can breeze through (particularly if you've been training), and there will be obstacles that you cannot complete without help, such as the Mud Mile (the Mid-Atlantic Spring event in 2013 had 2 of them).  The culture of the Tough Mudder is such that even if you can complete an obstacle without assistance (such as the Everest), that you stick around and help your fellow mudders out.

Throughout the entire event, TM is all about overcoming fears and challenges, and making it through the course assisting others, as well as getting assistance where you need it.  In the events that I've done, I've seen people freeze up at obstacles (Walk the Plank) out of their fear of heights, and nothing else.  I've seen people climb to the top of the platform, and then climb back down.

The Tough Mudder is primarily a 9-12 mile event course, with a World's Toughest Mudder event that you can qualify to run at the end of the season/year.  I know that it's now being billed out at 10+ miles, but my first one was around 9.5 miles.

Finally, the Tough Mudder supports the Wounded Warrior Project, so much so in fact that in 2013, the WWP presented Tough Mudder "with the Talkhouse Award to honor an individual or company whose efforts personify patriotism, demonstrate compassion, and have helped to further the mission of WWP in support of the brave men and women of our armed forces."  Each time I've run the event, I've posted the donation link provided as part of my registration, and friends, family, and in some cases folks whom I've never met have donated to support the WWP.  That's pretty awesome.

Spartan Race

The Spartan Race is a completely different beast all together from the Tough Mudder.  First off, the Spartan Race is just that...a race.  Each participant gets an electronic timer that they wear on their wrists.  You can run as a team, but for the most part, the "flavor" of this event is every man (or woman) for him or herself.  That's not to say that you can't help someone, I'm just saying that it's not part of DNA of this event.

What I thought was really cool about the Spartan Race was the participation by Team EXTREME.  I have no idea how someone goes through an event like this and when they get to an obstacle, think to themselves, "I can't...", when Cpl Todd Love is out there doing it.  When a triple amputee in a gas mask climbs a muddy rope, how does someone stand there and think to themselves that they can't do it?  Honestly, it's pretty motivating, and it makes you think about what you're doing.

I used to think that the Spartan Race came in four sizes; the Spartan Sprint (5K), the Super Spartan (8-9+ miles), the Spartan Beast (10-12 miles), and the Death Race.  Checking the events listing more recently, it appears that in some cases, the Beast is 13+ miles, and there's an Ultra Beast at 26+ miles. 

Others

Now, these are the biggy events that I have experienced, and I know that there are other event types out there.  There is at least one zombie run (5K obstacle course where you get chased by zombies a la flag football), a fireman/police-type "Hero Rush" event, and others with their own individual flavors.  While all of these events are co-ed, they are predominantly attended by guys, and there are other events specific to (and they only allow) women.

I think that most of the smaller events are intended to attract a different crowd, as evidenced by the attendance, as well as the course route and obstacles.  I've even seen participants bring their own flavor to the events...while some events, such as the Superhero Scramble, encourage participants to dress up in costume, some folks go to the events in some sort of costume and don't seem to require much encouragement to do so!

Something to watch out for in these events is their longevity.  I ran a 4 mile mud/obstacle event in the spring of 2012 and signed up for the fall event in the same location, only to receive an email in August that the company running the event had gone out of business.  Based on how the event had been run, I really can't say that I was surprised.  The Jungle Cup, billed as "the toughest 5K of your life", is another example.  I ran this event in Frederick, MD, in the spring of 2013, and I have to say, I was a little underwhelmed by the presence of the event, although some of the obstacles were actually pretty good.  There were also a laundry list of complaints on the event's Facebook page following the event, to include folks from the canceled NC event complaining about not receiving their refunds.  As of today, I haven't received my promised VIP entrance to another event, nor the promised t-shirt (the event staff ran out of t-shirts before the event was half over).  Also, in writing this post, I wanted to provide a link to the event web site, but it appears that the domain registration expired on 8 June, according to GoDaddy.

Watch out for the new Extreme Nation, the first event of which was due out later this summer.  From what I've read about this event, they're taking a different approach to obstacle racing...rather than stretching the course out over 6 or more miles, they're reportedly doing all of the obstacles in two miles!  The first running was scheduled for 14 June, but was postponed, and the Facebook page hasn't been updated since 10 April.  Let's hope that this one kicks off...obstacle events are a great and fun form of fitness for a lot of folks, and the 'community' is anything but saturated at this point.

Addendum, 25 June: A friend pointed me to Limit of Advance, a new event that has some elements of the GoRuck events.  The flavors just keep on coming!

Venues: Places to Stay, and Terrain

When traveling many times, my wife and I prefer to stay in a bed and breakfast, rather than in a hotel.  This isn't for everyone, but for us, it's more intimate and comfortable.  Often, one of the difficult aspects of running these events if locating suitable/affordable lodging, and finding a place to eat.  So I thought I'd share my experiences and recommendations for the various venues that I'm familiar with.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to these events is that regardless of the size, once you think about registering, start looking around for some place to stay.  You never know what else is going on in the area at the same time, and more than once, I've called a half a dozen or more hotels and found them all full.

On a side note, the terrain at the venue should have an impact on your preparation, because it's surely going to effect your day...or rather, your day after.

Peacemaker National Training Center, Gerrardstown, WV
The Mid-Atlantic Spring (2013) Tough Mudder was held at this venue, and the Fall event is going to be held at the same location.  This is great, because TMHQ really did a great job with the setup, not just of the course itself, but the transit to and from the course.  We parked easily, got on a bus with no delays, and when we were ready to return, the only delay (albeit minimal) was to wait for the bus to fill up.  Transition was smooth.

Terrain: Lots of wooded trail running, with some nice hills.  The route wound it's way through low-lying areas to take advantage of natural water obstacles.  TMHQ decided that instead of running us up along the crest of a hill, they'd snake the path up and down the hill, winding us back and forth, so be ready for that sort of terrain.  There are a lot of flat areas, as well, due to the gun ranges.  The varied terrain was helpful to us, in that the day was cold, and you spent most of it wet...once the sun came out, you would get a bit of a break and warm up in the low lying areas, but once you got to the top of hill, you'd be hit by the cold winds.  I was in the first wave to go out, and after I finished I went by the medical tent, and found it packed with folks who'd developed hypothermia.

Frederick, MD
Crumland Farms is the venue of choice in this area, and I have attended the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder (Sept, 2012) as well as the Jungle Cup in March, 2013, at this venue.

If you attend any event in Frederick, I recommend that you consider the Hollerstown Hill B&B, which is located directly across from a school for the deaf.  It is also an easy walk to the center of Frederick, with all of it's sights and dining options, which range from excellent BBQ to both Italian and Mediterranean tapas.  The Flying Dog Brewery is located in Frederick, as well, so most of the establishments will carry the beers.  If you're not a big beer drinker, don't worry...the variety of restaurants in Frederick provides plenty of options.

This is a really good location for all sorts of smaller (5K, 10K) events, as the larger, more popular events could easily overwhelm the area.  I really think that the Jungle Cup had a good thing going, it was just too bad that they folded.

Terrain: Mostly flat with some gentle, rolling rises (not really hills).  Some water obstacles. Events at this location would be well suited to include more obstacles, and not have so much running across open ground...because it's boring, and if that's what I wanted to do, I'd just sign up for a 10K.  This venue is used for multiple different types of events throughout the year, include a Halloween haunted woods event, so you might get a chance to traipse through those areas, as well.

Berkeley Plantation, Charles City, VA
The 2013 Virginia Beach Tough Mudder ("the Tough Mudder that never was", or "The TM canceled due to too much mud") was scheduled to be held at this venue, but thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea, never kicked off.  However, in previous years, the Warrior Dash had been held at this venue.

If you're planning to attend an event located at this venue, the Edgewood Plantation B&B is THE place to stay!  I'm not kidding...this quaint, historic, and very comfortable B&B is located less than 150 yards from the entrance to the parking area for the venue.  Why get stuck in traffic when you can wake up, have a great breakfast, and walk over to the event?

There's excellent dining at the Charles City Tavern, just 4 3/4 miles from the B&B.  Dot graciously made reservations for us; the venue is simple, but the food is amazing!  So much so that we went back the following night to try items that we'd seen on the menu the previous night!

Terrain: No idea; event was canceled due to mud.

Wintergreen Ski Resort
Located in Nelly's Ford, VA, this venue is surrounded by a rural community.  When we attended the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder in Oct, 2011, we stayed in Waynesboro, VA, a short distance from the venue.  Depending upon other events in the area, hotels may fill up fast, so plan well in advance.

The Tough Mudder is a larger event, and our start time was within the first hour (8-9am) so we were allowed to park at the resort, rather than going to the parking lot at the base of the mountain and riding the bus up.

Terrain: It goes without saying that this resort is hilly.  The only flat terrain is in the housing areas.  One of the obstacles was referred to as the "death march", and consisted of going up a double-black diamond slope; traversing about a mile, with a 1000 ft elevation change.  The amount of steep up and down hill traversals took a toll on some folks, and toward the end of the course I saw a number of folks with overuse injuries.  If you're looking at an event in this area, be sure to do your hill work...both up and down.

Morven Park, Leesburg, VA
The 2012 Super Spartan was held at this location, and I have to say that I was saddened to see that it wasn't used again in 2013.

This venue is within easy driving distance for me, so I didn't need to find a place to stay, although there are plenty.  Dulles Airport is a short distance from this venue, and there are a good number of hotels in the local area.

This venue is also used for other types of events, one of them being a brewfest.  As such, local law enforcement is well versed in traffic management, so while the traffic does slow down as you're trying to get into and out of the venue, it does keep moving.

Terrain: This area was originally an equestrian event facility, and has some nice wooded hill running along it's border.  Many of the steeplechase jumps are still in place, and the Spartan event planners had us jumping over all of them, which will take a toll on your lower legs (so make sure you're doing trail runs and box jumps).

Economic Impact
One thing I hadn't really considered when I started running these events is the effect or impact they have on the local area.  Mud/obstacle events bring a great deal of traffic into the areas in which they are held, as well as a great deal of money.  Depending upon the size and popularity of the event, the traffic can easily overwhelm the local area.  For example, in Charles City, VA, traffic can be a problem, because Rt 5 is the primary route to the venue.  It's one lane each way, so getting to the venue is going to be tough, particularly for larger events.  The folks in Charles City told us about how bad the traffic was during the 2012 Warrior Dash in the area, and how those with available space allowed folks to park on their land for a nominal fee ($5 - $10).  At the Tough Mudder in Frederick, MD, in Sept, 2012, traffic was so bad that parking spots in yards sold for $50 or more, and the Sunday event was canceled.

When I attended the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder in Oct, 2011, I was checking into my hotel in Waynesboro, VA, and the lady at the desk took a call, and told the caller that due to several events going on at the same time, all hotels between Waynesboro and Blacksburg were completely booked.  Having one of these events at the same time as others in the local area can significantly impact your ability to get lodging locally.

Event Registration
The organizations...TMHQ, Spartan, etc...could really do a significant service to those registering for their events by simply noting any concurrent events in the area. When folks register, or afterward, let them know what's coming to or going to be going on in the area at the same time as the event. This is particularly true for the larger events, as it's going to affect things like lodging, travel time, etc.

So, with just lodging and meals, these events tend to have a significant, positive economic impact on any area in which they are held.  At the Mid-Atlantic (Spring 2013) Tough Mudder, the bus driver on our return to the parking area was from the local area...so, there's also the jobs (albeit short term) that are brought to the area, as well.

Another effect that these events, of all levels, can have on a community includes the health benefits.  I was amazed that the trainer at the local gym that my wife worked with in preparing for these events had never heard of them...yet when my wife would talk about the events, someone would hear the word "mudder" and join in the conversation.  Imagine the benefits that could be achieved by a gym offering a group training class that used one of these events as a graduation event.  The lead trainer could create the team for the event, the gym could sponsor t-shirts, and folks would sign up when they felt they needed to, with the goal of completing the event as a team and the graduation occurring at the finish line.

Articles
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Events I've done

I ran my first mud run event in October, 2011...it was the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder in Wintergreen, VA.  My wife tells me that I started off with the toughest event, based on the length of the event and terrain, and I should've started off with something smaller, like a 5K.  Ha!  My buddy, a college roommate, and I ran this and had a great time.  I really thought that he'd had enough, but as soon as we were done with this event, he was asking me when the next one was!

I then ran the Super Spartan Race in Leesburg, VA, in August, 2012.  This one was a lot of fun...I ran it with a team that I'd joined at the last minute, and one of the participants, the CFO of Mother Earth Brewing, brought t-shirts for the team.

My buddy and I then ran the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder in September, 2012, in Frederick, MD.  This one was a mess, not because of the course, but due to access to the venue itself.  Ingress and egress were inadequate for the number of folks trying to get in and out of the venue, and after we finished the event and got back to where we were staying, we found out that the Sunday running of the event was canceled.  We were glad to see that TMHQ took ownership of the issue.

My wife and I ran the Rebel Race in October, 2012, with my sister and brother-in-law.  The Rebel Race is a 5K event, and it was quite a surprise running a smaller event after being spoiled by how the larger events are run.  The base camp for the event was great, with food and a band, and a lot of energy.  The course wasn't bad at all, but some of the obstacles were "wimpy" (my wife's word, not mine) and not really much of a challenge.  We found that the first water station was completely overwhelmed by participants in each wave, and the second water station was a table with a couple of empty water jugs.

We then ran the Jungle Cup in March, 2013, and were again somewhat surprised by how some of the smaller events end up being run.  This one had some good obstacles, but was poorly marked, access to the venue itself wasn't obvious, and they ran out of t-shirts before the day was halfway over.  The proprietor promised via the Facebook page to send out t-shirts to participants and also give everyone a VIP pass to an upcoming event, but then went completely dark and no one has apparently heard from him since.  I'm glad I wasn't one of the ones who wanted to run a previous event that was canceled...those folks were apparently promised refunds that they never received.  The lesson learned here is to beware the hype (the Jungle Cup was billed as "the toughest 5K of your life") and pay attention to the feedback on the Facebook page for the event.

My buddy and I ran the Mid-Atlantic Spring Tough Mudder, and in this case, TMHQ redeemed themselves.  Not only was the course much better, with some of the newer obstacles, but the spectators now had a route map showing them how to get between obstacles.  They wouldn't get to see all of the obstacles, but the spectators routes cut through the center of the venue with the course zig-zagging back and forth over the routes.  This was a marked change to previous events, which seemed to be focused solely on course and not so much on letting spectators support their friends.

The weekend of 8 June 2013, my wife and I were going to run the Virginia Beach Tough Mudder in Charles City, VA, but the event was canceled...because of too much mud.  Seriously.  Ironic, I know.  We were told the course itself was fine, but that parking would be a mess (delaying people actually getting into and then out of the venue) and that the medical vehicles that they had could not get to and from the obstacles in a timely manner.  With the overall safety concerns, the event was canceled and we are attempting to transfer our registration to the Mid-Atlantic Fall TM.

Events I plan to do/have signed up for:
Savage Race - 20 July (registered)
Super Spartan - 24 Aug (registered)
Mid-Atlantic Fall Tough Mudder - 19 Oct (transferring registration)

First Post

As I mentioned in the description for this blog, I have a technical blog, but I wanted to do something separate for something else I enjoy...running mud/obstacle events.  At this point, I've run a number of them, and I plan to run more, simply because I enjoy running them.  I was recently at an event (well, it was canceled) with a number of other folks who had never run the event before...and the conversation kept turning to advice, such as them asking what I did to train, strategies for the various obstacles, etc.

Blogging
A number of years ago, a friend was going overseas with the Peace Corps and wanted an easy means for keeping people back home informed and up-to-date as to what was going on. I suggested that she start a blog, and she did...and it was a great success.

One of the things I like about blogs is that they allow me to document my experiences and share them with others who are interested. A blog is also a great means for keeping a journal...I had some friends start their own blog recently as part of their mission trips to Africa and Asia.

Finally, there are (at least there were) services that you could use to turn your blog into a book. I haven't tried this, but for someone who spends two years in Romania with the Peace Corps, being able to go back and look at those experiences at any point in the future can be priceless, particularly if it's something you want to make available to your kids.

My intention for this blog is to allow me to document what I've done, so that over time, I can look back and see where I've been.  I think that sometimes it's good to reflect on our journeys.  As someone who is one of the older individuals to run these events, I hope that someone finds something useful in what I have to share about these events, whether it be a recommendation on training, of where to stay at a venue, or just how to get started.

My background
I attended VMI in the late '80s, and in addition to academics, the school had (and still has) physical fitness requirements. I was on scholarship, so I had additional fitness requirements. For those of you who aren't familiar with VMI, they have an arduous initiation period for freshmen referred to as the Rat Line, which for us, culminated in Break Out, a rather intense, muddy affair.

While attending VMI, the physical requirements continued well after the Rat Line, and after my junior year, I attended the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 6 week evaluation course referred to as "Bulldog". The physical requirements were intensive, and included fitness tests, obstacle course runs for time, and a leadership reaction course, which required each squad leader to get a squad of Marines, with their gear, and usually some other impediment (casualty, ammo cans, cargo drums, etc.) through a problem or over an obstacle. These events were timed, and preceded by some sort of arduous physical event.

After graduation, I was commissioned into the USMC, and the initial training period (at The Basic School) included a number of physical fitness events, including the endurance course, in which you ran the Marine Corps Obstacle Course, picked up your gear, and ran a 10K course through the woods, the second half of which included obstacles such as walls, windows, cargo nets, rope climbs, etc.

My posts to this blog will cover training (I'm not a certified physical trainer, I'll just be sharing what I do), upcoming events, places to stay, and anything else mudder-related that comes along.