My legs tired, brushed and cut, my mind racing with excitement. I just completed a crazy 10 mile obstacle course. A course they call the most difficult course you will ever encounter! And here is my story……
Departing from Oneonta, I headed to Mt. Snow to compete in an event called Tough Mudder, with 7 other friends. This was my first time driving to Vermont and was excited to see some of the Green Mountains. As I drove, I fell in love as I made my way up the windy roads through Troy then into Vermont. The views of all the hills made me want to stop and capture photos of everything I saw. I made notes in my journal as I drove up and down the mountains to remember some trail heads I spotted along the way. But there was no time to stop, I had the meet the group of guys for dinner and make sure we got an early registration for our race Bibs.
I arrived late Friday night to meet up the group of guys, and pack ourselves into our room at the lodge for the next two nights. The room could comfortably hold 4 people, but we managed to fit seven men, and three women on, air mattresses, couches, and pillow beds. I was the 5th to arrive out of the seven of us, and we begin the evening preparing a big pasta dinner for energy for our run, and a few beers to lighten our moods. We all ate together and then decided that Mohawks would be a good idea to add to our teams moral. Think the beer helped in that decision making as well.
We woke the next day, slow to rise tired from staying up a little later then expected. We had to be up and out early to get our race numbers, and didn’t want to wait in the already gorwing line of racers. We got our Bib numbers, a light breakfast and protein shakes, and started changing, taping ankles and stretching for the big race. We were in the 5th group to leave for the run, scheduled for 11:00am. We watched as several other groups, some in crazy and elaborate costumes began the race in the earlier time spots, and enjoyed some of the activities going on around us.
10:30 we took our last group photo before our run, and made our way to the starting line….
The packs of racers were all excited and rowdy, at the starting line. The crowds energy fuelled everyone’s energy and the mood and excitement increased as start time grew closer. The race announcer got the crowd pumped with some motivational words and the exciting news that Osama BinLadin had been killed in an assault by our navy seals just a few days prior. Several of the proceeds from this race go towards the wounded warrior projects, a organization or inured veterans. The crowd was amped.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1………
A gun shot, canon smoke and confetti at the gate, and we took off with hundreds of other runners down the hill and up around the bend to start our first assent up to the summit of Mount Snow. Quickly our team became separate, and we pared up with the teams members of the same running abilities. Running up hill seemed to be something I had not fully trained for, and little did I know were about to run up and down this mountain over 15 times. As my run turned into a walk we made our way up the rocks slope, while big ice makers blasted us with water. My friend Craig an I, who were pretty much the same running abilities, and were not fans of running up hills, stuck together as we rounded the top. Our first three mile check point and water station, then back down the hill into an mud bog obstacle that zigzagged up and down eight times.
As we ran up and down the mud trail, twisting ankles on the slippery rocks, I could see my other team mates through the trees still jogging up the first 3 mile hill we had, and then spotted 3 others ahead of us trekking through the mud obstacle and into the woods.
From the mud obstacle up and down we made our way across the mountain into the woods, for more trails, and tree obstacles down to the submerged water tunnels. The tunnels were propped up on one end and facing downward into a ravine filled with water, back into another tunnel which we had to climb out of, to exit the ravine. I remember my claustrophobic feelings as I made my way down the tunnel and the light started to disappear. The water in front of me I found it hard to catch my breath. Quickly I held my breath and submerged my head into the water until I thought I cleared the end . Once out and across the water pit, I had to submerge my head quickly back into the water into the last tunnel and out the ravine. I made it out in once piece with a big smile on my face seeing, friends of ours cheering us on. My arms took a beating from all the small rocks that were lying at the bottom of the water pit.
We made our way back up for accent to the top of mount snow where several water obstacles awaited us. We traversed under barbed wire obstacles and through a maze of tires strategically placed that made us trip and fall face first into the mud.. My arms still bleeding from being cut on the jagged rocks and sharp hay, we passed started to pass several runners who had stopped due to leg cramps, broken fingers and sprained ankles.
Almost to what we thought was the top, and our water course we grabbed a giant, what felt like 40 pound log, and began to carry it up the mountain 200 yards and then back down. I watched other running accidently drop their log, and it bounced down the hill, while other runners tried to get out of the way. Definitely an accident waiting to happen,. Once runner was being escorted off the course with an arm that looked like it was broken and bent in an awkward way, just flopping there.
Craig and I continued on strong and determined, as our other members of our team slowly started to catch up, as we made our way to the ice cold pond. The water near freezing on this early May day, we climbed the 15 foot wooden ladder then barreled in off the platform. Hitting the water, the extreme cold on my overheated body caused me to lose my breath and choke a little, as I tried to swim to the rope to guide me out to the shore. My legs started to cramp a lot at this point, from the hot and cold, and sheer exhaustion that my legs and body through. We stopped for a moment while the rest of our team that was behind us cough up and try to stretch out the pains in my legs. Other runners had grabbed survival warmers, a silver thin blanket that helps you maintain your core body temperature. Once we had grouped out with the other two member we continued on as a team of four, knowing the other three member were still somewhere in front of us.
Legs tired, we made up for lost time from walking up the mountain by running down the mountain as much as we could. My speed and momentum allowed me to easily hurdle hay bales, and logs. Rolling over and under them as we progressed, speeding down nearing the races final group of obstacles.
Almost to the bottom we stopped at the giant Ice Mountain, which made my hands start to freeze as we help other runners make it up the slippery ice trail. Once over the slippery top we started to slide bottom first down the path laid by all the previous runner throughout the day. It was when I rolled over on my belly to get more speed I realized I had stabbed myself with three of the bobby pins holding my bib number to my shirt.
Down the rest of the mountain, we made it to three more ice filled water pits. Over under, the water was cold and the ice made it even colder. It was dyed green and orange and colored everyone a fund highlighter color when we exited the tanks. I grabbed some bananas and more water, then made it to the monkey bars, which extended over more cold water for about twenty feet. With little energy left, and my eye on the berlin walls ahead, I dropped into the water to conserve energy. I grabbed the bananas which I hadn’t eaten yet from my freezing cold pockets. I was hoping the Bananas would kick right in and remove the soreness from my legs and hamstring, but with no luck.
At the berlin wall, these 15 foot solid walls, we helped other teams mates over. I was glad we had been grouped back up with our two other friends who we started the race with, to help us get over his difficult obstacle. Lifting them up and straddling the top we were able to help pull over several runners. By the time we made it to the fourth and last wall, I was ready to be done. Only 3 miles left, after completing 7 miles, we headed for the finish line and the last remaining obstacles. The rope course was a nice change of pace, since the pile of runners waiting in line allowed up time to stretch and rest our legs. We all posed for a photo, the 4 of us that ended up together, and our friends told us that the other three guys had just finished.
From the ropes course we ran through the smoking bog, which choked you as you gasped for air. It was filled with burning hail bails and a horrible smell that made you want to throw up. I thought covering my face with my wet shirt would make it easier to get through the horrible smell, but found it just added an even more unconformable taste to my mouth. From the fire we made it to the top of a water slide.
Up the last small hill I would have to run up for the day we made it to the top of this giant water slide. I backed up and ran; jumping head first I flew down the raven, the crowd cheering in front of us. We gather at the bottom to wait for the other guys and grasped arms for the last obstacle the electrical course. We had no idea what to expect we had only seen videos and heard of horror stories of people who were dropped to their feet in pain from the shocks. 10,000 volts of electricity dangling in the air, and we had to run through 15 feet of it to make it to the finish line. Heads down we ran, and almost ran over other runners who were dropped from the stun of the shocks.
Sore, beat up and tired, happy we didn’t drop from the volts, we all cheers at the end. High fives, and beers, all well worth the pain and suffering and price of admission for this days event. Probably the most fun I have had at an obstacle course yet. And it made me want to sign up for more…
Departing from Oneonta, I headed to Mt. Snow to compete in an event called Tough Mudder, with 7 other friends. This was my first time driving to Vermont and was excited to see some of the Green Mountains. As I drove, I fell in love as I made my way up the windy roads through Troy then into Vermont. The views of all the hills made me want to stop and capture photos of everything I saw. I made notes in my journal as I drove up and down the mountains to remember some trail heads I spotted along the way. But there was no time to stop, I had the meet the group of guys for dinner and make sure we got an early registration for our race Bibs.I arrived late Friday night to meet up the group of guys, and pack ourselves into our room at the lodge for the next two nights. The room could comfortably hold 4 people, but we managed to fit seven men, and three women on, air mattresses, couches, and pillow beds. I was the 5th to arrive out of the seven of us, and we begin the evening preparing a big pasta dinner for energy for our run, and a few beers to lighten our moods. We all ate together and then decided that Mohawks would be a good idea to add to our teams moral. Think the beer helped in that decision making as well.
We woke the next day, slow to rise tired from staying up a little later then expected. We had to be up and out early to get our race numbers, and didn’t want to wait in the already gorwing line of racers. We got our Bib numbers, a light breakfast and protein shakes, and started changing, taping ankles and stretching for the big race. We were in the 5th group to leave for the run, scheduled for 11:00am. We watched as several other groups, some in crazy and elaborate costumes began the race in the earlier time spots, and enjoyed some of the activities going on around us.
10:30 we took our last group photo before our run, and made our way to the starting line….The packs of racers were all excited and rowdy, at the starting line. The crowds energy fuelled everyone’s energy and the mood and excitement increased as start time grew closer. The race announcer got the crowd pumped with some motivational words and the exciting news that Osama BinLadin had been killed in an assault by our navy seals just a few days prior. Several of the proceeds from this race go towards the wounded warrior projects, a organization or inured veterans. The crowd was amped.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1………A gun shot, canon smoke and confetti at the gate, and we took off with hundreds of other runners down the hill and up around the bend to start our first assent up to the summit of Mount Snow. Quickly our team became separate, and we pared up with the teams members of the same running abilities. Running up hill seemed to be something I had not fully trained for, and little did I know were about to run up and down this mountain over 15 times. As my run turned into a walk we made our way up the rocks slope, while big ice makers blasted us with water. My friend Craig an I, who were pretty much the same running abilities, and were not fans of running up hills, stuck together as we rounded the top. Our first three mile check point and water station, then back down the hill into an mud bog obstacle that zigzagged up and down eight times.
As we ran up and down the mud trail, twisting ankles on the slippery rocks, I could see my other team mates through the trees still jogging up the first 3 mile hill we had, and then spotted 3 others ahead of us trekking through the mud obstacle and into the woods.
From the mud obstacle up and down we made our way across the mountain into the woods, for more trails, and tree obstacles down to the submerged water tunnels. The tunnels were propped up on one end and facing downward into a ravine filled with water, back into another tunnel which we had to climb out of, to exit the ravine. I remember my claustrophobic feelings as I made my way down the tunnel and the light started to disappear. The water in front of me I found it hard to catch my breath. Quickly I held my breath and submerged my head into the water until I thought I cleared the end . Once out and across the water pit, I had to submerge my head quickly back into the water into the last tunnel and out the ravine. I made it out in once piece with a big smile on my face seeing, friends of ours cheering us on. My arms took a beating from all the small rocks that were lying at the bottom of the water pit.
We made our way back up for accent to the top of mount snow where several water obstacles awaited us. We traversed under barbed wire obstacles and through a maze of tires strategically placed that made us trip and fall face first into the mud.. My arms still bleeding from being cut on the jagged rocks and sharp hay, we passed started to pass several runners who had stopped due to leg cramps, broken fingers and sprained ankles.
Almost to what we thought was the top, and our water course we grabbed a giant, what felt like 40 pound log, and began to carry it up the mountain 200 yards and then back down. I watched other running accidently drop their log, and it bounced down the hill, while other runners tried to get out of the way. Definitely an accident waiting to happen,. Once runner was being escorted off the course with an arm that looked like it was broken and bent in an awkward way, just flopping there.
Craig and I continued on strong and determined, as our other members of our team slowly started to catch up, as we made our way to the ice cold pond. The water near freezing on this early May day, we climbed the 15 foot wooden ladder then barreled in off the platform. Hitting the water, the extreme cold on my overheated body caused me to lose my breath and choke a little, as I tried to swim to the rope to guide me out to the shore. My legs started to cramp a lot at this point, from the hot and cold, and sheer exhaustion that my legs and body through. We stopped for a moment while the rest of our team that was behind us cough up and try to stretch out the pains in my legs. Other runners had grabbed survival warmers, a silver thin blanket that helps you maintain your core body temperature. Once we had grouped out with the other two member we continued on as a team of four, knowing the other three member were still somewhere in front of us.
Legs tired, we made up for lost time from walking up the mountain by running down the mountain as much as we could. My speed and momentum allowed me to easily hurdle hay bales, and logs. Rolling over and under them as we progressed, speeding down nearing the races final group of obstacles.
Almost to the bottom we stopped at the giant Ice Mountain, which made my hands start to freeze as we help other runners make it up the slippery ice trail. Once over the slippery top we started to slide bottom first down the path laid by all the previous runner throughout the day. It was when I rolled over on my belly to get more speed I realized I had stabbed myself with three of the bobby pins holding my bib number to my shirt.
Down the rest of the mountain, we made it to three more ice filled water pits. Over under, the water was cold and the ice made it even colder. It was dyed green and orange and colored everyone a fund highlighter color when we exited the tanks. I grabbed some bananas and more water, then made it to the monkey bars, which extended over more cold water for about twenty feet. With little energy left, and my eye on the berlin walls ahead, I dropped into the water to conserve energy. I grabbed the bananas which I hadn’t eaten yet from my freezing cold pockets. I was hoping the Bananas would kick right in and remove the soreness from my legs and hamstring, but with no luck.
At the berlin wall, these 15 foot solid walls, we helped other teams mates over. I was glad we had been grouped back up with our two other friends who we started the race with, to help us get over his difficult obstacle. Lifting them up and straddling the top we were able to help pull over several runners. By the time we made it to the fourth and last wall, I was ready to be done. Only 3 miles left, after completing 7 miles, we headed for the finish line and the last remaining obstacles. The rope course was a nice change of pace, since the pile of runners waiting in line allowed up time to stretch and rest our legs. We all posed for a photo, the 4 of us that ended up together, and our friends told us that the other three guys had just finished.
From the ropes course we ran through the smoking bog, which choked you as you gasped for air. It was filled with burning hail bails and a horrible smell that made you want to throw up. I thought covering my face with my wet shirt would make it easier to get through the horrible smell, but found it just added an even more unconformable taste to my mouth. From the fire we made it to the top of a water slide.
Up the last small hill I would have to run up for the day we made it to the top of this giant water slide. I backed up and ran; jumping head first I flew down the raven, the crowd cheering in front of us. We gather at the bottom to wait for the other guys and grasped arms for the last obstacle the electrical course. We had no idea what to expect we had only seen videos and heard of horror stories of people who were dropped to their feet in pain from the shocks. 10,000 volts of electricity dangling in the air, and we had to run through 15 feet of it to make it to the finish line. Heads down we ran, and almost ran over other runners who were dropped from the stun of the shocks.
Sore, beat up and tired, happy we didn’t drop from the volts, we all cheers at the end. High fives, and beers, all well worth the pain and suffering and price of admission for this days event. Probably the most fun I have had at an obstacle course yet. And it made me want to sign up for more…
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