I can't believe I forgot to mention this earlier, but I registered for the Virginia Tough Mudder over the weekend.

This race isn't until October, and while it's ridiculously rare for me to register for a race this far in advance, my running friends have been trying to convince me to sign up for weeks and since the prices were increasing on over the weekend, I finally broke down and registered last Friday.

What did I get myself in to?



Not only will this be my first mud run ever, but it's also pretty much the most insane mud run around. The race bills itself as "the toughest event on the planet."

Here's how Tough Mudder describes itself:

"Tough Mudder is not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race. It’s Ironman meets Burning Man, and it is coming to a location near you. Our 10-12 mile obstacle courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Forget finish times. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honor. All Tough Mudder sponsorship proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

WARNING: Tough Mudder is 3-4 times longer and MUCH TOUGHER than a typical mud run such as Warrior Dash. On average, only 78% of participants finish a Tough Mudder event. Only those in strong physical condition should enter."

The Virginia Tough Mudder course takes place on a ski mountain, and yes, you do run up and down the ski slopes while completing a ton of obstacles.

The course itself is about 10 miles long and features all kinds of obstacles.

Here's just a sample of the ones on this course:

• Running through live electrical wires
• Scaling 12-ft high walls
• Crawling in the mud under wire 8 inches off the ground
• Running through waist deep muddy water
• Doing the monkey bars, where some of the handles are greased with butter

I'm slightly terrified and I have no idea what I got myself in to. My teammates have promised they won't let me die though, so I've got that going for me. Come October, I guess we'll find out if all my extra strength training actually paid off.


I'm excited and terrified. I have a feeling this will be a race to remember.