Howell Residents Prove to be Among Toughest Endurance Athletes in the Mud

It was a busy few days at Raceway Park in Englishtown this past weekend. It was not the rumbling of engines that filled the air, but rather the thundering of the feet of hundreds of endurance athletes. 

Among the more than 800 runners who braved not only the cold weather, but also the nearly impossible obstacles at the World's Toughest Mudder competition were Sgt. Joseph Markulic of the Howell Police Department and Howell resident Gary Gardella. 

Even several days after the event, both men were still feeling the affects of the race, especially Markulic who was going in for scheduled ankle surgery just a few days after the race. 

Gardella said he got into the event because after three years of dedicated running, he needed a bigger challenge. "It kind of got boring for me," he said. "It got too repetitious." When he heard about the Tough Mudder races, he decided to take his training to the next level. Not wanting to take on the challenge alone Gardella said he asked his friends to take part, but they opted not to. 

Even though he went into it alone, Gardella said he enjoyed the experience more than he expected. "I had so much fun while doing it," he said. The race is a 24 hour onslaught of one physical challenge after another and Gardella said he learned a lot which he hopes will help him in future races. Completing four laps during the race, Gardella said he took on 160 obstacles not including the cold weather.

Markulic said his Toughest Mudder Experience started at 7:30 on Saturday morning when he set up his tent and got all his equipment ready for the long haul. Two hours later he was ready to go and by 10 a.m. the race had started. He said he made friends with people who were around him which helped him get through the race. "All of us agreed not to kill ourselves and we just wanted to last 24 hours," he said. 

The race, he said, started out well as they got used to their surroundings, but that did not last the whole time. "As the race went on, it just went crazy," he said. 

Gardella finished 38th overall with four laps completed and was among the top 30 to finish the full 24 hour stretch. Out of the 800 who ran, Markulic said 520 people finished at least one lap with many dropping out due to the extreme cold. "They were gathered up in the medical tent like hot dogs," he said. Just 239 people finished two laps, while 107 including Markulic finished three laps. Gardella was then one of only 42 people to finish the 42 laps. The officer called his finish, " a great accomplishment for me."

A graduate of Jackson Memorial High School, Gardella, now 32, said he played basketball for the Jaguars and has given the same commitment to running that he did to the hardwood. "Where I left off with basketball is where I picked up with running," he said. He said he enjoys the individual aspects of running compared to the team efforts of basketball. "It's up to you how hard you work and how hard you train," he said. 

The recovery has been slow for Gardella. After lasting the entire 24 hours, he said he spent Sunday watching football with his family. It was not until Thursday that he said he was ready to get back to his running routine.

For Markulic, the recovery time figures to be considerably longer as he works his way back from surgery, but said he was just glad to finish the race. "My third lap, I didn't want to get up," he said. "I was in my tent and my ankle was so stiff. But I said to myself I want to run it four times around." 

He did not reach that goal, but Markulic said it was still a successful 24 hours. "I didn't know it was going to be this hard and this difficult," he said. "Anything jumping wise, bending your knees, going through the mud, it was just total pain."

This is not the only endurance activity Markulic has competed in this year. A few months ago he was a member of a contingent of Howell officers to their bicycles down to Washington DC for a special tribute at Police Week. Compared to the Toughest Mudder, Markulic said the ride south was no match. "This was probably the toughest thing I've ever done in my life," he said. "It's not only tough physically, but mentally."

Markulic said he will wait until next year to see if he wants to do the race again, but added he was glad to have at least finished it once. 

For more information about the Toughest Mudder races, check out their website.