Sports
Team Heads to 'Tough Mudder' Race Saturday
Participants from Mount Pleasant and Caledonia will crawl through mud, run through fire and be electrocuted -- all to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.
More than two dozen people who work out at Mount Pleasant-based are going to do something on tomorrow, July 23, that’s crazy or brave (or both) when they participate in the Tough Mudder.
The race, which is part obstacle course, part insanity, will take place in Merrimac, just north of Madison, on Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24. The group wanted to do it not only to test their physical and mental strength, but also because they'll be helping out the Wounded Warrior Project; Tough Mudder has raised $707,000 for the WWP in the last year.
Participants climb over walls, swing from greased monkey bars, run through high-pressure water hoses, crawl through mud, then crawl through sand, swim under barrels, slide down a slippery hill, and run through a field that’s on fire.
“It’s going to be like getting a tattoo,” said Dan Holm, 27, of Kenosha, who works at Razor Sharp. “Initially, it’s going to hurt. A few days later, it’s going to hurt. But the gratification is worth it.”
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Tough Mudder was started by a British guy who felt that athletes needed something that would challenge their “toughness, fitness, strength, stamina, and mental grit all in one place and all in one day” and alleviate the tedium of running on a flat surface in one direction for 5k or 10k, like many events. The diversity of the activities definitely appeals to Razor Sharp aquatics and court sports director Dan Neumann, 27, of Mt. Pleasant.
“If I had to run 10 miles straight, I wouldn’t do it,” he said. “This is more interesting to me. The obstacles break it up.”
Tina Gonzales, 37, of Sturtevant, is also on Razor Sharp’s “Dumb Mudder Fudders” team and she said their support will be key.
“I won’t be alone. It’ll be a group and we’re there to get each other through it,” she said.
Gonzales, who works in a prison, has run half marathons and tri sprints, so the distance of the race -- about 10 miles -- is not daunting. She’s looking forward to proving herself.
“I like to be physically fit for my line of work,” she said. “I like to know I can take care of myself.”
At the end of the race, participants throw their shoes away and are awarded with a beer.