{"id":1478,"date":"2017-02-08T17:21:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T16:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/tough-guy\/"},"modified":"2021-12-07T15:23:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T14:23:19","slug":"tough-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/en\/blog\/2017\/02\/08\/tough-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_custom_heading text=”Tough Guy: mud, ice, and the \u201cKilling Fields\u201d ” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”%7B%22default%22%3A%7B%22font-weight%22%3A%22700%22%7D%7D”]

In 2017, the last ever Tough Guy Race was supposed to take place. Thirty years had passed since the first obstacle course in 1987, and the organizer and founder of Tough Guy, Bill Wilson, aka \u201cMr. Mouse,\u201d was turning 80 years old. Why not quit while you\u2019re ahead? Competitor Thomas Reim reports on what is arguably one of the most difficult obstacle courses in the world.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

The announcement that the race would soon be coming to an end was accompanied by a declaration of war from Mr. Mouse: \u201cGuys, for the last run we\u2019re really going to go all out!\u201d Ultimately, the main focus of the event isn\u2019t rankings; rather, it\u2019s about getting what\u2019s left of your once proud body over the finish line \u2013 preferably in one piece. And the path to the finish line was always hard and painful. Those who make it receive a medal and a mug of hot tea<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Over 30 years, the course has evolved from its humble beginnings, growing longer and tougher. Billy Wilson, a veteran of the Grenadier Guards and developer of military obstacle courses, always employed his creativity to make the path to the finish line for participants as difficult as possible. In good years, sometimes only 40 percent of runners succeeded. The obstacle course traditionally takes place on the last Sunday in January, a choice not without reason. Casual runners looking for a thrill quickly discover that ice in the water obstacles is to be expected and hypothermia isn\u2019t something to fool around with.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

The thermometer reads 5\u00b0C (41\u00b0F) on the day of the race. Many hipster lifestyle runners \u2013 those who dutifully run their laps around the park in breathable jogging clothes bought at a coffee bar, who only pause at regular intervals to pull up their absolutely vital compression socks \u2013 tell me \u201cYeah, well, that\u2019s easy enough.\u201d The reality is pretty different.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

After the starting signal, 6,000 runners are let on to the obstacle course in waves one after another. Each wave looks like a herd of buffalo on the run. After around 500 meters your shoes are soaked. It\u2019s cute how the newbies still attempt to avoid the first puddles. Afterwards comes the running circuit, which leads into the so-called \u201cKilling Fields.\u201d This harmless lap is meant to spread the runners out and relieve congestion before the obstacles. After half an hour, you reach the first water-filled mud ditches, and by this point your engine room is definitely flooded. The course alternates between ditches and small climbing obstacles, which give way to steep slaloms for recovery. By the end of Tough Guy, you\u2019ve climbed a total 1,020 meters up and back down.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Assuming you\u2019re still in somewhat decent shape at the end of the running circuit, you then reach what\u2019s called the \u201cKilling Fields.\u201d So far, I\u2019ve only fallen twice and I\u2019m still 80% there\u00a0physically. While running, I see similarities to the movie \u201cMemphis Belle,\u201d which is set in 1943. In the film, an American B-17 bomber springs into action in enemy territory. One of the four engines is hit by a flak grenade and is taken out of commission. No matter, keep going \u2013 a B-17 can fly with just three motors. The first obstacle to overcome in the\u00a0\u201cKilling Fields\u201d\u00a0is always the Tiger \u2013 two wooden, 10-meter-high scaffolds. Between them, you have to cross a field with electric fence wires. The fact these wires are electrified is helpful in a way \u2013 they sort of shock you back to life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

The next two miles alternate between climbing scaffolds with water obstacles, barbed wire, fire, and of course, mud. There isn\u2019t time in this article to describe all 400 of the obstacles along the entire course. As advertised, Mr. Mouse dug a ton of new water-filled ditches, which are reminiscent of World War I trenches. A well-planned offensive got bogged down in the mud in\u00a0<\/span>many a war \u2013<\/span>\u00a0and you shouldn\u2019t underestimate the muck here, either. The biggest catastrophe facing a long-distance runner is losing a shoe. Getting the running shoe back on with frozen fingers is one thing, but even finding the shoe in calf-deep mud is a whole other challenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

In the end, I reached the finish line in a little over three hours, got a medal around my neck, and a mug of tea in my hand. Two engines failed and the third is on fire, but it\u2019s still going. The landing gear is still intact and is good to go again. Not me, though \u2013 first I need to head to the hangar for some repairs.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2017, the last ever Tough Guy Race was supposed to take place. Thirty years had passed since the first obstacle course in 1987, and the organizer and founder of Tough Guy, Bill Wilson, aka \u201cMr. Mouse,\u201d was turning 80 years old. Why not quit while you\u2019re ahead? 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