“There is a really great feeling that comes over you when you see the sky getting lighter and once the sun shows its face, it really lifts your spirits even if its not warm yet, a second wind after being on the go for 16 hours annnd then the slap in the face realizing you still have a minimum of 8 hours to go!” — Pieter “ThatBeardGuy” Joubert

Wednesday 11 November and I have all my gear packed and ready to go.  Never been this ready for a race ever. Must be that I know what I’m getting myself into and prepared to embrace the suck.  With Friday morning off to an early start I headed to the airport to catch my flight at 5:10am to Las Vegas.

Once there it was off to the Westin in Henderson to get registered,  which meant standing with 1000 or so other WTM contenders moving from one line to the next collecting first the bib, next line timing chip, pit pass, finally the contender TShirt and off to the desert to set up my pit area in tent city. As I had done over 100 miles from my previous two WTM in 2013 and 2014, I was allowed to go into the pit area earlier and find a prime site to set up shop. Done for the day I made my way to the hotel to share a room with a fellow Mudder Cory, who had a spare bed and was kind enough to offer it to me. A good pasta dinner at Olive Garden and off to bed after a long eventful day to rest up for an even longer day to come.

Vegas being two hours behind Minnesota my internal clock woke me up at 3am and I basically just lay there getting my mind in the right frame and did a little mental preparation for 24 hours of suffering.

Final stop to the store to get a last few supplies, a stop at Subway for a Steak & Cheese and a Chicken & Bacon foot-long subs to eat during the race, then back out to tent city for a last little organization of my cute little monster tent to have it all set up and ready for my pit stops to try make it as easy as possible to fuel myself and for gear change as I have never had a pit crew with me to aid me in those things.

Everybody started gathering in the start area at 13:30 to have the race briefing followed by a great motivational pump speech  from Sean Corvelle, all warm in the sun and jacked to go  for the 14:00 came and we were on our way.

The first hour was a sprint lap meaning you run the course without doing any obstacles, this happens for two reasons, 1. they have a 1st lap fastest lap green bib and 2. it spaces out the contenders so that there isn’t a huge backlog of 1200 athletes getting caught up on obstacles.

Not getting as close to the front at the start as I was hoping I was caught up behind slower mudders but I managed a lap and a half before the horn sounded and all the obstacles were open. Feeling great, it was smooth sailing through the third lap after which I layered up and changed into my wet-suit to be ready for the drop in temperature as the sun set behind the mountains which happened quickly.

The 4th lap I must have tweaked something in my left knee as it started hurting and from there on out my laps got slower and slower, my goal of 80 miles started fading with every step.  I kept on moving and was determined to give it my best shot and not do less mileage than my previous years of 60 miles.

There were 21 obstacles on a 5 mile loop,  some really fun and interesting that put you to the test:

‘Greased Monkey‘  was one, it was up monkey bars into a pipe at the top and a slide down.

‘Gut Buster‘ really put your core to the test, it was about 8 pipes roughly 3 feet apart that hung straight down over water and a wooden plank on the other side for your feet about 5 feet from the poles, so you would be stretched out parallel to the ground (actually water underneath you) and have to move pole to pole with your hands and your feet would be shuffling  across the wood plank to a platform at the other end.

‘Tramp Stamp‘ you stood on a platform, jumped down onto a little trampoline  and would have to grab a handle then basically zip line to the other side over water, I only failed this obstacle on my 2nd to last lap and had to do a penalty, which was a short loop of extra mileage probably only 100 meters but it wastes time and on tired legs any extra mileage is energy sapping.

I managed to complete all the obstacles without any problems or having to do penalties. The only one I completed on the 1st lap and then opted to do the short sandbag carry from there on out was ‘Operations,’ Standing in a puddle of water with a 6 foot long metal pole that has a hook on the end which you had to feed through a small hole about 4 inches big and lined with electricity, you must hook a ring from a board on the other side and bring it back through the hole, if the pole touches the side of the hole at any time and you get lit up ZAAAP! This just felt very time consuming and, I am not a fan of the electricity obstacles and being shocked. I didn’t feel the need to add any more suck to my race haha.

Midnight saw the opening of ‘The Cliff,‘ a 35 foot jump into the cold waters of Lake Las Vegas and this is not a difficult one it’s just up there on my least favorite simply cause when you cold and tired it is a lot of impact on your feet, joints, legs and stings if you don’t get your arms tucked in in time.

Early hours of the morning were a little difficult just cause I’m normally asleep at this time and that’s exactly what my body was trying to do, my pit stops were a little longer as the simplest things were more challenging with swollen, cold hands and my eyes not wanting to stay open. The longer you in the pit the more difficult it becomes to get going again as your body temperature drops rapidly as you’re not moving and your muscles start getting tight, but 60 miles not going to get done by laying around feeling sorry for yourself so it’s on to the next lap.

There is a really great feeling that comes over you when you see the sky getting lighter and once the sun shows its face, it really lifts your spirits even if it’s not warm yet, a second wind after being on the go for 16 hours annnd then the slap in the face realizing you still have a minimum of 8 hours to go!

Time ticking by, I kept soldiering on my knee in so much pain I am now at a slow walk and finally completed my 12th lap, 60 miles done I still have an hour and a half before 24 hours is up and 14:00 shows itself again. After a very quick pit I headed out for my last lap. I Caught up with my new Australian mate Michael and together we pushed forward.

‘The Cliff‘ jump was the last obstacle before the finish and as we approached it there was a massive line as everyone had gone out to complete their 24 hours and get a headband as you had to be active out on the course and come in after 14:00 to receive that. Once 14:00 came the course was closed to anybody wanting to go out again and the people on the course had an hour and a half to complete the last lap you were on after that you would be brought in from where ever you were on the course and only the last lap you completed would be counted and your final distance.

I took one look at the line and decided the penalty loop would get me done sooner. The penalty loop was an extra quarter mile with a ‘Mud Monster‘ and ‘Electro Shock Therapy‘ for those of you who aren’t familiar with Tough Mudder this is the last obstacle you go through on all their regular Mudders. it’s where you run through a frame that has what seems like thousands of live wires hanging down from the sky ready and charged to give you the most shocking experience of your life….but I did it and crossed the finish line in 24:49:37, placed 41 overall out of 1140, 11th in my age group and covered 65 miles to complete my 3rd World’s Toughest Mudder.

I am rather disappointed in my result, I had set my sights at 80 miles and feel I would have gotten pretty close to achieving this had I not picked up the injury in my knee, however I beat my 60 miles from last year and moved up 3 places from 44th to 41st, so even though it’s not what I was hoping for I still improved.  So for now it’s back to the drawing board and have another year to prepare for this beast where I will once again push my body to the limits and hopefully reach my goal of 80 miles.

Michael (right)  and James (left) new mates from Australia.

I want to send out a VERY BIG THANK YOU to all who posted on my page and sent me messages of encouragement, support, motivation and following me. Also a Massive Thanks to Mouse who was keeping everybody in the loop posting my times and position throughout the night from afar, you are so supportive and amazing.

Thanks to my sponsors. MyMom, iKind Media, Arbitrary Tattoo Studio and Herbalife Nutrition.