Run Tough Mudder with
a Tire?
-It seems Tough Mudder isn’t tough enough anymore for some
of the more veteran obstacle racers these days. We are either running the
course multiple times or carrying heavy objects around it to make it harder in
preparation for the harder races for example the Tough Mudder Championship Race “World’s Toughest Mudder.” Mathew “Ultra Beast” Dolitsky has been a huge
fan of tires for training and I’m a big fan of his. He has carried them through half marathons, marathons, and mud runs. Looking at my
peers that are in the elite category of racers my curiosity and competitive spirit got the best of me. I
thought why not run a lap at Tough Mudder Colorado as fast as possible? Then grab a heavy tire
and do it a 2nd time. Sounded hard enough and crazy enough to me especially since the
Colorado course is one of the hardest of Tough Mudders.. based off of terrain
and elevation alone.
-Tire time!!! I have
a friend that owns his own tire business so I get huge tractor tires for the
fitness classes that I coach so we can flip them and hit them with sledge
hammers. I told him that I needed 30-40lbs tires off an SUV or truck and he
brought me 2 tires both weighing 40lbs. My race bro T.J. Ricciardi was up for
the tire challenge so with 80lbs of tires we set off for Beaver Creek Ski
Resort and Tough Mudder CO. I live about 30 minutes away from the course so
leaving late we showed up in just enough time to take off with the 2nd
heat of the day at 8:20am.
-Sean Corvelle did a killer job as usual and gave us props
on our WTM Bibs. We ran through the course pretty quick our first lap averaging
mid 5 minute miles on the down hills. Great hills and tons of up-downs and
elevation gain. Obstacles were heavy at the start and the end so there was a
long stretch in the middle where it was just rough mountain side, and up -down switch-
backs. We started with the 8:20 heat and finished in 2:15. Grabbed some protein
and electrolyte shakes, went back to our cars and grabbed our 40lbs tires.
Picking the tires up and knowing what the course was all about I new we were in
for a long day.
-The course with a tire is very difficult :), especially a
course with terrain like Colorado. Super steep and up at elevations over
11,000ft made for a great day of training! I have seen people use smaller tires
for mud runs, but never anything as big as what we lugged around. Some
obstacles were impossible with the tires like the tunnels, walk the plank, and
under water tunnels. We did our best to bring the tires through every obstacle,
but if they couldn't make it, we threw them down completed the obstacle then went back to grab the tires. I made it half way through the monkey bars
and lost the grip I had of the tire with my legs and feet so the tire fell in
the water. I finished the bars and politely asked the next person who fell in
to grab my tire for me. This is where a smaller tire would have come in handy J
-Sean Corvelle saw us rolling out with the 11:40am group for
our 2nd lap with our huge tires and gave us a look like damn these
dudes are crazy…which is pretty accurate J
we got asked by at least 500 people as to why we were carrying the tires. Our
answers were always the same. “Great Training, Challenging, and we are
preparing for the Leadville 100 Trail Run and World’s Toughest Mudder 2013.” We
got a lot of great props and as people past us they spread the word that the
“tire guys” were coming! Funniest part of the day was when other mudders asked if we were supposed to carry a tire as part of the obstacles like "hold your wood" etc....and we would joke "Yea the tires are back there, you were supposed to grab one!" Over 6 hours later we came through to finish our 2nd lap and
threw our tires down with delight. Shoulders are still tender from carrying
that beast similar to the feeling after completing a GoRuck Challenge, but as usual the feeling of accomplishment was worth every sore muscle.
-To carry a tire through a Tough Mudder or not? My advice
would be to start with a smaller tire, one smaller than a 40 pounder, unless
you really want to torture yourself. Most athletes that think to carry a tire
though a race are looking to challenge themselves so maybe a heavier tire is
what you’re looking for. The best part about these races is that the bar keeps
being set higher and higher for example most elite obstacle racers do at least
2 laps at Tough Mudder. I look forward to carrying more heavy things through the
races. Seems like my GoRuck Challenge experiences are bleeding through to other events :). I look
forward to carrying heaving things for long distances, and the endurance
results that I get out of doing it make it worth while. Tough Mudder is
designed to be done without a tire obviously, but if your looking to take your
training, challenges, and your bad ass level up a notch give it a go!!!
