Comments on: Tough Guy 2010 report – Part 1

By: Carolyn Schwenk

Carolyn Schwenk — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:15:18 +0000

Hey Drew, Thanks for the reply. I have to tell you if for some reason I didn’t finish, I would be devastated. But my greatest fear is STILL the cold water. I was going to wear a wetsuit on a 60 degree day, so I am glad you advised not too. This Wednesday, 100 of us are going to participate in a practice run of the course and 6 of the obstacles. We will be testing each water obstacle, the fire run, and 1 or 2 others. The actual race day for the complete Tough Mudder is May 2nd. I think I am in decent shape, but that cold just locks my body and I literally cannot move. I will let you know how Wednesday goes…
Again, thanks for the blog and the tips.

By: Drew Gilbert

Drew Gilbert — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:20:19 +0000

Hey Carolyn! T Mudder looks like a somewhat different beast from Tough Guy, but I wish you luck doing it and would love to hear from you once you complete it to see how you liked it!

As for what I wore, you can read my post on my whole outfit here:

http://drewgilbert.com/gear-up-for-the-toughguy-race/

I would say for sure, if you are doing your race any time other than the dead of winter like I did, you should dress NOTHING LIKE what I dressed in. Hotter weather, you will want much, much less on.

As far as getting up walls, you will be surprised how much stronger you are when the adrenalin is pumping through you. And if your race is at all similar to what mine was, you will have all sorts of help from the other racers in getting over. It’s in their best interest, as the longer you take, the longer they have to wait their turn:)

Good luck! When is your race?

By: Carolyn Schwenk

Carolyn Schwenk — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:22:11 +0000

Drew,
Thanks for the website. You have put me into 100% panic mode, for I too signed up for ToughMudder. Any tips whatsoever would be appreciated. Like, how the hell do you get over the walls? I’m hoping someone will throw me over. And what did you wear exactly?

By: Mankini Man

Mankini Man — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:17:29 +0000

Mankini Man here, I can confirm I did finish but certainly would not have were I not doing it for such a good cause, and with the help and support of the rest of the Toughguys on the day, I will be back next year as I hope the rest of you nut jobs are and of course i will be donning the Mankini.

Quite simply that event was like nothing i have ever done before and i swore i would never do it again on the day, after the event, now i cannot wait to hit the icy waters again!

By: Tough Guy 2010 Report – Part 3 | Drew Gilbert

Tough Guy 2010 Report – Part 3 | Drew Gilbert — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:00:51 +0000

[...] Part One is here. Part Two is here. [...]

By: Tough Guy 2010 Report – Part 2 | Drew Gilbert

Tough Guy 2010 Report – Part 2 | Drew Gilbert — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:13:54 +0000

[...] Here is my official race report for Tough Guy 2010 – Year of the Original Hero. Part One is here. [...]

By: Aithene

Aithene — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:03:39 +0000

Drew! I only hope to read that you, too finished! This race looks insane. I’m not sure you could get me to train for ANY race that takes place in the cold, much less frozen water. Insane!

By: admin

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:25:26 +0000

Wow, thanks for that article! That makes me think he’s less insane for sure, I’m glad he finished.

Antony – I will likely write about the gear in the next post, but it held up amazingly well I would say. My core got quite hot through this first part of the run, but after each submersion, it would only take about 30 seconds or so for me to start feeling the tech layers, gloves and hat doing their jobs and containing what little heat there was. I was very happy with how things held up.

By: cuppatea

cuppatea — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:47:15 +0000

Thanks for the link to my mankini-man pic. It seems he did finish http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Wakefield-dad-braves-icy-waters.6051436.jp

By: Antony Johnston

Antony Johnston — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:05:00 +0000

I meant what I said before, man, I’m so proud of you for actually finishing :) So how did your kit hold up? You were concerned whether or not it would keep you warm enough, as I recall?