Day 221 - World's Toughest Mudder Newspaper Article

Tough Mudder takes on New Jersey

Tough competition. Tyler Robbins recently completed two laps of the World's Toughest Mudder in New Jersey. Todd McEwen

In 24 hours, 1,300 competitors from around the globe were vying to be crowned the World’s Toughest Mudder.
Orangeville’s Tyler Robbins was among that horde.
After qualifying for the event by finishing among the top five per cent at the Toronto-leg of the worldwide tour in August, Robbins and his wife flew to New Jersey, where neither were sure what to expect.
“I was going into this blind,” Robbins said. “It was a great learning experience. I want to do it again next year.”
While he returned to Dufferin soil with only a T-shirt, headband and worn out running shoes, the Orangeville native managed to complete two full laps of the 10-mile course in the allotted 24-hour time frame.
“I did a lap, came back, rested for about half an hour … then went back out for a second lap … then called it quits, because my knees were toast,” he said. “It was the type of the thing where if I had have kept going, I could’ve risked long-term damage.”
When Robbins spoke with The Banner after completing his first Tough Mudder event in August, he said he was surprised by the challenge the hills posed at Mount St. Louis Moonstone. This time around, he pointed to the monkey bars as the most difficult obstacle thrown at him.
“There were a handful of obstacles, where you actually had to do them twice,” he said. “So you’d do the monkey bars … then the course would loop around and you’d end up crawling through mud and you’d go back to do the monkey bars again.
“Now you’re covered in mud, you’re hands are covered in mud, which makes it so much more difficult to try and get across with muddy hands and gloves.”
Like last year, the obstacles and course map weren’t revealed to the competitors until their arrival, which left newcomers like Robbins at a slight disadvantage. 
“I feel they put a lot more design into the course to try and make it more difficult,” he said.
Robbins thanked his sponsor, Kreator, and said once his knees recover, he'll be back in the grind for next year's event.
“I’m going to start preparing for the event in May and look forward to next November."


Quote of the day:
"Motivation will almost always beat mere talent."

~ Norman R. Augustine
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