Team S.T.F.U. Strategy Guide - Tough Mudder '12!

General stuff:

When helping people up, grip wrist-to-forearm (not hand-to-hand) - way stronger grip Mark water/toilet stations and distances between obstacles (do we have a big stretch of

running etc.) http://toughmudder.com/obstacles/

1: Arctic Enema

Dumpster filled with ice-water, probably with a barrier across halfway forcing you to submerge

All go together. Make sure no-one is in front that would hold us up. Jump as far forward as possible to minimize time in water. Reach under barrier to help pull under quickly. Hold breath when jumping in, don't hang about! Short, deep inhales & hold. Don't think about it too much.

When you hit the water, breath will try to leave your lungs due to shock (and it'll be harder to breath in because your lungs are contracted by the cold). Hold a deep breath first, and concentrate on the quick exhale/full inhale. (see Underwater Tunnels)

2: Dirty Ballerina

Several trenches 4' wide that require running jumps to clear

Since we are running on the second day, trenches may be word down so that it's more of a scrabble/climb. Not much tactic other than plan where you will land and look for helping hand. Maybe J & A go first to help grab V?

3: Kiss of Mud (#1)

Crawling under barbed wire set 8" off the ground. May be set up on an incline, depending on terrain

Simple tactic - stay low! Maybe zigzag a little in the crawl so that you can keep your head down and twisted to one side. Slow and steady on this one - no need to rush. if you get tired, just rest with head on hands. Keep bum low and keep knees/legs in contact with mud at all times.

Vid shows some lines are set way higher than 8" - people crawling on all fours vs. belly

4: Berlin Walls (#1)

Scale three (3) walls, each of which are 12' tall, and only ~2" thick. May or may not have foothold assists about 2' off the ground (judging by the pics)

J & A should help Val over first - either leg-up or standing on shoulders. Safest way to dismount is to swing legs over, then lower down slowly - then push away from wall when jumping down. Steep drop, so don't vault! Check that no-one else is beneath you once you jump, and clear the area in case some turd jumps down on you

If there are footholds, could be that J & A can clear it solo: running jump parkour-style, to grab the lip, then explosive pull-up while scrabbling with feet. Top is narrow, so it'll be hard for someone at the top to really help

5: Bale Bonds

Go up & over (or through) a bunch of stacked hay bales.

Basic climbing techniques - just watch out for twisted ankles when jumping down onto uneven surfaces. Should probably help other Mudders up & down on this if needed.

Some pics have a pyramid stack - best to climb down (vs jump down) - no rush

6: Hold Your Wood

Carry a log a certain distance of the course. If course is flat, probably be ½ mile - less distance if more hills

Huge difference in log size between venues. Not sure if you can just pick however badass you want or if directed based on gender/size. some venues have huge multiperson logs (could be fun) - some have you trekking across water!

Easiest method is to support on one shoulder/arm and switch when tired, not carrying in a cradle

7: Kiss of Mud (#2)

Guessing this is the same as before - perhaps longer and/or lower wire?

8: Trench Warfare

Crawl through underground muddy trenches

Likely to be fairly confined space. Depending on prior Mudder traffic and weather, could have watery bits - likely dark spots.

Would advise we 3 go one-after-the-other, keeping an eye on the person in front. whoever dislikes closed spaces should go either first or in the middle (not last). Person in front should call out any nasty they find (rocks, holes etc.)

9: Walk the Plank

Jump off a 15'+ high platform into cold water

Key is not to debate or think about it too much at the top - or you'll probably get 'helped' over the edge by someone else and that's the last thing you want.

Make sure no-one is underneath when you jump - perhaps we should all lock hands and go on the count of 3 - to avoid any one of us being left behind Get the hell out of the drop zone once you surface

10: Logjammin'

Jump over & crawl under a bunch of logs for some set distance. May include sections of barbed wire strung between logs

Some events have this set in water so that you need to submerge to go under logs (they have wire on the top to prevent going over)

Take your time on this one - it's a stamina test. Avoid twisty ankles or knocking your head

11: King of the Mountain

Climb stack of hale bales

Pretty sure this is just the pyramid-stacked version of the Bale Bonds one - probably 4 or 5 bales high (so the top is actually probably a good distance off the ground)

Take your time, one level at a time and descend slowly, watching for people below. May need to help other Mudders (and be helped!) on this one

12: Electric Eel

Belly crawl in water/on ice to avoid electrified wires

Looks like a variant on the Kiss of Mud - just instead of getting cut by wire, you get shocked! It may be wires strong across or (worse) dangly wires so that you'll probably not be able to avoid getting some shock. Most important thing is not to stand or sit up on reflex if/when you get shocked.. coz it'll just get you shocked more! Same tactics as Kiss of Mud

13: Underwater Tunnels

Bob underneath floating buoys in icy water

Due to the size of this obstacle, most likely this will just be water (not an ice bath) - at least in the pics I've seen. So it'll be cold, but probably not sub-zero. Difference is that we will get cold pretty quickly, and you don't want to hang about (trying to slug through) because it'll get harder the longer we're in. Best thing is to rush through and worry about warming up once you are out.

Same breathing pattern as the Enema: full deep breath, hold it (esp. when ducking under) - breath out and back in quickly. Keep together in case one of us needs a hand or some shouty moral support

14: Berlin Walls (#2)

Same as #1

Could be that one set is 10', the other is 12'… could be that one has footholds, the other doesn’t. Either way, should prep for 12' no footholds

This set will be WAY tougher because we'll be coming off the underwater tunnels, so likely to be sapped and sopping

Maybe take a few mins before attempting this one to dry out a bit & recover

15: Mud Mile

Traverse a mile of mud, and obstacles - may require getting neck-deep in mud

Stamina, stamina, stamina! Seen some venues have a long bowl-shaped area with water cannons to keep mud muddy.. may need to crawl up & down inclines

16: Boa Constrictor

Crawl through series of rigid pipes, likely in 2 or more sections, including incline and decline - with water/mud in the bottom

Main issue here will be claustrophobia and clearance for bigger dudes (AS). Same tactic - go in same tube, in same order as Trench Warfare, keep an eye on the shoes of Mudder ahead. Most venues have 2 sections of pipe (each about 50' long?) - one downhill into water/mud, one up hill. The last section of the former (and first section of the latter) will be the most challenging.

May have wire strung above to stop you standing up to take a break between the 2 pipe sections. Keep eyes peeled for shit like this - don’t want to get tangled up

17: Funky Monkey

Traverse a set of monkey bars on an incline, then a decline, across icy water (perhaps dyed neon!)

Everyone's fav! First of the "featured" obstacles, bound to be a crowd and photographers. May well be a line if Mudders are bunched up.

Make sure gloves are dry! This is all about grip. They say their butter/oil the bars, but hopefully the first few rounds of Mudders will clear that out.

Bars look to be nominal diameter (i.e. like a gym barbell, not fat grip) which is good. Bars are spaced 18" apart - we should assume there are 15 rungs up and 15 rungs down in the cage

Techniques differ - I would say either go flexed-arm (90deg) and try to muscle it out (swinging/bicycling legs for momentum) or try the straight arm "monkey" style where your swing carries you from rung to run.

I'd say it's important to try to do one rung per hand/swing (i.e. don’t use both hands for each rung) otherwise you'll take so long that grip fatigue will set in. Rhythm in key! Might be good to count the rungs out loud (or in your head) on the incline so you have a nice countdown to finish

We may want to do this all at the same time (rung sets next to each other) OR one at a time so we can call on encouragement. Discuss!

18: Twinkle Toes

Cross a balance beam over icy water

Most of the pics seem to show the beam as 2 boards wide (so about 3.5 - 4") - almost the width of a running shoe.

Another featured obstacle. Right after the monkey, this will be tough Length - hard to tell, but at least 20'. Boards come in max of 20' lengths, so anything

longer means there are joints, so the thing is likely to be wobbly as hell. Looks like there are no supports across the lake , so the middle section will be the worst/wobbliest

Ideally we would want to wait for Mudder in front to get a good ways ahead (so their wobbling doesn't pull us in) - however, reality is that we'll probably get pushed into the line and have to just deal!

Some pics have (what looks like) pine tar on the board to make it grippier.. some don't. Knees slightly bent, keep moving forward but don't run - keep feet about 30deg to plank Breathe! I noticed on my thin beam that if I held my breath I fell off way more often.

19: Everest

Climb a quarter-pipe!

Most famous featured obstacle - most likely will be a queue Gonna suck at the end when legs are shot. Try to knock as much shit off the shoes as

possible to get traction on the short bit of wood after the mud pit! Take a breather to get some juice back into the legs - will all depend how much

explosive power we have left. Run at the slope (keeping head down like a hill sprint) - at the top of the run jump in & up towards the rim (not "up and out")

Maybe have either J or A go first, then we can sandwich V by either pushing/pulling? Will probably need to target a Mudder at the top and get assistance -ramp will be muddy as hell. Equally we should stay at the top to help a couple of Mudders after us

20: Electroshock Therapy

Sprint through a field of live wires carrying electric current (up to 10,000V)

The last obstacle - generally right before the FINISH line and the (one) free beer! Sometimes just a dash, sometimes has obstacles like hay bales and logs. Not sure if all wires are

live, but there are so many that probably not worth even trying to avoid them. 10,000v sounds scary but the current must be low enough it doesn't kill ya.. but I did watch some youtube vids (probably a bad idea). Looks like if you get stung, you go down (probably causes involuntary muscle spasm)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bFhm3GwVJ0 Seems that general thought it to shout and charge through as quickly as possible - maybe

slipstream someone in front? Likely to get shocked. Keep gloves (and elbow sleeves!) up to protect head, and just get it done.

KEEP TOGETHER! After watching the vids, it would suck if one of us was left behind getting stung to death. Then we can enjoy that sweet moment of victory!