World’s Toughest Mudder: A First Timer’s Experience

Eric Acuña

10 years ago

I was fairly excited that WTM was being held in Las Vegas.

Reason # 1 because it was only a 6 hour drive from Arizona.

Reason # 2 the weather was going to be much better than Jersey.

Why wouldn't I be doing World's Toughest Mudder? For me the location couldn’t be better, so I had to do it. I love doing OCR’s so much that I get bummed out during the off season, but running for 24 hrs?! Whoa, this was going to be a whole new adventure for me. I was super excited once it was official and I was going to the big show. As a first timer, I had to seek advice from previous mudders about what I needed. I was told bring plenty of comfort food and the right gear. Simple enough, so Amazon.com to the rescue and a last minute trip to Costco.

As race day came, I was really anxious and ready to see how 24 hrs of doing WTM would be on my body. I felt physically prepared due to training like crazy for the OCR World Championships which was 3 weeks prior to WTM.

The start of the race was a beautiful 70 degrees. The first lap did not include any obstacles and was just a way to break away from other racers. I heated up quickly on my first lap, so I could not wait to be in the water obstacles. Once wet I felt really good. The next couple of laps I felt great, only making a quick pit stop to get a bit of food & nutrition. I noticed while racing that I was pacing with another racer most of the time. He would be ahead me and then I of him, but we would always finish together. When finishing one of the laps I headed to go change. That’s when I realized he was my neighbor in the pit area. So we talked for a bit and it turned out we had the same goal miles in mind. We figured we would stick together and help each other out. At this point we just finished a marathon distance and we could feel the toll in our bodies. Might as well help each other out right?

I am not the kind of racer that slows down and runs with a group. I typically like to run fast and give it 100% on the course. Doing that for 24hrs was not going to happen, I realized this race was all about getting the most miles in at a good steady pace and comradery. Regardless of how much better you can do than others or not, it felt right to help a fellow racer or two. You never know when you will need a helping hand, I sure did! There was an obstacle where you swim for a few minutes & then jump up a slanted wall. Without any help it would be very hard to do. I had help from various mudders throughout the 24hrs and I did my best to help others as well.

Worlds Toughest Mudder has some of the best obstacles I have seen. There are too many to name them all, but they are definitely creative and original. I had a blast doing all the obstacles, but I am really glad I was able to work with others on continuing moving forward. Being new to WTM, my goal was to get 50+ miles in, but unfortunately only finished with 40. In reality I got much more than what I expected, I made great friends along the course and experienced one of the toughest OCR events!

People comment on how expensive this event is to do, but if you are paying $60-$100 per OCR event for 1-3 hrs of your time, then WTM is definitely worth the money. In my opinion, worth every penny! Can’t wait for WTM in 2015!

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