It's regarded by many as the toughest event on the planet, but the Tough Mudder Adventure Challenge was not an insurmountable obstacle for nine South Cariboo residents at Whistler Olympic Village on June 23-24.
Kam Taylor, Margie Lobsiger, Dustin Price, Shelley Harden, Kathy Reid, Erin Duff, Shannon Sarver, Kayleigh Bullerwell and Tammy Stusrud were members of the local Focused Fitness team that completed the grueling 18-kilometre course along with about 15,000 other people.
The team members range in age from 22 to 47 years, with different levels of fitness and they come from all walks of life, but they were one during the challenge.
Training for some of them began last October.
Taylor, who co-owns Focused Fitness with Price, led the group in regular boot-camp sessions during which they worked on running and cardio, and on Saturdays, there was Mudder training where they ran through mud and through Bridge Creek where they would plunge their heads into the cold water to get used to the shock.
"We didn't truly know what to expect, but we knew it was going to be tougher. We trained hard enough that we could get through it," says Taylor.
Getting through the 22 Mudder obstacles with names like Trench Warfare, Death March, Arctic Enema and Electroshock Therapy took everything they had, says Lobsiger.
Participants had to swim through ice water, crawl under barbed wire, wade through electrified wires and belly-crawl through culverts half filled with mud among other equally challenging things, she adds.
"It was mentally hard, more than anything. When you're looking at these electric wires dangling down, you have to allow your mind to let you go through it. You hear people screaming ahead and wonder what they're doing."
Lobsiger adds she felt the ice-filled water obstacle was the worst.
"It kind of took your breath away. You slide down this snow hill into a slushy part of a lake and then climb a rope ladder to get out. I couldn't breath and I wanted to say, 'help' but it wouldn't come out."
It took teamwork to get through the obstacles and there were many times when the team members finished one, then stayed to help strangers through, she explains.
"It was one of the most positive events that I've been to. All 15,000 of us were a team."
At the end, they were mud-caked, bruised, wet, frozen and mentally confused, but there were also tears of accomplishment mixed with pride. Lobsiger says the teammates say they're game to do it all over again next year.
Tough Mudder obstacles courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all-around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. The event raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides services and programs to severely injured service members.