#mudderintraining

It's official... I've lost my mind. Well, actually I think I lost it some time ago, but I'm just now realizing it. A few months ago I got the crazy notion to maybe accept the Tough Mudder Challenge. You might be asking, "What is a Tough Mudder?"

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Only 78% of entrants successfully complete each challenge.

This is not your garden variety mud run. This is the only race I know of where you must tackle 20 military style obstacles while going through mud, fire, ice-water, and 10,000 volts of electricity.

About a year ago, Warren and Dan decided it would be a ‘great idea’ to sign up to an event billed as ‘Probably the toughest event on the planet’! It's called Tough Mudder A 12 mile cross country run, interspersed with obstacles that include the aptly named, kiss of mud, artic enema, underwater tunnels, walk the plank, fire walker and electroshock therapy, where contestants ‘Sprint through a field of live wires – some carrying as much as 10,000 volts of electric shock!’ Have a watch of the video on their home page… www.toughmudder.com Now, alongside a team of 7 other fellow ‘mudders’, the time has come to enter the final stages of their preparation. As on the 4th of May, in Kettering Northampton this team of brave/stupid Channel Islanders will be battling through their first Tough Mudder. This event is not just for people to pit their strength against the gruelling course but is also a fund raising event for the charity Help for Hero’s, a charity that is close to Warren after he met Afghanistan veteran Chris Kirk last year. ‘Last year we tried to make a program on Chris Kirk, a British soldier who had recently returned from Afghanistan. Just 19 years old, he lost his leg after stepping on a roadside IED whilst leading a patrol in Helmand province. 18 months later, and about to be discharged from the Army he was heading out to Kosovo to begin training for a new career, as a civilian bomb disposal expert. This courageous young man told me stories of his tour and how he had fought the Taliban, one time talking with a Taliban leader who minutes later shot at him with a rocket propelled grenade, just missing him! His story was inspirational, and despite losing his leg, he still wanted to re-train and go back into service in some of the most hostile places on earth. We hear the stories every day on the news, but when I sat down and heard first-hand what these guys do day in day out and the risks they take you can't help but be in awe of them, I know I couldn't do what they do.‘ If you feel inclined it would be great to make a small donation, which will help people like Chris when they are re-building their lives.

https://www.justgiving.com/teams/CIMudders

P.S Wish us luck, and May the 4th be with us!