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Does getting together with a horde of zealous “mudders” to complete a daunting series of creatively challenging obstacles, while getting thoroughly soaked, shocked and covered in mud sound like your idea of an ideal weekend in Tahoe? If so, the upcoming Tough Mudder events at Northstar California may be right up your alley.
Conceived in 2010 by British citizens Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, Tough Mudder are endurance events pitting entrants against a 10-12 mile obstacle course similar to those used in training by British Special Forces. To date, more than 1 million people have competed in Tough Mudder events around the world, with 53 events scheduled in 2013.
While details of the course are kept secret until two weeks before the competition, Tough Mudder’s website recommends to “expect a hefty dose of mud, ice, fire (depending on burn restrictions) and electric shocks to test whether or not you’re tough enough to earn the coveted orange headband and an ice cold Dos Equis at the finish line.”
Typical Tough Mudder obstacles include the “Arctic Enema,” where competitors submerge in a dumpster full of ice and water and cross under a wooden partition. “Fire Walker” is a running course through and over a series of blazing fire pits. “Electroshock Therapy,” usually the final obstacle of each course, requires participants to negotiate a field of dangling live electrical wires carrying up to 10,000 volts and avoid pits of electrified mud and hay bales along the way.
While Northstar held a Tough Mudder event last fall, this is the resort’s first summer competition.
“We’re really excited about it,” Northstar spokeswoman Brook Rose said. “I think that it’s a great marriage between the two events. I think the average person doing Tough Mudder gets a chance to tour Northstar and tour all of our facilities. It helps spread the word about what we offer during the summertime, because we are a year-round resort.”
Northstar’s Tough Mudder events, titled Tahoe Summer and Tahoe Fall, are scheduled for the weekends of July 13-14 and Sept. 28-29. Participants can register at www.toughmudder.com. Spectator tickets are on sale in advance and will be available on event days.
In the U.S., Tough Mudder partners with Wounded Warriors Project, a nonprofit organization assisting and advocating on behalf of injured service members. Tough Mudder has raised over $5 million for the project.