For Mudders, only failure is not trying
WORTH TWP — Before starting the Tough Mudder obstacle course this weekend, an announcer reminded the participants: “This is not a race. This is a challenge.”
That was the overwhelming atmosphere at the Tough Mudder, held for the second time at Cooper's Lake Campground: teamwork, not competition.
This year's Tough Mudder was the fourth time it has been held in the Pittsburgh region, according to Jen Mizono, operations manager of the Tough Mudder.
Mizono said that a combined 7,000 participants ran the 10.5-mile course, either on Saturday or Sunday.
The course includes 23 obstacles, many of which require teamwork to overcome, such as the new “Pyramid Scheme” obstacle. Runners have to make their way up a slanted wall that has a water pit at the bottom, essentially requiring a human pyramid to climb over, according to Mizono.
The “not a race” mantra was repeated by Mizono, saying teamwork is basically a must to get through the course.
“The biggest thing that sets us apart is that we are not a race,” she said. “It's not timed. It's about finishing the course with your teammates.”
R.J. Saul, 36, of Cranberry, said he loves that the Tough Mudder encourages a cooperative environment.
“It's a great team environment,” he said. “Everybody stops and helps people to get through.”
Saul was part of a five-member team, but often, the race leads to runners helping strangers on the course as well, he said.
As a teacher at Riverside High School in Beaver County, Saul even had some of his students, who were serving as volunteers, yelling him encouragement on the course, he said.
This was Saul's second time running the course, and he plans to continue for years to come.
“We're going to keep doing it until one of us gets hurt because we're old,” Saul joked.
Although he called himself and his teammates “old,” a 60-year-old man from Sharon is one of the oldest competitors, having finished his fourth run this weekend.Gus Kostas started doing the Tough Mudder when he was 56 years old, he said. And this year, he encouraged Mark Reimold, 47, of Slippery Rock, to run the course with him.Kostas and Reimold train together at a gym in Greenville, but they had expected more of their gym friends to run with them.“We had a bunch of people who committed, but they bailed out (last minute),” Kostas said on Saturday.But that's not stopping him: He'll be running his fifth course Oct. 29 in Las Vegas, he said.Kostas, who wants to remain in good physical shape in his 60s, said his goal is to win 10 headbands. Each participant receives a headband as a souvenir when they finish a Tough Mudder course.“It's the satisfaction and the pride you get when you complete (the course),” Kostas said. The finish line was his favorite part of the race, he said.“It's great camaraderie,” Kostas said. “It's everybody (on the course) as a team ... you can't get through this without other people.”Reimold said he was surprised how much fun he had, saying he expected worse from a course that includes an obstacle called the “Arctic Enema.”“It was easier than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “I'm almost tempted to run it again.”In some ways, the “Arctic Enema” was Reimold's favorite part, knowing that he got through it. That obstacle includes an ice bath with 10 tons of ice, which Reimold was dreading the most of any obstacle.“You can't breathe when you get in it,” he said. “That's the best part because I got through it.”Just like Reimold, Holly Novacek, 24, of Harmony, loved knowing that the Tough Mudder was something she could get through.This year was Novacek's second year running the course, but that didn't change how proud she was afterward.“My favorite part was finding out what I was made of,” she said. “The only failure here is not trying.”Novacek, who started running regularly in September 2015, has made this her year of the race: She has finished nine marathons or half-marathons in the nine months of 2016, she said.But one thing that sets the Tough Mudder apart from the average run is that it levels the playing field — from bulky, grown men to smaller women with less strength-training under their belt, there is an obstacle that will truly challenge everyone, she said.“There's some (obstacle) that's going to spike some primal fear in everyone,” she said, pointing out any of those involving height.On those, Novacek said she managed her fear and stayed calm.Novacek started the race because of “peer pressure,” from Jesse Telesz, 35, of Harmony, and Zach Perpetua, 25, of Portersville.The three ran on a team of six people, but out of all six, Perpetua won the award for persevering through the race, according to Telesz.Perpetua fell five times on the race, including once during a “Warrior Carry” event when he had Novacek on his back.“You just have to keep going. The biggest regret is not trying,” Perpetua said, adding that he would need some ice and elevation for his ankle after the event.
