A Life Lesson From My Experience at Tough Mudder Race

I recall a life experience that I partook 2 years ago. The Tough Mudder race!

Being spontaneous and in the mood for something crazy, I signed up with my colleagues from my internship company for this ten‐mile obstacle course. I swear I am the rare few Asians that I saw in the race.

The obstacles were manageable at the start, climbing walls, crawling through narrow tubes paved with sharp gravel, etc. I was confident until a particular obstacle in which we had to jump into an icy cold pond from an elevated platform. This was especially challenging for me as being the shorts-and-sandals boy from sunny-island Singapore, I hated the cold. Jumping into a near-zero pond is something I would never have imagined. When I jumped into the icy cold water, I could feel the blood gushing to my organs as I forgot all my swimming strokes and my instincts managed a dog‐paddle which was good enough to bring me to the shore.

I managed to go on for 5 more miles until my muscles cramped up and I was pulled aside into the medical tent for hypothermia. However, after resting I kept going, determined to at least finish the race. I’m glad I did, as I wore with pride the tough mudder headband, this race made me mentally stronger than yesterday. One of my most feared obstacles was the “electroshock therapy” in which the participant has to run through high voltage wires. I hesitated for 5 minutes, there was an option of skipping the obstacle, but I finally mustered the courage to charge through it.

The feeling of overcoming your own fear is sweet and I can feel myself emerging out of the race as a person who is less bogged by fear, more daring to try.

Attempt the unimaginable.

EUFASS