Dresden’s Dave McCaughrin had participated in Tough Mudder events before, but this past weekend was his first crack at the 24-hour World’s Toughest Mudder competition.
Similar to what Wallaceburg’s Joe Perry said when he discussed the Las Vegas event with the Sydenham Current, McCaughrin said the “terrain was grueling.
“Very uneven ground with lots of rocks to trip over and covered with washouts from run off. We had to watch every step up and down the 800 feet of elevation change,” he said.
McCaughrin said the obstacles were more challenging than regular season events.
“Some had limitations for trying,” he said. “If we weren’t fast enough or didn’t complete for any reason, then we had to do a penalty of either running more distance and/or additional obstacles.”
He said the water obstacles were a tough addition to the course.
“I happen to enjoy water, contrary to some of the other Mudders so I found the water obstacles interesting,” he said. “However, that 35-foot cliff jump was far from enjoyable. I did it because we were supposed to, I did it because I had to prove that I could. If someone didn’t land properly, then they suffered pain and risked serious injury. I was actually looking forward to the penalty of the extra 1/4 mile run and a 200-yard swim.”
McCaughrin said when the sand storm hit during the night at the event, it made the conditions treacherous.
“When the wind and sand storm whipped up, I could hardly manage to walk uphill against it and that zapped the energy right out of me,” she said. “I ran for 12 hours before I felt I didn’t have any strength left for climbing and thought I should take a break before I hurt myself from a fall.”
McCaughrin placed in 794th place out of approximately 1,200 competitors, completing five laps and 25 miles during the 24-hour event.
