One of the things that I am most frequently asked is “What kit should I use or take with me to a mud and obstacle run?”. It’s a bit of a tough one to answer, as every promoter has different rules and regulations.
The below list is based on my experience so far and that alone. It’s therefore highly biased, but that’s one of the best things about writing a personal blog- I can be as biased as I want to be :-) Before I get to the list, a few things to consider:
For me, good footwear is key. Many blogs and forums will have people that tell you “What’s the point in using purpose-built shoes, they’re just going to get ruined” or “There’s no real advantage when mud gets thick”. IMO, this is utter balls! The amount of times that people have face planted in front of me, often with very painful consequences due to no grip from their road running shoes is unreal. I personally can’t afford to break my ankle/leg/hip/ribs falling over onto a tree stump, and therefore will do everything I can to avoid it! Road running shoes, whilst giving a lot of underfoot protection are dangerously slippy and soak water up like a sponge due to the amount of padding and cushioning in them.
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It suddenly dawned on me this evening that I hadn't actually signed up for Tough Guy yet! Bugger!
I've been looking forward to this run as one of "The big 3"- I've done Tough Mudder and the Spartan Beast, but like most Tough Guy is the original test. I would be absolutely gutted if I couldn't make it! Luckily, registration is still open. Only just, but still open. Expensive at £85, but that's my own fault and if it's as good as the 10km Tough Guy was that we did as part of the Tough-Guy-Tri event, I know it'll be worth it. As far as training goes, it's only 15km so I don't think distance will be a problem. The only issue is that I have been bulking since Boxing Day. I'm coming on 8kg up in weight and have only been doing a very little running, 8Km at most recently. As I've been bulking, all training has been "Low and slow". I've got 2 weeks to get back in to shape- Plenty of cardio and circuits should help quite a lot, but it's going to be a squeeze! I want to look forward to enjoying this one and not be competitive. Not sure that'll happen on the day :-) |