An elated, and very sore, Monique Crossling (left), Katie Botha and Damien Crossling after completing the Tough Mudder event in Sydney.
No pain, no gain: Monique Crossling (left), Damien Crossling and Katie Botha.
TRUDGING through waist-high mud, crawling through 10,000 volts of electricity and climbing over 12 foot walls is not most people's idea of fun.
But for Naracoorte's Damien Crossling, wife Monique and friend Katie Botha the feeling of completing the Tough Mudder was worth every painful step.
Hailed "the toughest event on the planet", the 20km marathon-cum-obstacle course is not for the faint-hearted.
It is designed by British Special Forces and is a test of strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.
There are about 20 military style obstacles with cringe-worthy names such as the "fire walker" and the "cliffhanger".
The trio headed to Glenworth Valley, an hour out of Sydney, on September 22, to complete the course which took them about four hours.
Despite the high chance of injury, Damien said they had signed up for a bit of fun.
"There is a lot of running on steep terrain and the ambulances are kept busy but when you cross that finish line you feel like you're the toughest bloke in the world," he said.
The worst obstacle was probably the "electric eel".
"There were a heap of live wires only a foot off the ground and less than a foot apart from each other.
"You couldn't even crawl through it properly without getting shocked so you had to lie on your stomach and once you were in you couldn't back out.
"I got booted seven or eight or maybe nine times."
The "electro shock therapy" obstacle was another killer, Damien said.
With 10,000 volts of electricity running through a field of wires, getting zapped was a given.
"I was curled up in it and got about halfway through before I got my first hit," he said.
"I got knocked out for a few seconds."
Another moment Damien recalls all too well was going through the "arctic enema".
"It was a garbage tip full of ice and we had to swim through it and under a wooden plank."
"Once you put your head under your vision blurs out and your muscles contract before you have to pull yourself out on the other end."
The Tough Mudder might sound like a nightmare to most people, but for Damien, Monique and Katie it was worth the sore aftermath.
"When you receive one of the orange headbands given to all contestants who complete the course you feel on top of the world," Damien said.
"And to do it with friends was terrific."
Damien was an "unfit truck driver" before he set a goal to enter this year's event.
He started training by jumping on an old exercise bike a couple times a day and ditching the lunchtime pies for something healthier.
After losing a bit of weight he took up running and before he knew it a 20km run was easily achievable.
"It is pretty hard to train for the Tough Mudder because you use every body part but I felt like I had adequate preparation," he said.
"I think we could have even gone a bit harder, we paced ourselves pretty well."
Now that the bruises have begun to heal and the muscles have had time to rest, Damien is already planning to register for next year's event.
"It took a good two or three days to recover but I would definitely do it again.
"It is a daft thing to do and does not make any sense but was worth every minute of the last seven months preparation."
Tough Mudder events are held all over the world and require contestants to sign a waiver recognising the hazardous nature of the event before competing.
Money raised goes towards the charity, the Wounded Warrior Project.
