Werner Doug - Mud, guts & glory: tips & training for extreme obstacle racing

Phyllis Carter

Kylie Hatmaker

Mitch Thomas

Shane Tucker

In recent years obstacle course racing has taken the world in its big muddy arms and shown us that middle way where we can test not only our endurance and not only our strength, but dozens of other attributes you didnt even know you wanted to flex.

So youve had that gym membership for a while, youre fit, feeling pretty good about yourself and youd like to take this brand-new body out for a test drive and see what shell do. Maybe at first you sign up for one of the myriad local 5Ks, but after reaping more than a few participant T-shirts, you begin finding the 3.2 miles on man-made roads a bit less than compelling or challenging.

Where do you go next to get that little jolt of challenge juice that you felt in your first race? Do you decide to up the distance sign up for a 10K or a marathon? Do we go all mondo-serious, shave our body hair and see what this Ironman thing is all about?

These are all good options, but we gotta admit, they are a bit one-sided.They are all endurance oriented events that tend to skew toward whippet lean folks in the upper ranks. Maybe you start to recognize that your gym has these things called free weights and pull-up bars and kettlebells and other such toys that are singing their siren song and causing you to lose attention in the repetitiveness of the laps on the track or the pretend miles in spin class.What are these strength building toys all about?

Youve built a body that is looking respectably beach-ready with a bit of buff tone here and there.Youve found out that if you turn just right in the mirror you can find that muscle in your back just like Hugh Jackman has in that Wolverine movie. Now that youve got this brand-new bikini/board shorts sporting body, what do you do with it beyond walk it proud at the local beach or pool (and hit the odd flex or two every time you pass a reflective surface)?

Sure, youve gotten stronger, but maybe not strong in the same class as your local power lifting club, so competing here is not necessarily an option.Youve gotten more toned, but lets face it, youre no match for the pharmaceutical perfection of your local body building contestants. I mean, come on, some of these power lifters and body builders are huge hunks of human beings.

Conundrum, huh? Weve got rail thin greyhounds in one area of competitive fun and big Brahma bulls in the other. Whats the respectably fit human being who has taken the time not to specialize, but to be prepared for a variety of physical challenges to do? Methinks that unless youve blindly picked up this book and paid zero attention to the cover or title you already know the answer to that one.

In recent years obstacle course racing has taken the world in its big muddy arms and shown us that middle way where we can test not only our endurance and not only our strength, but dozens of other attributes you didnt even know you wanted to flex.You get to test your agility, your stamina, your flexibility (both physical and mental), your determination, your teamwork, your problem solving skills, and at the end of the race, your laundry prowess.

This book is meant to be your go-to manual for how to get the most out of this muddy middle way. Well be talking race tips, obstacle tactics, race specific conditioning and pre- and post-race logistics to streamline your experience. In short, this manual is meant to be your how-to-get-started if youve never run one and your how-to-do-it-better if youve run a dozen.

If youve been paying a bit of attention to the obstacle course racing phenomenon over the past couple of years, you may be privy to the behind-the-scenes machinations engaged in by some of the event promoters.Theres a whole lot of He said this and I was first and They stole this and Oh, yeah, well they stole that yakkity-yak going on.To be frank, theres been a fair amount of Machiavellian legal wrangling and some suspect business ethics engaged in by a few.