Chris Bartkowski | Northstar California ·
They are doing it again. Climbing, slopping, running, yelping and running in the fall Tough Mudder event at Northstar on Sept. 28 and 29. Tough Mudder is a 10-mile run with several dozen challenging obstacles that have to be overcome along the route. It involves jumping into pools of freezing cold water, getting yourself over 12-foot high walls, crawling through mud, and doing your best not to be shocked by 10,000-volt wires that are hanging down between you and where you need to be. It’s about being wet, cold, tired, muddy and, sometimes, a bit electrified. But, it’s really about being part of a team that together overcomes all those fears and challenges, and accomplishes more than they thought they were capable of.
Team Embrace the Suck, from left, back row, Ricky Herzog, Alison Herzog McEnany, Sue Ladich, Rich Ladich and Jerry Verkler; front row, Erik Shellman and Lisa Jurivich Trainor from the 2012 Tough Mudder.
For Kings Beach resident Jerry Verkler, Tough Mudder has been all about getting together with a bunch of old friends and supporting each other.
“Our team was all about teamwork. Everybody helped everybody, we even helped people on other teams. It’s not a race, it’s an event. When I did it last fall, it was tough. We have some strong folks on our team. I’m not one of those. I knew it was going to be grueling. I was very sore for a couple of weeks. This summer when I did it I felt so much better,” Verkler says.
He says that he felt like he was in better physical condition this year, but perhaps what really made him feel better is that he knew what to expect, and that no matter what happened, his team would get him to the end.
After last year’s Tough Mudder, Verkler’s group signed up for the next one. “I remembered thinking, why am I doing this again?” he says.
Which is understandable since he also says that the “electroshock therapy really gets your attention.” There are lots of dangling wires, and while only a few of them are live, the live ones pack quite a punch.
In fact, those little wires can be the great equalizer. All that extra body mass on the former football player might make him strong, but it also exposes his body to more wires. So, while he is brought to his knees with a nice zap, the 110-lb. woman might be able to sneak through unscathed.
Before participating in the event last year, Dayton Marchese from Berkeley thought the distance of the run “was going to be the worst part, but it was the freezing cold water, which was really intense. It almost made me turn around.”
But, the positive spirit of the event kept him going. “There were lots of people dressed up in cool costumes. One group carried this enormous blowup T Rex dinosaur through the entire event. People are there just to have fun,” Marchese says.
And, fun is contagious. Although when asked what was the coolest part about the event, Dayton did say, “Finishing. Finishing was cool.”
From left, Jackson Xiong, Dayton Marchese, Tou Xiong and Dave Burundi compete in the 2012 Tough Mudder | Photo by Rodney Burnes
Marchese’s friend Tou Xiong is a veteran of a number of Tough Mudders. He remembers the first time getting psyched up and really nervous before the event. It didn’t help that he was surrounded by all these people that looked really gung ho and were much bigger then he was. Tou said that he wondered whether he had gotten himself in over his head. Once he did the event, however, he realized the event is for everyone. (See the sentence about the 10,000-volt equalizer above). For Tou, and many others, it’s a reunion of friends. A chance to get together with a group of buddies, away from normally busy lives, with nothing to think about except getting through a tough challenge together.
Competing in the 2012 Tough Mudder are, from left, Scott Carter, Jay Mahlstedt, John Mahlstedt, Audrey Mahlstedt, Erin Mahlstedt, Emily Hosmah, Katie Mahlstedt, Steve Mahlstedt and Kira Baum.
Nineteen-year-old Katie Mahlstadt says that while she did get “zapped really bad last year” going through the Electric Eel, Tough Mudder is “super rewarding because you feel like you have accomplished something.”
But for Katie, her bonding is with her relatives instead of her friends. She got to play with her cousins in the mud, and when some of the walls were too high to get over, her Dad’s hand was there to help. Even though her Mom had no desire to do the event herself, she followed the rest of the family around the course taking pictures, providing encouragement and carrying water bottles.
Before the event, many Tough Mudder participants are focused on the challenging and scary obstacles that the course will throw at them. Once Tough Mudder is under way, the focus changes to working together as a team to accomplish a difficult goal. And, when the event is complete, the focus becomes how much fun it was going through it together.
Wounded Warrior, High Fives benefit
Tough Mudder is a major fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior project, which provides assistance and programs for recently injured veterans. But this year, the event also is being used as a fundraiser for the local High Fives Foundation. In a collaboration with Hula Networks, High Fives is holding the Hula Tribes 4 High Fives fundraiser. The Hula Tribe is a group of 40 energetic people who focus on helping important causes through outdoor activities. Joining the Tribe will be Adam Baillargeon and Roy Tuscany from the High Fives organization and two High Fives Foundation athletes – Jake Hickman and Grant Korgan.
The mission of the High Fives Foundation is to raise money and awareness for athletes who have suffered a life-altering injury while pursuing their dream in the winter sports community. Through the Winter Empowerment Fund and CR Johnson Healing Center, the Foundation helps disabled athletes recover and return to the sports they love, and with the BASICS (Being Aware Safe in Critical Situations), it promote safety and awareness among action sport athletes. The goal is to raise $60,000 at the event. Contributions to the success of High Fives programs may be made at hulatribe4highfives.com.
Spectator info
Spectators are welcome to the Tough Mudder event with the courses at Mid-Mountain. Spectators will need to take the Gondola to reach the course, so allow enough time for parking and riding the Gondola.
Spectators may register in advance for $20 per person, with children younger than 10 admitted for free. Advance registration closes at noon on Sept. 27 at toughmudder.com. On-site registration will be offered at the event for $40 cash only. Spectators may bring lawn chairs.
The first wave of competition starts on Saturday at 8 a.m. and on Sunday at 9 a.m. Waves go every 20 minutes, with the last wave on Saturday at 1:20 p.m. and the last wave on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Parking, shuttles
For Saturday’s event, on-site parking at Northstar is limited with premium spaces available at the resort for $20 in advance only. Parking will be available at Boreal Ski Area or Alpine Meadows Ski Area for $10 with a 45-minute shuttle ride with a drop off at the start at Mid-Mountain and advance reservations are recommended. A shuttle bus from Sacramento also will be available on Saturday only for $40.
Parking passes on Sunday will be available at Northstar for $10 with advance reservations recommended. Register for parking at toughmudder.com.
TART and Night Rider Service will run as normally scheduled to Northstar with details at tahoetruckeetransit.com. The Northstar Dial-A-Ride service will be available both days from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. by calling (530) 562-2257.
Tim Hauserman wrote the guidebook to the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Thumbnail intro photo: Dave Burundi makes his way through the Boa Constrictor | Photo by Rodney Burnes
