There are Tough Mudder participants, and then there are Tough Mudder fanatics.
Ryan Hatch is a teacher at Drumheller Valley Seconadary School, a father, and loves to participate in Tough Mudder.
Hatch has run the Tough Mudder in Drumheller since the beginning in 2014. He is now set to run a third time with his group named ‘Do You Even Mud, Bro?’
“I am just excited to do it again. I have been doing lots of running and weight lifting to prepare. I am ready to get back out there.”
There isn’t much that Hatch doesn’t love about Tough Mudder.
“The gas chamber is neat because you are in a foggy area and climbing through mud. The first year, I enjoyed the warped wall you have to run up. I love jumping off the plank into the water. My least favourite is getting electrocuted. I mean, I don’t mind it because it is at the end and it isn’t that big of a deal. It was over quickly. It never really bothered me,” says Hatch.
This year, Hatch is leaving everything to chance. In previous years, he researched to see what the courses would look like.
“This year I am just going to run it and deal with whatever comes up.”
Hatch has run Tough Mudder every year with a group, and he recommends that it is better that way.
“That is a cool part of it too, you can’t do some of the obstacles on your own, so you need someone helping you out. Last year, there was one, we had to climb this mud hill, and it is made of bentonite so you are slipping all over the place, and people were creating human ladders to climb up to get over. It is really neat.”
Last year’s cold weather affected the atmosphere of Tough Mudder, but Hatch is hopeful that the date change of the event will bring sunshine.
“It should be nice and warm. Even if it’s raining and warm, it would be better than last year because it was so cold. It was one of the coldest days of the year, I think. I didn’t complain that much because I was having a blast. I have fun with anything I do. I am just excited to do it again,” says Hatch.
