Tough Bloke Challenge – Melbourne 2010
Tom and I participated in the Melbourne chapter of Tough Bloke Challenge just last month in mid April. Tough Bloke Challenge is a off road running event organised by Max Adventure - the Melbourne race involves 6km of hard cross country running combined with a bunch of military obstacles in between to challenge you physically and mentally. I have to check my sources on this one, but Tough Bloke Challenge is a spin off from the infamous Tough Guy challenge in the UK. Despite the event being called 'Tough Bloke', 42% of the battle hardened athletes that participated were female. So girls, get your gear on because if a weak kid like me can do it, so can you!
The Military Obstacles
Don't be fooled by the military obstacles - they are easier than you think. More importantly, the obstacles make a boring run interesting! The highlight of Tough Bloke would have to be the mud pit, which was the first challenge in the race. Warriors have to crawl their way through a pit of 'A' grade mud (which is totally clean, even if it smells like $%!*) while trying not to get caught in the barbed wire just centimetres above the mud itself. As you exit from the other end, you soon realise the slimy earth stuck all over your body is actually quite heavy, and you begin to understand why every subsequent step feels like moving dead weight. If you like to show off your love handles, now's the perfect time to get rid of the mud soaked top and display that 'tough' body of yours!
The 6km Sprint
While the race was only about 6km, it wasn't exactly a sprint. At least not for me. The hardest part about Tough Bloke Challenge would have to be the run itself. The terrain is rough, making it easy to roll an ankle or slip over loose rocks and twigs if you're not careful. Plus the overall course involved a savage combination of steep uphill climbs which make even the toughest athletes like Tom admit to burning leg muscles.
If you want to get the best time, it helps if you focus on overtaking the person running in front of you. And if there's no one in front to compete against, start imagining someone behind you on the verge of always catching up. It occurred to me afterward that the challenge wasn't about the running, the obstacles, or the other participants. The challenge was yourself. It was about how far you could push your body by sheer determination. It was a hard physical workout, but the real challenge was in your mental capacity to swallow the pain and keep moving forward, one step at a time.
The Results
Tom, being a former Olympian in freestyle wrestling, came 8th overall out of about 370 people. Well done Tom!
I came 71st overall.. But top 10 in the Male 20-29 age group! Think I'll stick with the latter result. 
For those of you that are interested, the Sydney challenge is around the corner in July 3. Check out Tough Bloke Challenge for more info!