I’ve taken part in obstacle course races previously and always thought Tough Mudder was a “must do” as one of the biggest events. I had the opportunity to sign up as part of a team and did so back in October last year. 

Unfortunately even the registration wasn’t straight forward as apart from receiving an initial confirmation neither me or my teammates received a start time or any detail about the event leading up to the day. When we arrived on the day we were provided with a start time which had already passed (9:15 and it was 10am when we registered) but were told if we went to the information desk we could be placed in the 10:30 wave together. On getting to the information desk we were asked very rudely why we were late for our start time and that we couldn’t possibly start until midday, which would have meant another two hours of waiting. We explained no one had received start times only to be told this couldn’t possibly be the case and to report it to customer services. Thankfully we went into the standby area and were able to get into the 11am wave.

I was disappointed to have to pay £10 to park at the event (£20 for premium parking!) and the bag drop was £3 each. When you got to the bag drop it was your responsibility to place your bag and then locate it afterwards, I wouldn’t have minded if the money were going to charity but this just seemed like another way to make money out of the entrants. 

The instructions in the warm up pen were clear and the course was well signposted. Not all of the obstacles had marshals on, which was surprising as I assumed they would all be manned in case anyone hurt themselves. I suffer from claustrophobia and on one of the obstacles asked the marshal a question about needing to get out if needed to, I was laughed at for being “scared of being scared” which was rude. 

Considering the course was almost 11 miles, and we were out there for just over 4 hours (some are a lot longer) there were only 3 aid stations. At the first you could have water or lucozade, the second you could also have half a banana and the third a tiny bite of flapjack. As you couldn’t take your own fuel out on course (as it would get muddy and wet) you had little choice and we all felt very cold and a little unwell towards the end. 

According to the website you would receive a pint of cider at the end, as well as your technical T-shirt and headband. Instead of a pint each finisher received a small can of some kind of IPA instead, a little disappointing. 

The technical T-shirt was good quality and all finishers photos are free and good quality although food was expensive at the athletes village. £8 for a basic burger, again we just felt it was all very expensive. A good experience but unsure if I will take part again. 

I enjoyed the Tough Mudder, the course is roughly 10 miles long with lots of obstacles. It's a well run event but I do feel that the price is a bit on the expensive side for what it is. The early bird discount is only £10 cheaper than the normal entry price. Nice finishers t-shirt and headband but a medal would be nice. You do get a free pint at the end though! All in all a good experience but not in any hurry to do it again. You could definitely find the same sort of thing for a lot less expense