J.R. Schultz after finishing the Tough Mudder (Photo courtesy of Teresa Schultz)
The Tough Mudder
A 10-12 run is a challenging distance to run by itself. Now imagine running 10-12 miles through mud, fire, and tasers, yes, tasers. The Tough Mudder is the self proclaimed Toughest Event On The Planet, an event that tests people not only on endurance but physical and mental strength.
You might be asking yourself who in their right mind would volunteer to have someone taser them as they cross the finish line? And how does one begin to train for this event? Well one Iowa City native took up the the challenge, and finished.
The Runner
J.R. Schultz, 20, signed up with 25 others and went to Cascade, Wisconsin to try to complete this daunting challenge. Some might be wondering how it went or how well they did, but this blogger is more interested in how he trained for such an event.
I was able to catch up the Kirkwood Community College sophomore before the event to see how he was preparing only a few days before the race. At this point he was on the backside of his training as to not burn himself out before the race, but what he was able to do is give me some advice for this kind of training.
J.R. Schultz performing calisthenics to warm up before training.
Training
“Running and muscle training is the best,” said Schultz, “But it was the different ways of running that made the difference.”
By “different running” he means the kinds of run training that someone can do. The different kinds include simple jogging, interval running (alternation between light jog and sprinting,) hill running, and high intensity training.
Also the amount of time that Schultz has been training has helped more the just his physicality.
“Started training as soon as I signed up, which was back in April. Not only has the time I have given myself helped my condition and muscle preparedness but also my confidence. With every mile I increased, my fear and nervousness for the event seemed to shrink. I can’t speak to if I will actually be fully ready for what is about to happen but i certainly feel ready.”
His roommate Tyler Moerch also saw a difference in J.R. after a few weeks of training.
“He was gone longer,” Moerch said while glancing quickly at J.R., “when he started he was always complaining about having to go out and run. But after a month of work we couldn’t get him to shut up and stop bragging about his running.”
Team Work
It would be important to be confident especially if you don’t know how ready your teammates will be. According to the Tough Mudder website you must run in a team. This is because it is impossible to complete some of the obstacles by yourself. This made training a bit more challenging for J.R..
“I didn’t know if I was ahead or behind everyone else. I could show up to the event and be leaving my team in the dust or I could be the one left behind.”
When I talked to his mother, Teresa Schultz, she thought it was funny that J.R. was concerned about his progress compared to his teammates.
“He’s the youngest one, by a long shot.” Teresa smiled, “He running with men three times his age. While he is worried about what shape he is in they will be worried if their hips stay connected.
J.R. Schultz before the Tough Mudder event. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Schultz)
J.R. signed up with 25 other guys, most of which were friends with his father. Because of their work schedules J.R. never found time to train with anyone.
If you think this might interest you, but aren’t quite convinced Schultz says if he can do it anyone can.
“I work and go to school but I still found time to train. My training didn’t take much time, just some creativity. If you have one hour after work or school that is more then enough time to run a few miles and do a few push ups and pull ups.”
319 Running 