As Obstacle #15: The Funky Monkey came into sight, we saw two more familiar faces. Erin and Jerry waved from the starting side of the meanest set of monkey bars you've ever seen. We posed for team pictures and took a breather before attacking the obstacle.
The Atwell Arsenal had varying degrees of poor performance, falling into the water underneath the Funky Monkey bars anywhere from halfway across to 2 rungs in. Other than Steve Conway that is. It was on Funky Monkey that Conway began to put some distance on his teammates for the Atwell Arsenal MVP race. Steve “Grand Back” Conway made it all the way to the second-to-last rung... before falling and clotheslining himself against the wooden finishing platform. How he didn't break a rib I'll never know, but Steve popped out of the water looking unfazed. He flashed his cock-eyed, cowboy smirk and we pressed on.
More woods, more muddy trails. We hoofed it over a set of moguls that led to two big dirt piles, Obstacle #16: Cliffhanger. Like Killa Gorilla, but smaller, shorter, and lamer. From the top of Cliffhanger, we saw another of the fabled obstacles just ahead, and a huge line to go with it.
Obstacle #17: Electric Eel. More army crawling through the mud, but this time instead of barbed wire overhead, it was dangling yellow wires, some charged with the voltage of a Taser. The rain and overcast skies were combining to make me quite cold, and I couldn't feel any electric shocks over the jolt of being submerged in water again.
(The Team Attacks Electric Eel)
Another half mile or so and we came to Obstacle #18: Twinkle Toes. Five balance beams over a pool of water. Fall in, get wet. Pretty simple. But Big Mudder added another twist... in past events people must have been scooting on their butts across the obstacle, because just below the walking surface the course designers ran those familiar yellow wires, ready to shock any dangling legs. Dan Jicha nearly made it across, but when his hand drifted down to catch himself the zap made his legs even wobblier, and into the drink he went.
(Twinkle Toes, pic from Tough Mudder. This was from Sunday’s running)
Obstacle 19: Hangin Tough was a few hundred feet away. About 10 rings dangling over water, same idea as Funky Monkey and Twinkle Toes; fail the obstacle and get wet. One after another the Atwell Arsenal splashed into the water. All save once. Putting a stamp on his team MVP award Steve Conway powered across, and this time did not miss the platform.
(Hanging Tough, from Tough Mudder’s pics)
The path disappeared into a winding wetland, complete with tall grass and cat tails and ankle deep water. When we found dry ground, we came across Obstacle #20: Berlin Walls #2. Between the fatigue of 9+ miles on our feet, conquering obstacles along the way, and the walls being 12' high instead of the first iteration's 9', the walls were humbling. We took turns helping each other and our fellow racers over the wall. With his low center of gravity and hands strengthened by years of intense CAD use, Erick proved to be a valuable asset in helping people over the wall. He'd clasp his hands into a step and on the count of three gave boosts to just about everyone in eye shot.
The Atwell Arsenal had varying degrees of poor performance, falling into the water underneath the Funky Monkey bars anywhere from halfway across to 2 rungs in. Other than Steve Conway that is. It was on Funky Monkey that Conway began to put some distance on his teammates for the Atwell Arsenal MVP race. Steve “Grand Back” Conway made it all the way to the second-to-last rung... before falling and clotheslining himself against the wooden finishing platform. How he didn't break a rib I'll never know, but Steve popped out of the water looking unfazed. He flashed his cock-eyed, cowboy smirk and we pressed on.More woods, more muddy trails. We hoofed it over a set of moguls that led to two big dirt piles, Obstacle #16: Cliffhanger. Like Killa Gorilla, but smaller, shorter, and lamer. From the top of Cliffhanger, we saw another of the fabled obstacles just ahead, and a huge line to go with it.
Obstacle #17: Electric Eel. More army crawling through the mud, but this time instead of barbed wire overhead, it was dangling yellow wires, some charged with the voltage of a Taser. The rain and overcast skies were combining to make me quite cold, and I couldn't feel any electric shocks over the jolt of being submerged in water again.
(The Team Attacks Electric Eel)Another half mile or so and we came to Obstacle #18: Twinkle Toes. Five balance beams over a pool of water. Fall in, get wet. Pretty simple. But Big Mudder added another twist... in past events people must have been scooting on their butts across the obstacle, because just below the walking surface the course designers ran those familiar yellow wires, ready to shock any dangling legs. Dan Jicha nearly made it across, but when his hand drifted down to catch himself the zap made his legs even wobblier, and into the drink he went.
(Twinkle Toes, pic from Tough Mudder. This was from Sunday’s running)Obstacle 19: Hangin Tough was a few hundred feet away. About 10 rings dangling over water, same idea as Funky Monkey and Twinkle Toes; fail the obstacle and get wet. One after another the Atwell Arsenal splashed into the water. All save once. Putting a stamp on his team MVP award Steve Conway powered across, and this time did not miss the platform.
(Hanging Tough, from Tough Mudder’s pics)The path disappeared into a winding wetland, complete with tall grass and cat tails and ankle deep water. When we found dry ground, we came across Obstacle #20: Berlin Walls #2. Between the fatigue of 9+ miles on our feet, conquering obstacles along the way, and the walls being 12' high instead of the first iteration's 9', the walls were humbling. We took turns helping each other and our fellow racers over the wall. With his low center of gravity and hands strengthened by years of intense CAD use, Erick proved to be a valuable asset in helping people over the wall. He'd clasp his hands into a step and on the count of three gave boosts to just about everyone in eye shot.
The quest continues:
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