The day started off at 9 am, where Team SG met in a particularly wet field on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Given the downpour of rain overnight and the forecast for more to come, the chances of the team getting off lightly with the amounts of mud was not looking too promising. Still, with a rocket fuel breakfast of Soreen and copious amounts of coffee the brave Saville members went in with the light-hearted confidence of team spirit you need before taking on a course as great as the one ahead of them. Within the first 30 minutes, it was clear to see that they call it ‘Tough Mudder’ for a reason.
After a slightly awkward warm-up lead by the Tough Mudders answer to Mr Motivator, it was time to delve into the first obstacle: Hero Walls. This involved three walls increasing in height, a task impossible to complete with an immense amount of teamwork. The only way up is to lift your team mates from the bottom before pulling them from the top – certainly not as easy it may sound!
Next up was the kiss of mud – where Mudder really met the Tough. A low crawl under barbed wire over straw bales and through mud drenched ditches. Some of the tactics involved rolling under each wire to make it through with ease, whilst others opted for a tactical tight crawl to ensure their heads didn’t get caught in the barbed wire.
What might surprise you if you haven’t done Tough Mudder is that you can actually shower between each course to clean up. But let’s make it clear: This does not involve a nice hot shower to revive you for the rest of the obstacles. Oh no. Introducing the ‘Block Ness Monster’, where you slip into the ice-cold water, then work with other Mudders to turn the 60’’ wide rotating blocks whilst you slide over the back of the beast. Gruelling.
Sure enough, the weather took a quick turn and a downpour came down. The cold set in. However, this didn’t stop Team SG from taking on the formidable Augustus Gloop: A dark, claustrophobic vertical climb up a plastic tube whilst being hosed down by freezing cold water. And it doesn’t stop there. The Mudders may have been beaten by the Gauntlet, but they regrouped to scale the Everest vertical wall and the tallest, most vertigo-inducing and last obstacle, the mighty Mudderhorn.
All fourteen members of Team SG crossed the finish line together, freezing and completely battered – but triumphant! After conquering 14 brutal obstacles, it’s safe to say they were ready for a hot power shower (or two) and a well-deserved feast to refuel. We are all immensely proud of our team and what they achieved in raising money for Hearing Dogs.
Fraser Rutherford said, ‘It was all about the teamwork. Lifting from the bottom and pulling from the top as we dragged each other over each and every obstacle. And with the Yorkshire weather not being on our side, it was our team spirit of ONE team which pulled all fourteen of us through from start to finish. I’ve never had so much fun!’’
