Traditionally the first race of the UK Tough Mudder season, Tough Mudder London West (Based near Henley on Thames) is moved to second on the calendar. “Hilly Henley” has one of the highest elevation gains (over 450m on the 15km course) and boy, don’t you just know it! Bit long too – 15k was 17, 10k was 12k and 5k course was 6k.
It was an awesome weekend with great weather. Filming the video (see below) was over 15km Saturday and 10k Sunday due to my battery running out. Quite clear due to difference in weather and change of clothes 😂. I have kept the 15km order for the video though.
Awesome vibe on course (I was informed over 11,000 participants over the weekend) Whilst a new DJ set up was added to the event village, pumping out some great tunes.
Obstacle List
- 1 – Hero Walls
- 2 – Kiss of Mud
- 3 – Skidmarked
- 4 – Well Swung
- 5 – Ladder to hell
- 6 – Tipping point
- 7 – Cage Crawl
- 8 – Reach Around
- 9 – Birth Canal
- 10 – Funky Monkey
- 11 – Texas Hold em
- 12 – Cry Baby
- 13 – Hold your Wood
- 14 – Walk this Way
- 15 – The Gauntlet
- 16 – Spread Eagle
- 17 – Devils Beard
- 18 – Blockness
- 19 – Quagmire
- 20 – Hydrophobia
- 21 – Augustus Gloop
- 22 – Killa Gorilla
- 23 – Everest
- 24 – Arctic Enema
- 25 – Pyramid Scheme
- 26 – Mudder Horn
- 27 – Electro Shock Therapy
Final Thoughts
Very much “the same but different”. This is meant as a compliment. There is only so much you can do within a country estate, but with the route changes to 15km, 10km and 5km there was some logistic considerations which have changed the usual routes.
And how the hell did they manage to find more elevation??! Compared to last year’s Tough Mudder London West, I am pretty sure there are a few more hills, and most cruelly, one of the best downhills became one of the worst uphills!
Finally, there seems to be a small change in the philosophy of obstacle lay out – a small clue at Midlands, but London West bore this out a little more – Running, bunch of obstacles, more running – rather than running – obstacle – running all at equal distances. Personally, not sure if I like this or not. But its good to for the course designers to mix it up!
Tough Mudder London West is not my favourite (London South) or the worst (South West) but what I do like about Tough Mudder London West is the lack of mud (even Mud Mile is miniturised to “quagmire”) and instead relies more on trails and hills which gives it, its own personality.
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