Steep, muddy hills. Thigh-deep water. Tunnels, monkey bars, walls, ladders - even electrified obstacles. Challenge events and Obstacle Course Races (OCR) such as Tough Mudder are a real test of physical fitness and mental determination. What role can fitness professionals play in helping people to prepare for them?
As well as the long and exhausting –and muddy – trail run, competitors need to hone their body and mind for the series of obstacles that race organisers develop.
As such, it would be a mistake, says Steve Butters, one of the directors of Pro-Fit Personal Training, to treat these races as the end goal, the be-all reason to train in the first place. Instead, he recommends thinking of them as targets to aim for along a longer health and fitness road.