These City Employees are Real 'Tough Mudders'

"Exuberating" and "absurdity."

Those are the two words Karen Howse and Shelley Hudak used to describe their experience in the Tough Mudder event over the weekend in South Amherst.

Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course that was developed by British Special Forces and has become a popular event around the United States, according to the company's website.

Using the word "tough" to describe this event is no understatement.

“I could barely walk the next day,” Hudak said. When she's not hiking extreme obstacle courses, Hudak serves as the building and planning coordinator in the city's building department.

Howse, who is the city's finance director, said Tuesday she definitely felt the after-effects of the course, even days later.

“You can’t go in there willy-nilly without some kind of exercise training," Howse said.

The pair and Hudak's husband battled the elements, including cold and rain. They trudged their way through endless mud, crawled under barbed wire, jumped over logs and climbed “miniature muddy mountains," giant piles of mud that they struggled to climb over.

“I hated them, I hated them, I hated them,” Howse said.

As if those challenges -- along with the miles of running -- weren't enough, the course ends with competitors running through electrical wires that give a slight jolt as people stumble through. And of course, there's the giant plank, forcing them to jump nearly 20 feet into a muddy, frigid pool.

“How they put all this together, I’ll never know," Hudak said.

What was Hudak's biggest challenge?

It was "Mt. Everest," a 16-foot pike almost like a skateboard ramp. Hudak said they had to figure out a way up, jumping and trusting someone they never saw before to grab them and help pull them in.

While she didn’t get over on the first try, she gave it all she had to go up, receiving the help of a man who she said she’ll never see again.

After four-and-a-half hours, the entire group was glad to be done.

“Thank God,” Howse said was her thought crossing the finish line. “We were just covered in mud. It was a task of will, endurance and mind over matter.”

“It was an overwhelming sensation of 'I can do anything,'” Hudak said.

Both women agreed that it was fun, however, nothing could have prepared them for this event with all the pain and mud.

“But, I’d do it again in a heartbeat," Hudak said.

Editor's Note: Both Howse and Hudak issued a challenge to Twinsburg Patch Editor Mitch Cooper to join their team and compete in next year's Tough Mudder event. To that he says: Challenge accepted.