Next month Neil Flockhart will be tackling the World’s Toughest Mudder in New Jersey, USA. He qualified by co-winning Scotland’s toughest mudder with his friend and training partner John Soutar, in July 2012.
“World’s Toughest Mudder is the culminating event of the 2012 Tough Mudder Event calendar. It takes the concept of being a Tough Mudder to a whole new level. This extreme competition puts the world’s most hardcore Mudders through a grueling 24-hour challenge.”
According to Neil, “training is going well, I’m just sticking to my usual routine and building on it every week. I think there’s only so much training you can do for a 24hr event. After a certain point it’s going to come down to mental strength to keep us going!”
The primary difference between this race and previous adventure and obstacle races Flockhart has competed in, is its length. 24 hours is a long time for the body to be competing. However, the participants must also consider the environmental aspects such as sub-zero temperatures and the likelihood of rain or snow. The organisers have advised wearing a wetsuit for the event, and to get prepared, Neil has “been out running around down the beach, jumping about in the sea, getting used to being cold an wet! The wet suit works a treat!”
As for pre-race jitters, “John and I are feeling very confident that we’ll be as prepared as we need to be by the time we land in New Jersey! Our usual strategy of going flat out from start to finish probably won’t work so well over 24 hours, we’re gonna have to back it off a wee touch… Haha! Yeah we have a strategy but I’m not wanting to give anything away… We’ve been getting some good advice from people with plenty of experience in these sort of events so we’ve been putting a good plan together!”
Neil and John won’t be alone on this trip to New Jersey, John’s brother Andrew will be there for moral support before and after the race.
Finally, they are raising money for TCCL ( Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukemia)
Posted in Special Interest
