Sebastian McCormack crawls through the mud on his way through the third obstacle of the Tough Mudder competition. Tough Mudder is a 10-mile obstacle course designed by British special forces to challenge a competitor's strength and endurance.Supplied
Nolan Kombol is the name you may well be cursing if you join the Tough Mudder challenge in Whistler this weekend.
Coming to Canada for the first time, the event is a brutal, 16-kilometre military training-style course whose myriad obstacles include the Arctic Enema (a pond filled with thousands of pounds of ice), Electroshock Therapy (a field of live wires, some of them carrying 10,000 volts), and Everest (a steep uphill climb covered with slick plastic) – and Mr. Kombol designed every one.
"I get most of my pleasure from seeing thousands of people come away saying 'That was truly badass, but I loved it.' So at least the original intent is good," pleads Mr. Kombol, who has set up gruelling courses in locales around the world. "But the end result may be a little sadistic."
Mr. Kombol emphasizes that Tough Mudder is a "challenge" as opposed to a race, because it relies on teamwork between competitors, and simply finishing is an achievement.
Saturday's event is already sold out – a whopping 15,000 gluttons for punishment have signed up – but at last check there was still a little space left for Sunday.
"There is a huge amount of fun," promises Mr. Kombol. "And if you go to work on Monday and say 'I got electrocuted this weekend' or 'I jumped through a pit of ice,' I think it's a unique challenge that people can brag about."