Triathlons Are for Wimps

Obstacle-course racing is taking off. And Tough Mudder leads the way

I'm five miles into tough mudder, the 12-mile extreme-obstacle-course event that has developed a crazed following, and have already survived the Arctic Enema--submerging my entire body in a vat of ice--and the Kiss of Mud, a crawl through a thick mud patch while practically making out with the muck, since barbed wire hovered a few inches above my head. Now I've come upon the Electric Eel: dozens of yellow live wires dangle above more mud that I'm supposed to crawl through. I have to contort my 6-ft. 4-in. body around the wires to avoid a 10,000-volt shock. That's like trying to...

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