Tough Bloke

 The Tough Bloke competition. Held annually in Australia. Nothing but Mud, Sweat, and Tears.

 Oh.....and some colorful character participants. These were some of the more tame costumes. One man (who I did NOT take a picture of) wore only latex underwear. Camouflage briefs. (Shudder).

 Kyle and Jacob entered the competition in December, but it wasn't held until the first weekend in March. Held at Wonga Park, it involves many obstacles where the contestants are required to run, crawl, slog, swing, swim, climb, and generally drag themselves through as much mud as possible. One of Kyle's co-workers, Blair, entered as well.

 It was rainy and just the slightest bit chilly but 2,000 participants showed up to compete. The rain only added to the fun. Kyle and Jacob's start time was 11:30. I was glad we weren't there later in the day when it was pouring rain.

 They had to start one at a time so the timer clipped on to one shoe of each competitor could accurately record the start time. On the website for the race it was noted that areas for spectators would be available along the race route. So I was hoping to get some great pictures. That didn't turn out to be the case. The course was set up so only the competitors could be on the course. Analee, Sam, and I could only see them at the start and the finish. I was bummed, but got a good position to see them come down the home stretch.

 You can see Jacob's white knees and muddy legs. After crawling through this muddy concrete pipe, the racers had to run downhill to a muddy lake.

 His head is the only thing that looks clean. Up close, that was not the case.

I'm pretty sure there are some pictures of him as a little boy on the farm that are similar to this one. Covered in mud and smiling from ear to ear, having a fantastic time.

 Even though the race was not about who finished first, you tried to finish in the fastest time possible. This meant that Jacob was not going to wait for me to get in position to take the pictures I wanted. He was moving.

 If the lake is this high on Kyle, you know Jacob was swimming for sure.

 Muddy swim=most of the mud washed off. But very far from clean.

 The final obstacle called "Hell's Gate". There are mattresses down below in case of falling. If a contestant fell they could choose to go back and begin the obstacle again or proceed to the finish line on the ground. This is where most of the spectators were waiting. When Jacob began his crossing, he was like a spider. Everyone began cheering him on calling, "Come on, Junior!" And, "You can do it, Junior!"  He made it across faster than many of the adults. And, of course, ahead of his dad.

 I was worried Kyle's shoulder would give him problems but he scrambled across just as easily as Jacob did.

 FINISH LINE!

 Jacob crossed the finish line faster than I could get there. Each contestant received a free drink token. The kids received a water and a soda. The adults a water and a beer. It was awesome. Only in Australia do you receive a beer after a grueling race. For any beer connoisseurs, the beer brand was Pure Blond. I've never heard of it.

 The after shot with wet, happy boys, muddy bibs, race medals, and a raindrop covering Jacob's how-cool-am-I face.

Just before the boys cleaned up in the showers, Kyle found he had collected some mud in one of his pockets. Just the cherry on top of the experience. Kyle and Jacob finished the race in just over 40 minutes. They said  waiting for the racers ahead of them to clear the obstacles so they could have their turn was what took the longest. They had a fabulous time. We will be looking for similar races back in Texas, and next time, I'm entering as well.