Deanna Brasz had just finished an 8-mile Tough Mudder Indiana Classic course with 25 daunting obstacles to win another Tough Mudder event, but she was far from finished.
The former Middle Tennessee State cross-country and track runner who lives in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, figured she would complete the course at Ceraland a couple more times before her Saturday was finished.
“I love the community, and when you go out for the second and third laps, there’s a lot of people who are out on their first Tough Mudder,” Brasz said. “So we go out and we just wait at the different obstacles, and we help them through. That accomplishment that they get as they complete it for the first time is just amazing.”
Brasz needed a little help on at least one of the obstacles Saturday. As she approached the 11th obstacle, she was the lone female — well in front of the other women’s competitors — among a pack of male runners and called out for a hand to help her get over “Everest 2.0.”
When she reached the top of the obstacle, Brasz turned and helped a male competitor over the top.
“Tough Mudder is so much about the teamwork,” Brasz said. “A lot of the obstacles, you can’t do it without other people, at least not easily. They talk in the pledge at the beginning (before the race) how this is all one big team now.”
Brasz was planning to do one of her post-competition laps with a group of guys she has met from doing some of her previous 42 Tough Mudders. One of them, Nick Sturiale, came from Foster City, California.
Sturiale was just in Ireland two weeks ago for a Tough Mudder event.
“I travel all over for them,” Sturiale said. “I just like to visit different cities, different areas. Everybody here travels all over for these events, and it’s cool because every course is a little bit different. Some are flatter. Some have hills. The obstacles are different. The mud is different, the weather is different, so you get a little different experience, depending on where you go. That’s why it’s cool to do different events.”
Age is just a number
At 65 years old, Paul Holtkamp definitely was one of the older competitors to participate in Saturday’s Tough Mudder.
Even more interesting is that the Columbus resident was doing his first Tough Mudder, and he completed the 8-mile course. The only similar experience he had was a Spartan race about five years ago in Ohio.
“I was glad to have started early when it was a little cooler, and the course wasn’t quite so muddy and worn out,” Holtkamp said. “There were plenty of people along the way who were eager to lend a hand. You would help others, and somebody would always help you.”
Holtkamp was impressed with what he saw for his and the city’s first Tough Mudder.
“It’s great — a lot of nice people, and they all seem to be having a good time,” Holtkamp said. “Everybody encourages each other and helps each other. The people that work at each one of the stations are watching and careful to make sure that you’re doing it right and safe.”
Group completes 5K course
A group of nine local women conquered the 5K course Saturday morning. The 5K course consists of 13 obstacles.
“You get a lot of bumps and bruises and scrapes, and you don’t care,” Cindy Chambers said. “You just keep going, and you stay up there, even if you’re dying, to help the next person.”
Chambers was joined on the journey by teammates Katrina Alvey, Annie Baugh, Laurie Booher, Kacey Davis, Kristen Gayman, Amy Kushner, Tonnie Lane and Lorie Mount.
“It was actually a great time,” Lane said. “It was a lot of fun. It was hard. But we’re going for the (8-mile course) the next time.”
Ex-football players tackle event
Chase Banister and Zach Day played in the same defensive backfield for the Columbus East football team, but the Tough Mudder was a whole different challenge for them.
The pair were recruited by Hannah Simonton and Lisa Starr, who had a little experience with Tough Mudders. They got together a group of about 10 people, mostly from The Ridge Church, to compete in the 8-mile event.
“We were just doing it for fun,” Banister said. “When I found out that my friends were doing it, I couldn’t resist. I had to hop in. They told me it was easy, but it was pretty difficult.”
