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Start of the Journey

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Here we go!

I’ve no doubt this is going to be a wild journey.

At the weekend, I think I found a little bit of a calling.

My legs were sore. I’d just completed my first-ever 15K run, my first Tough Mudder and my first obstacle course race.

And yet, when I crossed the finish line, one thought went through my head:

“Is that it?”

I needed more.

I wanted to go again.

I looked down the lane towards the Infinity runners and, rather than wondering why on earth anyone would want to keep going, I wanted to join them.

That probably should have been the first warning sign.

Lessons

There were plenty of things I could have done better.

  • The warm-up, for a start, was virtually non-existent. I’d done some half-hearted stretching beforehand, but clearly nowhere near enough.
  • I could have taken more time over the obstacles and helped more people. I’d approached the event with quite a strong focus on getting around in a decent time. I treated parts of it more like a race than the shared Tough Mudder experience it is supposed to be. Although, on Mud Mile, my feet certainly got stuck into the experience. Quite literally.
  • There were a couple of obstacles I walked around because I was tired. Looking back, I could have stopped, recovered for a few minutes and then had a proper attempt.

None of those things diminished what I’d achieved.

They simply made me want another go.

Round 2

I knew almost immediately that I had to go again.

There may also have been a slight desire for more shiny medals.

The more I researched Tough Mudder, the more I wanted to do. It didn’t take long before I’d booked the next event.

Then another.

And another.

Somewhere during all of this, a considerably more ridiculous thought entered my head:

“I have to have a go at World’s Toughest Mudder.“

Naturally, there were a few questions.

Was I fit enough?

Maybe not yet. But that was rather the point. If I was ever going to find out what I was capable of, this seemed like a pretty good target to work towards.

✔️ Let’s train for it.

Could World’s Toughest Mudder be done solo?

Other people have done it.

✔️ Yes.

Would I need a pit crew?

Ideally, a pit crew would undoubtedly make life easier. But asking somebody to spend 24 hours sitting around waiting for me to appear every few hours isn’t really my style.

More importantly, trying to work out how to do it independently adds another dimension to the challenge.

  • How do I organise my pit?
  • How do I make sure food, clothing, hydration and equipment are exactly where I need them?
  • How do I come into the pit, refuel, change if necessary, sort myself out and get moving again without wasting time?

Strangely, even the logistics started to sound interesting.

That was about the extent of my careful strategic analysis before I got my card out, completed the checkout and secured my place at:

WORLD’S TOUGHEST MUDDER 2027

Apparently, I’m doing this.

What Next?

The following 24 hours involved quite a lot of:

“What the chuff have I just done?”

For a brief moment, I considered pulling out.

Then I started thinking about what this could become.

Yes, I’m challenging myself.

Yes, part of this is simply about discovering what I’m capable of.

But there’s something else that appeals to me.

I like the idea that somebody who knew the old version of me might eventually look at what I’m doing and say:

“Andrew Smith? Really? You’re telling me he’s lost all that weight, covered himself in tattoos, gets out of bed at weekends to run obstacle courses, started doing endurance events and then actually completed World’s Toughest Mudder? Show me. I don’t believe you.”

Well…

That’s rather the plan.

I’m certainly not the person I was a few years ago.

And I’m increasingly curious to find out who I can become.

Tough Smudge

Losing my dad to prostate cancer affected me enormously.

It changed far more than I initially realised.

My outlook changed. My priorities changed. I was confirmed in June 2024 (46 years to the day after I was expected to be born) and now attend church most Sundays with my mum. I’ve become much more conscious of what actually matters to me and what I want my life to contain.

For a long time, I probably placed too much importance on work and professional success as measures of who I was.

Increasingly, I find myself drawn to something different.

The people I find most interesting aren’t necessarily those talking about what they have achieved for themselves. They’re often the people doing something difficult, interesting or worthwhile and, along the way, trying to make a positive difference for somebody else.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve simplified my life considerably.

I’ve become much better at stepping away from things that drain my energy and investing more time in the people, places and experiences that make life better.

And I’ve discovered something else along the way.

I’m actually very comfortable in my own company.

I’m naturally quite private. I’m not anti-social. I’m simply genuinely happy doing my own thing.

Which creates an interesting problem when you decide you’re going to document a very public journey.

But several people have told me that others might genuinely be interested in what I’ve been through, the weight I’ve lost, the changes I’ve made and whatever happens next.

So perhaps it’s time to find out.

Making It Count

If I’m going to attempt World’s Toughest Mudder anyway, why not make it mean something beyond simply seeing whether I can do it?

This challenge is an extension of the journey I’ve already been on.

  • Weight loss.
  • Fitness.
  • Self-discovery.
  • Finding out where my limits actually are.

And if people are willing to follow that journey, support it and perhaps donate a few pounds along the way, then something I’m doing for myself can also do some good for others.

That is why I’ll be raising money for Prostate Cancer UK.

There’s just one slight complication.

I’m terrible at asking people for things.

Asking for help doesn’t come particularly naturally to me.

Asking people for money?

Even less so.

But perhaps an alter ego can help with that.

And so…

Tough Smudge

A play on Tough Mudder and the first proper nickname I can remember having that wasn’t simply my surname or a joke about my size.

Tough Smudge is now the name of this journey.

  • This website.
  • The events.
  • The training.
  • The fundraising.
  • The mistakes.
  • The lessons.
  • The good weekends.
  • And almost certainly a few absolutely terrible ones.

I have no idea exactly where all of this will lead.

But I do know I’m all in.

I will Endure the hours of training.

I will Overcome the setbacks that inevitably come with attempting something difficult.

And I will do everything I can to Make It Count.

The journey has truly begun.