The Tough Mudder Endurance Series gives you a platform to prove that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Extreme experiences where athletes, from aspiring to elite can find support, motivation and accountability in achieving unparalleled feats of endurance. Whether you’re looking to take the step up from the Tough Mudder Classic or ready to push through 24-hours of boundaries you didn’t know existed – we got your back.
Tough Mudder Training is proud to partner with Allison Tai, World’s Toughest Mudder alum, to bring you personalized online group training, designed to give you the foundation of endurance, strength and obstacle skills you need to succeed at Toughest or World’s Toughest Mudder. Each program will be personally led by Allison, with daily accountability and motivation for participants in a private online community.
Trust her, she’s a pro
Allison Tai is a long time Tough Mudder and Obstacle Sports and Fitness Coach. She completed her first Tough Mudder in Whistler in 2011 and was totally hooked. It wasn’t long after this life changing experience that she began sharing her love of obstacles by coaching groups and individuals to their own Tough Mudder finishes.
As a long time endurance athlete, and now huge Tough Mudder fan, Allison decided to give the World’s Toughest Mudder a go in 2014. She has since finished on the podium three times. There is something incredibly magical about the World’s Toughest Mudder that WTM finishers live for. So she was absolutely thrilled when they announced the CBS televised Toughest Mudder series in 2017… and to her incredible surprise she ended up winning it.
Allison continues to share her love of Tough Mudder… and her experience gained through years of coaching hundreds of obstacle sports athletes to successful finishes… and is forever grateful to be a part of the most unique event and culture in the world.
Let’s grill her with some questions, shall we?
Q: What got you into Tough Mudder?
Allison: Peer Pressure! The owner of Rackets and Runners, a local running shop in Vancouver, BC where I was coaching running roped me in. And I was hooked. I have never had so much fun in my life. It was that first year Tough Mudder was held in Whistler and it was like playing in a winter wonderland.
Q: What do you remember most about your first Tough Mudder?
Allison: Being scared. And then realizing that everything I was the most afraid of was actually the most fun.
Q: What’s your favorite Tough Mudder obstacle and why?
Allison: The Cliff. I couldn’t even throw myself off it that first year and did the penalty every loop. So the next year I spent countless hours at the local dive tank working my way off until I was able to do that big platform. It still terrifies me… it’s not that I’m no longer afraid. It’s just that I’ve now gained the confidence knowing that I can will myself through the most terrifying situations in life and come out stronger.
Q: What does teamwork on course mean to you?
Allison: Teamwork means supporting each other both physically and emotionally. Some people are more physically capable, some people are great at raising morale, everyone has something of extreme value to share with the community. We all do our best to make the experience. Everyone having a great event makes everyone have a great event.
Q: How did you stay fit during the pandemic?
Allison: It comes down to the love of doing hard things and feeling solid in your abilities. If you can continue to challenge yourself in life, you’ll continue to work hard to overcome those challenges if you’ve ever felt the joy of it. It’s addictive.
Q: What’s the best (or worst) excuse you hear from other on why they can’t do a Tough Mudder?
Allison: I’ll sign up when I’m fit enough. It’s like… ugh no… sign up now and give yourself something to work hard for.
Q: What would you tell someone who’s on the fence about signing up?
Allison: Sign up. Figure the rest out later.
Q: Do you have any funny or memorable stories from Tough Mudder?
Allison: I’m pretty sure I have a story from every event I’ve done! Possibly from every lap. I think you eventually come to a place where when something bad happens (like the fifth time my headlamp went in the Whistler Toughest) where you are like, “Well this sucks… but what a great story this will be” and you’re able to laugh off nearly anything.
Sign up for our Endurance Training Program here. Want to hear more from Allison? Listen to her episode on the ‘No Excuses’ Podcast.
