I never thought when I did my pre and post-natal PT qualification* that I’d be running mums and babies fitness classes, let alone training a group of mums for their first Tough Mudder! Ten of us, including one father, signed up for the 5k Urban Tough Mudder in Finsbury Park. 6 weeks before, training started properly!
It definitely takes a certain type of person to be so crazy as to a) sign up for an obstacle course race and b) sign up to an obstacle course race when your main priorities are survival and mumming. I like to think that mums are pretty crazy and hey, anything to get some time away, right?
Every single mum (and dad), who’s taking part is awesome. There’s a mix of types – from the secretly competitive, to the fun-loving, to the ‘f***-it, why not’, to the exercise-haters and those who enjoy working out. The general feeling towards the event is one of trepidation and excitement.
Here’s the line up of awesome mums who have been in-training:
Cassie
Lover of all the knitted things and sharing the knitting love – I run Heroic Knitting: Mums and babies chunky knit classes in Islington, as well as running an Etsy shop. I have a two and a half year old angel/beast. My main exercise is lugging my 17kg child around, and lots of running after him. My specialist event is the ‘push a very heavy broken pram with my left hand whilst carrying my heavy lump boy in my right hand’. Other than that my fitness skills are limited! And running… never really had much of a bond with running (we actively disliked each other), but having now had a formal introduction from The Warrior Method, running and I are getting along quite well. I live in Highbury and love the community of local mums and makers we have built.
Phoebe
Hiya, I’m Phoebe! I’m from London and enjoy all sorts of things like gin, cake, sewing and historical fiction. Rather surprisingly I have actually starting to enjoy physical activity. I’m excited about Tough Mudder – it’s not something I EVER thought I’d do, let alone enjoy training for, but the WARRIOR MUMS team are going to smash it! I’m doing it to prove to myself that I can do it, and to raise money for MIND.
Anne
I’m Anne, mother of a 6 month old son. I remember a time when I was playing hockey but that was a looong time ago now. Anyway, I learned back then that anything is possible in sports, especially when you are part of a great team. I am so glad that I met this fantastic group of people at Warrior Mums and I am looking forward to our Tough Mudder adventure. Bring it on!
Nicky
I’m Nicky and mum to Issy who is now 9 months old! I first started training with Eliza when Issy was 8 weeks and when she mentioned the Tough Mudder back then I laughed out loud! Fast forward 7 months and here I am… she is clearly pretty persuasive! At around 6 months post-partum (and also after Christmas!) I felt that I needed some motivation to start training regularly. I have always enjoyed team sports but didn’t feel quite ready to return to jumping around on a netball court so decided to join the Warrior Mums to force me to train! It has proved to be the best thing I have done, I have met lovely people and have done more training than I would have otherwise done. I’m so looking forward to the sense of achievement of us all getting around the course on Saturday and everyone helping each other out on the obstacles and then a few celebratory drinks in the pub afterwards. I’m terrified of all the obstacles, the inevitable pain on Sunday and not having the strength to get around… but apart from that I can’t wait!
Kirsten
New Mama to Ziggy, Wife to Will. Nutritional Therapist by trade. Tough Mudder virgin. Excited to take part with this awesome and inspiring group of Mamas. And what a great way to put the post preggers bod through it’s paces!
Kathryn
I am a mum of twins working full time who wishes she had more time to get fit and exercise as well as socialise with awesome people. When I get to do both at the same time that is AWESOME!
Amy
I’m a 35 year old first time mum and creative director for an organic farm. I’ve really been enjoying the training as it’s made me feel stronger and got me out in the fresh air over winter when I’d otherwise be bundled up inside all day!
I loved training for the Hackney Half Marathon a few years ago, and enjoyed building up the miles each week, knowing I was getting fitter and faster as it got closer to race day. I was really pleased with my result and though I haven’t been putting in as many hours, having the Tough Mudder date on the horizon has got me out running and exercising regularly again, it’s the push I needed! Eliza has been a wonderful coach, full of enthusiasm and infectious energy!
Andy, our honorary Warrior Dad
I’m Andy; my son is 7 months old. I realised a few months after my son was born that I had put on quite a bit of weight since he’d arrived so having a goal to focus on for training has been helpful for my fitness. I have been running at least once a week and going to three classes a week at the gym; focusing on cardio and body weight exercises, particularly the upper body. I am looking forward to any of the obstacles that involve jumping and grabbing onto things, not particularly looking forward to anything that involves being dunked into cold water though…!
Sarah
I’m Sarah and a recent new mum to seven month old Finley. I’m originally from New Zealand but have been living in Highbury, London for the past three years with my husband Matt. We love London and all it has to offer – including for mums and babies, but do often miss the beautiful wilderness we have on our doorstep in New Zealand and the opportunities to get outdoor and exercise. I’m super excited to get to take part in Tough Mudder as it brings a fun outdoor activity for me to do into the city and just down the road from where we live. Prior to having Finley, I used to run and exercise a lot, so it’s exciting for me to have an activity to train for to help me get back into shape, but the best part is having a team of other mums and our awesome coach Eliza to do it all with. I’m unsure how I’m going to find the various obstacles, particularly with all my new body niggles that have come with having a big baby who is currently in the 95 percentile (sore wrists and back, lack of pelvic floor!), but the training we’ve been doing together and the fact we’ve got plenty of support in one another, makes me sure it will be a lot of fun.
Myself, Eliza Flynn
I’m a mum to two feral children, one is a two-nager and the other is almost a year (it’s terrifying how quickly they get older!) I hate the way exercise is thought of as a punishment and I’m so happy that there are things like Tough Mudder to make movement fun. I love obstacle course races but the last one I did was almost a year ago – I discovered I was pregnant the day before a Tough Mudder! I’ve never done the 5k Tough Mudder before and I’m slightly sad that there’s no mud or water, but I’m hoping I can persuade this crazy lot to sign up for the full one after. I’m really excited to be sharing such a fun experience with these first-timers. My aim is to get them hooked so we can all do more in the future…
As part of our training, we’ve been doing our local Park Run in Highbury which has been so much fun, despite the fact that running wouldn’t come anywhere near the top ten things we’d like to do on a Saturday morning! We’ve also been attending the Warrior Method Mums & Babies classes, as well as general toddler and baby chasing. You can also see what we’ve been up to on Instagram @thewarriormethod
The 5k Urban Tough Mudder is taking place on 13th April at Finsbury Park.
* Google was as helpful as a chocolate teapot when it came to understanding what I should and shouldn’t do exercise wise during pregnancy and after.