Tough Mudder is here! This Sunday, Team G-A-Y and Team QX attempt to complete 12 miles of over 20 military designed challenges with the aim of raising vital funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
With one team member already having dropped out, and a fifth likely to cancel due to a knee injury, G-A-Y’s Jeremy Joseph and Michael Mitchell and QX Editor Cliff Joannou caught up for a quick natter ahead of the big day…
CLIFF: How was your most recent training Mr. Joseph?
JEREMY: To be honest I’m a bit worried now, because with the marathon, you’d be doing nothing this week, just like two mile runs to keep the muscles warm, but with this I have absolutely no idea what we’re supposed to be doing. Should we be doing small weights to warm the muscles, or what? I mean my muscles aren’t strong enough as it is for this, so do I carry on, or am I really going to get any stronger between now and Sunday? I am so fucking confused of what we’re supposed to do that I just need to lie down.
C: Awwww, a massage, too?
J: Oh, a massage would be lovely. I was looking in the back of QX this week actually… [Laughs] Only joking!
C: Maybe we’ll treat you on Sunday. What about you, Michael? How is your training going?
MICHAEL: Not that good yet; I went to the gym and I was going do an hour and half today but I did fifteen minutes instead, because it was too sunny so I’m sat in the garden having a drink.
J: It’s more of a question of what we should be doing this week and I’ve got no idea. You go to the gym don’t you? What should we be doing?
C: I’ve had the post-Bank Holiday flu for the last week, so I’ve not been able to train at all! And Jeremy, [your dog] Hayley died last week, so none of us have really been able to concentrate on it as much as we should…
J: Before Hayley died last Thursday and she was sick, I went to the gym and just burst into tears there, which was very embarrassing, so I’m never going back there again. If I had a focus, it’d be easier…
“I suggested to Michael that, for training, he should jump in a bath and put his fingers in a socket, but he didn’t think that’d be a good idea.”
C: I like Michael’s plan of sitting in the garden and having a drink.
J: It is what it is now. I was going to set myself a goal and say if I achieved Sunday then I was going to get myself a puppy on Monday, but I can’t wait ‘til then.
M: [to Cliff] How’s your running going?
C: I had my first run after being sick today and I was out of breath. I started with a slow run, then went into a jog, that turned into a meander and ended with me doing a light mince. You’re gonna have to wheel me along or give me a piggy back.
J: I don’t think the running is a big issue here. My biggest fear is I can’t lift my body weight. I was just thinking of not eating this week, so I’d weigh less. Oh, and Cliff, we haven’t told you this yet, but Slim has injured himself and unless he can hop Tough Mudder, I can’t see him being able to do it.
C: Team G-A-Y has gone down to two people now…
J: What do you mean Team G-A-Y? You’re in team G-A-Y, too! It goes to show how difficult this is; Slim isn’t definitely out of it yet. We did originally have six, we’re definitely now down to five and it could be four. Having said that we had a visit from the Council at Heaven and one of the guys who did the visit is doing Tough Mudder at the same time as us, and he’s from a team of rugby players and they have had people pulling out, too…
C: That doesn’t make me feel any better if rugby players are pulling out!
J: [Laughs] Oh yeah! What I’m trying to say is how difficult it is going to be. Michael stupidly posted a video of what we’re going to be going through on Facebook and I stupidly watched it and I shit myself. I’ll not be watching it again.
The electrocuting part is really worrying me, and we know someone who did it last year and when he ran through that bit he blacked out for five seconds! I suggested to Michael that, for training, he should jump in a bath and put his fingers in a socket, but he didn’t think that’d be a good idea.
It’s just about going for it and as long as we make it all fun then I think it’ll work. We should also remind people why we’re doing this. it is for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, it is for charity and we need donations.
C: We need people to donate blood, paramedics and medical services for us, too.
J: And three hot boys, for afterwards.
• Please show your support for Team G-A-Y and donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation at www.justgiving.com/G-A-Y – let’s get to a quarter of a million!
• To see what Team G-A-Y have signed themselves up for check out www.toughmudder.co.uk.
