The gnarliest obstacle at this years Worlds Toughest Mudder was definitely the Cliff Jump. A 10 metre jump into the water below. Now, 10 metres doesnt sound much but believe me...when you are standing up top and are ready to jump, it is a long way down! After jumping, you are accelerating at a rapid rate until you hit the water with a brute force. If you buggered up the landing in any way, you felt it. My first jumps were solid and I landed ok. No damage. Just red marks on my forearms and legs. On my third jump though, while I was underwater, the guy next to me landed and I felt his foot hit my shoulder. I freaked out! If he had of landed over a few cms more, it was game over for me! When we popped our heads up, I gave him a mouthful......I was not happy! Luckily, Wes captured the footage of this jump and it shows the guy hesitating up the top before jumping out in my direction.......I cannot blame him too much.....he was probably pooping himself. Most people were. On my second last jump, the guy next to me dislocated his shoulder......obviously landed badly. This does not give you any confidence, let me tell you. The biggest story out of the Cliff Jump though, was of my mate and fellow Geelong resident, Darren Clarke. Clarkey, after jumping, hurt himself internally and was struggling to breathe. He was coughing up blood and operating on close to 50% lung capacity. Any normal person would have pulled out of the race and sought medical attention.........not Clarkey. Pulling out of the race would have meant that the team he was in, The Under Armour Australian Team, would have to pull out of contention. Clarkey chose to continue and must have been in immense pain, for the remainder of the race. The Team finished the race and took out 2nd place, on the heels of the winners. On this day, a new hero in Australian Obstacle Racing was born. Darren Clarke...we salute you! The Cliff Jump claimed many victims and it will be interesting to see if it returns in 2015. I, for one, would like to see it return. I think it is an obstacle that no-one is comfortable with and it tests your mental mettle. If you had the chance, would you jump? #jaselydom #geelongboxing #worldstoughestmudder #wtm2014 #cliffjump
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 07:00:00 +0000