Karen Fewell becomes a Tough Guy

The girly girl becomes a Tough Guy

I think it is fair to say that most people would describe me as a ‘girly girl' rather than a ‘Tough Guy'. Needless to say friends, family and colleagues were a little surprised when I said I had entered Tough Guy Nettle Warrior.

To be honest I am not really sure I knew what I had agreed to when I said ‘go on then count me in'. Knowing too much about the challenge would just make me freak out - so I paid my money unaware of the obstacles I would face! I was fully aware though that I was not fit enough to complete it and really needed to become stronger.

Chris Lee from Trojan Training encouraged me to do some weight training on top of my normal running. So my training week consisted of 2 personal training sessions with Chris Lee, 1 Box Office session and a few trips to the gym. Training was more enjoyable with Tough Guy being my aim.

A week before I decided it was time to start knowing a little more about what I would have to do on the day, I was not impressed with what I saw:

• swimming through underwater tunnels
• running through fire
• walking out on a plank and jumping into mud
• climbing heights with no harness

The fact that the Tough Guy organisers make you sign a death warrant before you can start the course also scared me slightly. But now I can say it was the best race I have ever done.

I went round the course with Amy and Helen, who also train with Chris Lee. The day didn't seem like a race, the team spirit of everyone at Tough Guy was fantastic. I saw people struggling on ropes and strangers climb back to help them. Someone was always willing to give you a ‘leg up' or a hand to climb out of sinking mud.

As I result of doing Tough Guy I have realised I have more mental and physical strength than I give myself credit for. On a day to day basis you don't realise what strength you are building in the gym. For me though the mental challenges I overcame were my biggest achievements. I am petrified of heights, yet at Tough Guy I developed a new inner strength. Whatever the challenge, however difficult, I just got on and did it.

Completing Tough Guy has given me a lot of personal confidence and I would like to thank Chris Lee for pushing me into doing it! Big thanks to everyone in Team Trojan for making it such a fun day.

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