Tom Basson

Toughest Mudder Texas

Posted on May 11, 2018     1 Comment

It’s 2:30 in the morning and I am struggling. My headlamp has gone out, and I’m slipping and sliding in ankle deep mud, cutting my hands on rocks and exposed branches as I fumble in the pitch dark. This was not part of the plan. My legs are tired, I’m cold and wet, and I know I’ve still got 6 hours to go…

Welcome to Toughest Mudder Texas.

An 8-hour, multi-lap, obstacle course race that lives up to it’s name as one of the “Toughest” OCR races out there.

I’d arrived in Smithville, Texas a few hours before at 10pm and joined the throngs of other excited and nervous racers who were all getting their kit and nutrition set up in the Athlete’s Pit Area tent. While laying out on my 1m x 1m patch of table all the gear and food that I thought I would need over the next 8 hours, I immediately struck up a conversation with the guys getting ready around me, and the strategising began…

“What are you going to wear?”

“How cold do you think it will be?”

“What’s the best way to approach Kong, or Blockness Monster?”

“What distance are you aiming for?”

Everyone had their own game-plane, everyone had their own target – but we were all united in our pursuit to BEAT OUR BEST. That’s really why I had signed up. I wanted to know – needed to know – what would happen to my mind and body when pushed beyond my limits.

I would soon find out.

The race started on the stroke of midnight, and with adrenaline pulsing through my veins, and the cheer of the crowd in my ears, I and five hundred other Mudders bolted out into the dark. The first lap was pretty fast, and only a handful of obstacles were open, so it passed quickly and in a bit of a blur. One thing was clear though right from the start – this was going to be one hell of a race! Because of the enormous amount of rain the area had seen in the days leading up to it, much of the course had turned into thick, leg-sapping, strength-draining mud.

So much mud.

Mud for miles.

The first lap took 47min and I opted not to pit and continued back out into the night for lap two. Now more obstacles began to open and the second realisation dawned. This course had a lot of water… Most of the obstacles – like Arctic Enema and Cage Crawl – included getting wet, and somewhere in the middle of the course was also a 500m section of creek that we had to wade waist deep through. Temperature regulation was going to be key.

Having opted to wear my Frogskin Wetsuit 1mm top, I definitely overheated a bit on lap 1, but by lap 2, and as the temperatures continued to plummet through the night, I was so glad to have it.

The obstacles themselves were fantastic. Having never done a Tough Mudder before, many of them – like Kong and Funky Monkey, (that tested grip strength, especially being wet and covered in mud) – were completely new from me, but ones I had seen or heard about. Personally I love the obstacles, and having the majority of them packed into the second half of the lap, meant that that section of the course always went by faster for me. There was something else to focus on other than running through mud in the dark.

Also, as is Tough Mudder’s tradition – many of the obstacles like Blockness Monster (basically a large rotating block suspended in water that you have to scale over twice) require help and assistance from other racers. I loved this aspect of camaraderie and teamwork, and usually, after clearing an obstacle, I would take a moment to turn around and help whoever it was that was coming up behind me. This really creates a sense of community out on the route, and is part of the secret sauce of Tough Mudder’s success.

Back to the race…

At the end of lap two (53min split) I felt pretty good and was in high spirits. I took a quick pit-stop to grab some food and drink, and headed back out.

Then lap 3 happened.

I had been making mental notes of certain checkpoints along the route and monitoring my time at those points. So, when I arrived at checkpoint one (a long barb-wire-crawl called Kiss of Mud 2.0) a full 5min behind my previous lap time, I realised how much I had slowed down. Combine that with my headlamp giving up on me in the middle of the forest’s most technical trail section, and things started to get real.

I dug deep, pressed on, and made it back to the start in 1h07min – a full 14min slower than the previous lap! At this stage (3am and 24km in) I had also started to get pretty cold and my legs had started to really stiffen up. Also, my shoes had taken in a lot of mud and debris in the creek, and small stones were cutting my feet and causing blisters on my heels. I tried to clear the stones but couldn’t, so after changing out my headlamp – limped out again into the fray, somewhat dejected and a little overwhelmed that this was still a LONG way from over.

Oh, and to top it off, it was at this stage that Ryan Atkins, undoubtedly the world’s best endurance OCR racer, came flying past me – lapping me and adding insult to injury!

Nevertheless, I counted it a blessing to be racing with such incredible athletes like Ryan and tried to pick up the pace a bit into lap 4.

To be honest I don’t remember much of lap 4 or 5. It was a case of one foot in front of the other, one obstacle at a time, managing the pain…

I do remember putting on my hoodie to stave off the cold.

I do remember wondering what the hell I was doing.

I do remember thinking how far away from home I was and how much I missed my family.

I do remember praying.

And I also remember seeing the first signs of light as dawn approached. And I remember stopping and looking around in the creek at how incredibly beautiful this place was.

It’s amazing how just that light can bring with it such a sense of hope.

And then almost suddenly it was morning. A glorious morning, and I had completed lap 6.

Total time 7 hrs. Total distance 51km

Now I faced a tough choice: Stop, rest, get warm – as most of the racers were doing – or push myself for one more final round. I knew I had been running the last two laps around the 1h18min mark, and that I only had 1h27min left before the clock ran out. That meant I was going to have to push it to make it.

All the excuses I could muster came marching through my mind in defiant procession.

I’m so so tired.

My feet are sore.

I’ve done well – why do more?

No one will care whether you do 6 or 7 laps.

This is just stupid.

Don’t do it.

It was at this point I thought of my coach, Trish. And I knew exactly what she would be saying to me:

Tom, you’ve got this.

You’ve done the prep work.

You’re stronger than you think you are.

C’mon – dig deep.

Just one more lap!

Thankfully I listened to Trish and not myself and decided to give it one last push! I ripped off my socks and shoes in the pit area, put on a new pair of both, and with a renewed sense of determination and grit, headed on out one last time.

In the end my last lap was one of my fastest, and once I realised I was gonna make it with time to spare, I relaxed into it, enjoying the last few obstacles, and crossing the finish line with an exhausted body, a full heart, and all of the feels.

Total time: 8h19min. Total distance: 59km

A huge thank you to my incredible coaches Claude & Trish who have walked with me through the ups and downs of the daily training grind. To my beautiful wife, Jess, who loves me unconditionally – even though I want to do these crazy things. To my boys, who I thought of so much during that long night, and who inspire me daily to be the best version of myself. To my AOT family who messaged and cheered me on all the way from South Africa. To my mom and dad – for everything, really. And of course to my sponsors: Salomon, Keto Nutrition, AOT, Supamama – without whom I would not be able to do what I love.

T.S. Eliot said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”.

That night I found out how far I can go, and came out realising I can – we can, all of us, go a lot farther than we give ourselves credit for. So whatever your dream – go out and get it! Because you’re a lot TOUGHER than you think you are!

That’s what TOUGHEST MUDDER taught me.

3 Tips From A Hostage Negotiator On How To Handle Your Children

Posted on September 29, 2016     Leave a Comment

 

One of my favourite movies is a movie starring Samuel L Jackson & Kevin Spacey called THE NEGOTIATOR. It’s one of those old-school crime thrillers, and in the film Kevin Spacey is this masterful FBI hostage negotiator.

Now the reason I tell you this is because some days – as a parent of two small boys, aged 5 and 3 – it feels like I AM the negotiator dealing with a bunch of terrorists in my own home!

Now… maybe your 9-year old isn’t committing serious acts of violence (except against his sister) and your teenager probably isn’t going to set up a barricade (except maybe in her room with the music on full blast), but what I’ve come to realise – and what science is revealing to us now – is that many of the principles that are effective for dealing with bank robbers and evildoers also actually work with your children!!

In fact, these fundamental principles of communication can actually help you deal with ANYONE.

And really it boils down to one thing. BEING KIND. Simply being kind to ourselves and to our children. Henry James said, “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”

I know for me when things get a bit chaotic and out of control, I tend to RAMP UP. In our house we call it – “flipping our lids”. And so when the kids start to whine or act out or play up – I start flipping my lid. And I usually come down hard on them. I forget to be kind.

And it never helps. Never.

So what are these techniques that parenting experts and hostage negotiators can teach us – teach me – that can help  make for a more peaceful, happier home?

Well the first one is this:

1. Don’t deny their feelings.

Just imagine the scene…

The FBI has the bank surrounded. But the robbers have taken hostages. It’s a tense standoff and the bad guys are demanding food be sent in. They say they’re hungry. The hostage negotiator lifts the phone and says, “Oh, stop it. You just ate. Stop complaining and cut it out!”

Um, no.

An FBI negotiator would never do that. But parents do it, I do it, with my kids all the time. And the result is often more screaming, more tears, and more hysteria.

So, what’s the problem here? Well, it’s denying their feelings.

Remember all pain is pain, and the pain of not having the toy you want is as painful for a two-year-old’s brain as it is for us when we don’t get the job we want.

Now, as a parent you can’t be overly permissive and give a kid everything they want – of course not! But a hostage negotiator wouldn’t do that either — maybe the bad guys get the food when they ask for it and maybe they don’t. But negotiators wouldn’t say, “You’re not hungry. Cut it out!”

Now as parents we have to deny ACTIONS (“No, Will, you cannot play with that steak knife”) But we often take it a step further and deny what a child is FEELING. And that can be infuriating.

Human beings don’t like this. I don’t like this. You don’t like this. I mean have you ever told an angry person to JUST CALM DOWN. It doesn’t work does it?

SO what do I do? Well I can start by acknowledging their feelings. Then, according the negotiators, I:

2. Check Myself.

That’s the second key. What is going on with me? What am I frustrated about? Is my reaction appropriate to the offence? I don’t know about you, but a lot of the time, if I’m honest the way I treat my kids has a lot more to do with my own internal state of being then anything else. If I’m in a rush and the kids are taking their time getting their school bags ready, then I tend to get agitated with them and speak harshly to them. But if i’m not in a rush, then I usually speak a lot more calmly, more kindly.

The difference is entirely with me, not them. SO check yourself before you respond. Even that split second of self-awareness can make all the difference. We can only offer to others what we ourselves have, and so if we want our kids to develop self-control – well then we have to model it for them. H Jackson Brown Jr says, “Live so that when your children think of fairness, kindness, and integrity, they think of you.” Then finally, the third tip from our FBI negotiator counterparts is to:

3. Listen with full Attention.

Oh wow – thats hard right!? You’re tired, its been a long day, the kids are literally behaving like terrorists and all you want to do is make it STOP. SHUT IT DOWN. And that’s when we pull out the intimidation techniques or the threats. Sometimes those may be necessary, but they’re not the only tools in the toolbox. Most of the time, if we simply listen with full attention. Hear what it is that is stressing them out, making them angry or whatever, we realise we can actually solve the problem or at least diffuse it.

But full attention takes effort. It takes time and patience. Which brings me to my conclusion…

In my opinion – and this is just my opinion – we cannot do this without God in our lives. Really. If we want to be kind to our kids, if we want to give our kids the full attention and love they deserve, if we want to be in tune with their emotions, well then we need God. Desperately and intimately. Because walking in the spiritual fruit of self-control is – at the end of the day – supernatural.

 

Help me get to OCR World Champs…

Posted on September 26, 2016     Leave a Comment

“I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” ― Eric Liddell, Chariots of Fire.

To friends and family,

Earlier this year I was invited to compete at the OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) World Championships in Canada on October 14/15th. This has been a dream come true for me, but obviously costs a significant amount of money – see Rand-Dollar exchange 🙂

And so I am asking anyone and everyone who would like to contribute if they would.

I’ll be totally honest – this fundraising campaign is in no way a noble, selfless pursuit. There are no third world children or starving puppies who will be benefiting from your generosity. 

Just me.

But it is something that makes me incredibly happy.

I have always been an athlete – from my competitive gymnastics days, to running the Comrades ultra-marathon, to Crossfit, and now my dearest love, OCR – after Jesus, Jess, my kids, and ummm… YOU of course 🙂

Sometimes being a pastor of a church can get pretty hairy, and OCR is in many ways my psychologist, my release, my freedom, and my playground. It undoubtedly makes me a better father, a better husband, a better pastor. My wife will tell you that (me injured or sick is her worst nightmare!)

And so if you can, if you want to, if you’re rich – help me out. No pressure. No guilt. But any contribution would be HUGELY appreciated.

https://makeachamp.com/tombasson

Tom

PS: You guys rock, and I will most definitely bring you back some maple syrup! 🙂

Run & Not Grow Weary

Posted on April 21, 2016     5 Comments

In 1 Cor 9:24 the Apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

I remember the year I ran the Comrades Marathon. It was 2010 and I was aiming for a 10-hour finish time. But at 26k’s into the race, my ITB tore, and all hopes of that time – even just finishing – seemed to vanish.

But I persisted – took a few painkillers, told my running partners to go on without me, and hobbled along for the next 40km. By the time I got to Pinetown I was done. The pain was too much to bear, I felt completely alone, and I was on the verge of quitting. But then I heard a familiar voice calling out my name from behind me…

It was my mom.

She was a seasoned runner, far slower than I (not this day apparently!), and tough as nails. She caught me at the bottom of Fields Hill and we embraced each other as mother and son. We both burst into tears (mainly me) and I began to complain, “It’s too far, I’m in too much pain, I’ll never make it, I…” But before I could finish my sentence, my mother grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me straight in the eye and said, “Tom, we can do this. I’m with you. We are going to finish this fucking race!”

It was the first time I had ever heard my mom swear, and it kind of kicked me back into gear! “Yes Mam!” I said obediently. And pretty much from then on, I followed her lead. She told me when to walk, when to run, and literally took me by the hand all the way to Durban. We crossed the finish line with 17 minutes to spare. We had done it. And I swore that day – never again!

Now the reason I tell you that story, is because perhaps today, you are feeling like I felt at the bottom of Fields Hill.

You’re tired, your worn out, perhaps you’re in pain – physical or emotional, and you’re convinced you’re not gonna make it. Perhaps you’ve been asking God for a breakthrough and you’re just not seeing it. Maybe there are relational tensions you’re dealing with. Perhaps you feel like you’re alone in this race of life.

Well if that’s you, let me encourage you from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He says, “When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience.”

In other words, he says, you were running well.

“Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up.”

Keep running.

He says, “Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

This is a beautiful and powerful promise.

That as a Christ-follower, we have God’s power – His energy – His Spirit – at work within us, not only giving us the desire to finish well, but the power to as well.

Just like my mother was there for me – God, our heavenly Father, is along side you.

And whatever it is you are facing, know that He is there, holding your hand, saying, “C’mon you can do this, no WE can do this!” 

Phil 4:3 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 says, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

And so, my prayer for you today is that you would know you are not alone in this race we call life.

When my mom and I crossed that Comrades finish line hand-in-hand, it was a powerful and profound moment I will never forget.

And so may your strength and your courage be renewed today in Christ. May you know His presence, His power, and His provision.

And may you run, and not grow weary.