Blackjack, Baby!

Atlanta has come and gone, and I can finally say that I've hit my blackjack.  It's been a while since Danny and Brian accomplished the goal at the Tri-State TM last year, and I've been itching to get one under my belt.  Mainly, I wanted to push myself, but I also wanted to make sure that this was one less thing that Danny and Brian could hold over me.  A special thanks go to Brian, who graciously allowed me to run the second lap alone on Saturday so that we would all end up with one blackjack - it was very giving of him.

The other big thing that came from Atlanta was a Headband Bonanza. I walked away from Saturday and Sunday in Atlanta with a total of 9 headbands (3 orange for finishing 3 laps, 2 black and orange 10X, 1 pink 7-9X, 1 yellow 4-6X, 1 blue 3X, and 1 green 2X), and was promptly asked "Where are you planning on putting all of THOSE?" by my wife. I've got them all in a bag, along with my race numbers and shirts, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with them.  I may have to shove them in the back of a drawer, if I don't come up with something soon.

I've heard the new colored Mudder Legion headbands called "Skittles," and it's become a bit of a "thing" to take a picture with all of the various headbands on at once (which I felt obligated to do). I wasn't quite sure how I would feel about the whole Legionnaire thing.  It seemed a little silly and childish, but I think I'm a convert.  It's pretty clear to me that the Tough Mudder HQ is trying to find a way to encourage people to do multiple TM events.  After all, at some point the pool of people who haven't done an event but are willing will shallow and growth will have to come from somewhere else.  So, it's pretty clear that the idea of recognizing the folks who have run multiple events is a marketing ploy, but that doesn't mean that it is without merit.  In my mind, the concept has two big benefits to the individual runner.  First, there is a certain sense of accomplishment when a person is recognized for doing something difficult (especially if it is

something that relatively few other people have done).  I'm not motivated to run Tough Mudders for recognition (my Mudder Bruddas provide me enough of that, thank you), but public recognition for accomplishments can push people forward.  Having Start Line Sean ask you to stand up and have everyone recognize you can make you feel special.  Hearing people recognize the 10X headband while you're running and whisper "Do you see that?  You know what that headband means, right?" to their fellow runners makes you feel as if you're doing something impressive.  Stepping up to the Mudder Legionnaire sign-in table and have the volunteer see a double digit number next to your name, have to go searching for a headband, and ask to shake your hand, are all pretty surreal events.  Everything in the experience (at least at the higher levels of headband) seems intended to make you stand out as special.  If you are motivated by that recognition, it will definitely feed your ego (and I'll admit that it was cool to have people ask if I'd really run more than 10).

Second, it makes it much more obvious that you have a responsibility to others on the course.  The fact that you've been "marked" as special means that you may start to feel like you have to earn that recognition.  I found myself talking about the intricacies of the course with my fellow mudders and giving them pointers about how they could succeed.  I found myself standing waist-deep in the mud at mud mile and offering to lift person after person over the walls - all the while waving off any suggestion that it was "my turn next."  I stood at the top of Everest (which, by the way, seemed to be the easiest Everest I've ever confronted at at TM event) and help as many people succeed as I could.  Granted, whatever made Everest seem "easy" meant that there weren't all that many people who were failing on their attempts, but there were a few - and I felt like helping as many as I could.  I would consider myself a pretty normal guy.  A guy who is willing to help others when they need it.  A guy who has empathy and will stop to ask if you're okay when I see you have a leg cramp.  A guy who will give pointers if asked.  But this was different...I felt the responsibility of the badge, and I think that is what TMHQ was hoping for.

The lesson for education that I take from this experience is that badges can work to both motivate and alter behavior.  The key is that the badges need to be worth the effort and should properly convey they message that they intend.  To illustrate this, I'll use conference badges as an example.  It's become stylish for conference organizers to build a series of virtual badges that attendees can earn.  I've been at conferences and received an email as soon as I picked up my registration packet saying I had just earned "The Conference Registration" badge.  If I tweeted something with the conference hashtag, I would receive the "Conference Tweeting" badge.  If I attended a given session, or visited a vendor, or filled out a review form, I would receive a corresponding badge.  In all of these cases, I would laugh and wonder what foolish person was actually motivated by those "silly little things."  The tasks that earned those badges weren't difficult, almost anyone who attended would receive them, and they held no intrinsic value to me.  I wasn't motivated to do anything or be anything different than who I would be otherwise.  In these cases, the badge system failed in its intended goal: to make me feel special and recognized.  In fact, the badge system may have had the opposite effect.  The Mudder Legion is just a different type of badging system, but it has value (at least to me) because I value the effort that I put in to earning those badges.  I know how hard I've worked before, during and after each TM event, and I value that experience.  As such, I value the recognition that comes with that effort.

If we want educational badge systems to work that way, we have to make it difficult to earn the badges, but worth the effort.  Also, we need to make it public that the effort is being recognized.  We can't simply give everyone a badge for attendance, and expect that badge to motivate anyone. We all want to feel special, and as much as we may say otherwise, feeling special makes us want to continue doing whatever it was that made us feel that way.  We can leverage that in education, but only if we do it the smart way.

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Tough Mudder Atlanta - What I Missed The Most

This past weekend was a rather sad weekend in some respects. Not the weather - that was beautiful. I even got to watch my wife and my two girls compete in their first Color Me Rad race. It is actually quite a lot of fun to be a spectator for a change - and to throw color bombs at people, kind of fun too. This weekend was the first Tough Mudder I missed as a part of the Bad News team. And as I head into another week of work, I am working to stay positive and focused on my own first mudder of the season - the upcoming DC/Maryland Savage Race. Staying positive is the least I can do for my Bruddas who represented down in Hotlanta this weekend. 

This truly marks the beginning of a new racing season for us, and a perfect opportunity to reflect on those things that I missed the most being away from the action. So here is to my Bad News Bruddas – the top five things I missed about the the Hotlanta Mudder.

 

1. The Road Trip 

Our adventure always begins with a road trip and it is truly one of the highlights of any race weekend in my opinion. Of course, there is the conversation that stretches from educational reform to Game of Thrones. There is the time searching for the latest posts about the upcoming race or waiting on TMHQ to post the course map. But most of all, there is always the radio. It might be Howard Stern, with the volume turned up to one (yes - a little inside humor), so you can barely, just at an inaudible level, hear when Howard says something about panties or vagina. I mean - we are three guys - the conversation does lull at some points on a seven hour road trip. And there might be the gangster rap where we can revisit those ol' favorites from childhood. Whatever the selection though, the road trip has come to represent the beginning of the entire Tough Mudder experience for us, and something we all look forward to. So here is to you Bruddas, and if you shared a waterbed this weekend, smile. You have arrived at Tough Mudder Atlanta.

 

2. The Laundry Mat

For our “constant” readers, you will remember all about Sandy and that fateful day when we had our laundry mat virginity stripped away. If you would like to reflect on that first  trip - and you have a strong disposition (graphic material ahead), you can read here all about Superstorm Sandy. While the Tough Mudder course is what we are there for, it is the laundry mat that made us into the Mudders we are today. I mean who would have ever guessed that we would learn the wonders of duct tape and dryers, how to prevent gang bangs when traveling with your kids, and countless other factoids that have helped us grow into new men - Mudder Men. Honestly – I still wake up with night terrors to this day thinking that Sandy is waiting for me in a hot tub. But sitting here in the comfort of my living room, I can laugh and smile. It is something that Brian and I will always share. So here’s to you Hurricane Sandy. We miss you!!! 

3. The Mohawk 

Deciding what type of mohawk to wear for a Tough Mudder has also become a personal favorite in prepping for an upcoming run. I personally use the mohawk to tell my Tough Mudder pictures apart. It is such a great feeling to hear someone on the course say, “Hey man – nice reverse mohawk. Or, “Dude – is that a side-hawk. You look like Two-Face.” So to me the mohawk is more than just something to do, it has become a part of my Tough Mudder tradition. But for me, this time around, I am a bit sad. A bit sad that I am missing the first ever mohawk of my Brudda Patrick. Again you “constant” readers will know that Pat has become known for those long flowing locks. Those locks that have served as a guide for Brian and I on the course and a beacon, when they stop bouncing, that the next obstacle is just on the horizon. Pat, despite his seemingly gruff exterior, is a passionate philanthropist and works very hard each year to raise money for the St Baldrick’s Foundation. This year he was able to raise funds for St Baldrick’s and for Locks of Love. So this is the inaugural mohawk for Pat – and damn it – I missed it. But Virginia Tough Mudder is right around the corner, so maybe we will see the first triple side-hawk for our first attempt at the triple mudder!!!!

The Locks and the Hawks

   4. The Mudda Bruddas 

They say pictures tell a thousand tales, or something like that about pictures, and the one below certainly says a lot. Whether it is a hand out of Boa Constrictor or a thigh to reach the top of Berlin Walls, I would have little interest in doing any of this without the team we've created. Not being a part of the team was the hardest thing about this weekend, but our Virginia Mudder is right around the corner - barring any torrential super storms that is.

 

4. The Freakin’ Awesome Start Line

There is nothing quite like arriving at a Tough Mudder though. Watching the school buses roll into some mud trap of a corn field we've parked on. Listening to all the stories and excitement of those on the bus. The exhilaration of seeing the most interesting man in the world. The music blaring over some poorly placed loud speakers. I can actually sit here and completely envision walking into the race. Now, granted I have done this a few times, but still it is always exciting. Then it is some last minute stretches and over the first wall and up to the front of the start line. This is where the wait really begins, and for me the time when my mind says, "What in the hell are we doing here again." But soon it is time to embrace the suck, and we are off on another round. This is the start and definitely something I will miss a lot. This moment that signifies all you have trained for and where you really learn that you indeed are  

FREAKIN' AWESOME!

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