Let me introduce you to my friend SFC Eric Johnson from US Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). Eric is involved in the EOD Warrior Foundation http://woundedeodwarrior.org/ which is a non profit organization that provides assistance to wounded and fallen EOD Warriors and their families.
In order to raise awareness and contributions for this organization Eric and some of his fellow EOD warriors have done some pretty crazy things . The latest and greatest of their crazy adventures: Eric decided to complete the ToughMudder obstacle course wearing one of his EOD issued bomb suits. Why not, right, (it's only an extra 55 lbs when it's dry...which by the way it was not dry)? For those of you who don't know what Tough Mudder is, their website claims to be "Probably the toughest event on the planet". Eric and his team had two goals in mind, raise awareness and money for the EOD Warrior Foundation. Well, I can tell you as a spectator at this event that Eric and his team completed the course last weekend (June 2, 2013) in Philadelphia, PA they certainly raised both awareness and money.
Being a spectator I got to watch in awe, as Eric kept going on this 12 miles course in the scorching heat. It was in the 90's on Saturday with high humidity, and this course was in an open field with no shade. Eric and his teammates completed the 12 mile course and 22 obstacles in about 6 hours. Along the way Eric was greeted by many other participants who thought of him as quite the "bad ass" and just wanted to shake his hand and congratulate him on being such an inspiration to them and to others. It was great to watch the jaws of spectators, participants, and Tough Mudder employees just drop wide open as they stared in disbelief to what he was doing. Need a little more insight? Here he is in action jumping over the the walls of "Glory Blades".
A direct recap from Eric after the event: "I finally have a chance to recap the Tough Mudder for all of you. After a day to recover and think about it, I'm feeling pretty proud of the accomplishment. That is due in large part to my team. I would not have finished without you! It was at mile 2 that I already had doubts about finishing. The heat was brutal and the cramps had already started, but thanks to a little motivation from Leanne..., Steph, Bill and Brook we pushed on. We made a lot more stops than anticipated, but they were definitely necessary. We ended up finishing in about 6 hours. The obstacles themselves were a blast. I didn't get across the rings or the monkey bars like I had hoped, but falling into the water was definitely worth it. The climb up Everest took about a dozen people, but they eventually got me to the top. Walk the Plank was hands down my favorite. Jumping 20 feet into the water and shooting right back up like a fishing bobber was exactly what I expected and a whole lot of fun. I wanted to do it again. I did get killed by the electroshock at the end though...5 times in the hands and face by my count, but made it through without falling on my face. The greatest part of the day was getting to hear the encouragement from all the other mudders and talking to bunch of great people. Not many people knew that we would be out there doing what we were doing and there were definitely some confused looks on peoples faces, but in the end they were all tremendously supportive. Thanks again to everyone for your support! I don't know if this the end of my bomb suit shenanigans, but keep an eye on this page and you'll be the first to find out if we come up with something new."
Why go through something so crazy? Why push your body to it's absolute maximum? Well do it because you're crazy for a good cause. Eric has shirts for sale (that I happen to love by the way) for purchase that basically speak the words of courage right on them. All proceeds go to the EOD warrior foundation. If you would like to buy a shirt: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/bombsuitmudder.org/app_251458316228
or donate to:
(Select Bomb Suit Mudder from the program designation drop down menu.)
More great photos of this event (compliments of http://www.danamariephotography.com and Andrea Croyle):
