When Bob Knight, one of America’s most successful basketball coaches, said, “Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one,” he probably wasn’t envisioning a 40-something Scottish man and his colleagues scrambling around in the mud on a Saturday morning.
But his words rang true for our fifty-strong team as we crossed the finish line after 5 miles and 13 obstacles and what seemed like a million personal bests at Tough Mudder Scotland.
We took part as Team Cruden 75 this weekend, where I’m delighted to report we raised a phenomenal £28,500 for the Beatson Cancer Charity!
Although taking part in Tough Mudder is not a first for Cruden – we’ve fielded a team of three or four brave souls for a number of years – it was a first for me, and the largest number of my colleagues.
We were all taking part in Cruden Group’s 75th Anniversary celebrations where one of the company-wide goals we’d set was to raise as much money for charity in 2018 than ever before.
This idea to pool our efforts and enter a super-team into the Tough Mudder quickly gained traction and soon Team Cruden 75 was born, with Beatson Cancer Charity as its beneficiary of choice.
I was really inspired to see so many of my colleagues sign up to tackle such an imposing course and before I knew it, I was one of the hopeful Mudders.
Our first challenge was a logistical one. How would we, as a team of fifty individuals of varying ages and fitness levels, spread across multiple sites and regions, and with various work patterns, get organised enough to train, travel, arrive and participate in Tough Mudder together?
Enter Lynn Coyle, who can get anything and anyone organised come hell or high water. As ‘Team Manager’ Lynn gathered our sprawling collection of Mudder-wannabes into a unified group of go-getters who not only managed to train for and conquer this gruelling task, but raised a record amount while doing so. Lynn was the heartbeat behind our collective struggle up and down those gigantic, slippery mud pyramids, and the number one reason we even managed to arrive in the first place.
Together we were completely committed to getting as fit as possible by June. Some joined gyms, others bought bikes or running shoes. And with Lynn helping us stay motivated with weekly emails and updates, alongside spontaneous staff fitness sessions, we were soon reaping the benefits of being more active.
The general air of positive purpose had a noticeable effect on the company and soon I had become accustomed to looking out of my office window and seeing a group of colleagues return from a lunchtime jog, or hearing yet another story of so-and-so’s weight loss or new personal best.
Having a group-wide project like this meant that even those who were not able to participate in Tough Mudder were able to feel part of the collective effort and either support us in spirit or with cheerleading, fundraising or logistical help.
So we were delighted to see our collective fundraising smash through our initial goal of £10,000 and continue upwards, with much encouragement and grateful engagement from the Beatson itself. Beyond the exceptionally good cause we were supporting, it appears that the idea of some of us being half-drowned in mud was very popular indeed!
Finally the day dawned and we found ourselves at the starting line, amidst what seemed an army of fit and muscled athletes. Personally, when I saw the first hurdle, I began to wonder what I had let myself in for!
But, starting and finishing the course as one group was our collective promise to each other and so we all got each other through it. Impossible heights, exhausting mud trudges, and some choice words when losing a shoe in the very literal quagmire which race organisers had prepared for us, all felt a whole lot easier – not easy - with each other to help. We took each obstacle together, and never went faster than the slowest member of the team.
It was fun, yes. But it was also an enormous physical challenge, even for the fittest among us. The obstacles are designed to test mental toughness alongside physical limits, and it certainly delivered. I was impressed and humbled by the team spirit and strength of character that every member of Team Cruden 75 displayed throughout the course, and we returned to the office this week inspired by an exceptional group of humans to work with.
At the finish line, where most of us collapsed into a muddy heap of gratitude at having made it through, Lynn and our band of supporters including Joyce Ross, Corporate Partnership Manager from the Beatson, greeted us with water, towels and the excellent news that our efforts had proven fruitful to the tune of £28,500.
Finally, it was time to head home and to a proper hot bath. I am sure I was not the only one who slept like a stone and woke up the next morning with a few bruises and tender muscles, but nonetheless elated at all the good our wonderful team had achieved. It was such an honour to take part – thank you to each and every one of our team and all those who supported us for enabling this muddy victory. Same time next year?
Written by Raymond McCafferty, Commercial Director, Cruden Building & Renewals Ltd
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