If you’ve spent any time around Registered Dietitian Patrick James, MS RD LD, you’ve likely heard about what he calls his “mud addiction”, or as most people call it, obstacle course racing (OCR). Patrick frequently runs the Tough Mudder obstacle courses (10-mile each) with a goal to do 3-4 every year.
“I started running the Mudder courses back in 2012,” Patrick says. “When I hit 30, I was 330 pounds, out of shape and needed a change.”
He started working out at the local gym, following routines he found online but started losing motivation to keep with it. Then while working at the radio station he was at, he found a video for Tough Mudder, and it was love at first mud.
“I was watching this video and thought, ‘this… this is why I’m working out. I want to do this,’” Patrick says. “I went home and showed my fiancée, Andrea, and she started questioning my sanity after watching the video.”
Patrick completed his first Tough Mudder course in 2012 in southeast Missouri, and his twenty forth before the end of this year in Dallas. But over the last year, he’s focused on really seeing what he can handle. On November 4-5, he will take part in the yearly event called the World’s Toughest Mudder (WTM). The World’s Toughest Mudder is a 5-mile course race that lasts 25 and a half hours long and will test physical strength, endurance and mental grit as you go through the day in mud and water.
“I’ve always wanted to go try WTM, but in years past it was in Nevada or Florida,” Patrick says. “So too far to drive or too expensive to fly with gear. This year, it’s in Dallas, Texas.”
WTM has always been a goal, but Patrick wasn’t sure if he could finish. When he joined the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in 2022, he sat through the orientation and got the inspiration to go for it. The source of inspiration: CHC/SEK President and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Wesco.
“When sitting in our orientation, Jason came in and talked about branching out and taking time to devote to yourself and trying something new,” Patrick says. “He talked about how he started doing DDP yoga and how much it helped him grow. I took that and decided I was going to commit and compete in WTM.”
For the last 10 months, Patrick has trained (you’ll find him most times in the Wellness Center at 3011 during his lunch break on a treadmill) and dialed in his nutrition (this part, he says, he’s gotten pretty good at) to prepare for this big event. And the next weekend, he’ll find out the results. And if you’ve met Patrick, he will likely talk about his experiences at WTM and maybe try to convince you to go run with him.
“The nearest one here is Missouri’s run outside St. Louis,” he says. “I usually always do that run. Or if you want to run another, name the time and place. I’ll be there.”
