Team Abolition to Take on the Tough Mudder

L-R Clint Dunning, Jennifer Manly and Adam Manly

This is an article I wrote for FreshInk on a race our team is doing. I'm not quite nuts enough to do it, but I got my first press pass and will be doing an interview with the founder of the race. Once I attend, I will be writing another article so check back and see some pictures too.~ Rebecca

Three members of Team Abolition-Colorado Springs will be taking on the Tough Mudder on Sunday, June 26^th 2011 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Team Abolition members Clint Dunning, Adam Manly and Jennifer Manly, will be heading into the event that is roughly eight (8) miles in duration that in the Tough Mudders words will, “test  toughness, fitness, strength, stamina, and mental grit all in one place and all in one day.”

Dunning, Manly and Manly are part of a grass-roots group of friends, dubbed Team Abolition, which is dedicated to spreading awareness about the atrocity of human trafficking and raising funds (for www.24-7prayer.com) through sponsorship to help end modern-day slavery. Team Abolition does this by engaging in events like running, climbing Colorado’s highest peaks (14ers.com) and other intense events-- events like the Tough Mudder.

Tough Mudders (www.toughmudder.com) are not for the faint of physique or heart; in this case starting at 8,100 feet and ending at 11,440, means competitors are ascending a total of 3,340 feet during the competition; much of it in mud or icy water conditions.  If that isn’t a bit daunting then consider this: only 7 out of 10 “Mudders” finish, meaning 30% drop out along the way.

The course begins with five thousand (5,000) others and includes twenty-four (24) obstacles to surmount; quite a few requiring the help of those around you,  including a series of 12 (twelve) foot walls and enormous bales of hay. A further sampling of the course includes: army crawling through mud under eight (8) inch high barb wire, dragging a log up a ski slope before descending, three different sets of cargo nets, running through waist high mud, crawling on hands and knees through a mountain of snow, climbing to the top of a greased quarter pipe, swimming under a series of barrels tied together on the surface of the water and edging through a series of constricting pipes that dump you into muddy freezing water. The event then finishes by leading you through a series of live wires, some which carry a 10,000 volt shock.  

When asked about the choice of this particular race Jennifer Manly stated, “We saw this race as something pretty extreme. This race will no doubt bring about blood, sweat and tears as does the fight to end human trafficking.  We wanted to represent the 27 million slaves world-wide and their struggle for freedom.”

Team Abolition represents their current sponsors, Freedom Chiropractic (www.maximizedlivingdrkells.com) and Artisan Decorative Finishes (www.proartisan.com) in this year’s events.  The group also has a July 27, Pikes Peak and a September 17, Mount Bierstadt climb left in their schedule during the 2011 season.

To find out more about ending modern-day slavery visit: www.24-7prayer.com/just24-7.

Thanks for reading ~ Rebecca

Rebecca Dunning is an award winning writer who lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and three children. She not only loves to read and write but also enjoys hiking, climbing mountains 14,000 feet or higher, traveling the world and about anything else out-of-doors. Ms. Dunning is a regular contributor to The Gazette, Pikes Peak Parent and FreshInk. Rebecca is also the author of two children's books: The Real-Life Princess and Beetle Hunter as well as her first novel, The Awen: Book One of the Sacred Oak Series.