New Mexico Minuteman - Fall 2011

New Mexico National Guard team completes
“Toughest event on the Planet”
By Tammy Scarlott-Maynard
Want to test your physical and mental toughness? How about
your team skills? How about all three at the same time on a grueling
12-mile obstacle course? That’s the pledge a team of New Mexico
National Guard Soldiers made when they entered a unique event
called “Tough Mudder” June 25-26 in Beaver Creek, Colo.
Staff Sgts. Joshua Maynard, David McCloud, Aaron Garcia,
Sgts. Monterey Herrera, Nicolas Escandonroguett and Spc. Mark
Currier from the 1st Battalion, 515th Regional Training Institute
Warrior Leader Course, entered this year’s event as Team Tracer
Burnout 2011.
Tough Mudder has been termed the “toughest event on the
planet” by many. This 12-mile event was designed with the help of
British Special Forces and is intended to test physical and mental
strength beyond what most typical endurance races do. It is not
a timed race and tries to avoid identifying with the term “race” as
they consider the event to be a personal challenge for each participant
to complete the grueling course. The company Travlete
awarded Tough Mudder the “Best Adventure Race” for 2010 (http//
travlete.com/2010/12/28/year-in-review/). The philosophy behind
the event is to support camaraderie among the participants, as
many of the 23 military obstacles in the 12-mile course require the
help of a fellow teammate. With the focus of not fi nishing for time,
many of the teams begin and end the challenge together.
While the event itself attracts many U.S. military for its inventive
series of obstacles, its main focus is to raise money for a most
worthy cause, the Wounded Warrior Project. Each Tough Mudder
event raises millions of dollars through entry fees and spectator
donations. This year’s Beaver Creek event was said to have raised
$3,000,000 on this occasion alone.
Team Tracer Burnout pledged to begin and fi nish this Tough
Mudder as a team.
8 NEW MEXICO Minuteman / Fall 2011
Tammy Scarlott-Maynard, wife
of Staff Sgt. Josh Maynard, said
she is proud of each and every
one of them for their commitment
to one another and their professional
goals. For some of them, it
was their fi rst long distance obstacle
course.
Initially, many of these instructors took on the challenge to participate
because of the absurd obstacles and the enticement of
an event that appeals to their adventurous spirit. However, after
fi nishing the course, they each earned a new sense of pride and
a desire to further their physical and mental fi tness. Their hope is
to challenge more men and women of the New Mexico National
Guard to commit to a course of physical training that places an
emphasis on team building and accountability. They also plan to
have a large representation of
New Mexico National Guard
Soldiers at the event planned
for Albuquerque in 2013.
Watching these men cross
the fi nish line together was
a proud moment for a wife
as well as a proud moment
for the New Mexico National
Guard. They truly embrace
what it means to be an
American Soldier and to live
“Beyond the Standard.