So I wanted to give a debrief on all of the changes with TM this year. There are some new systems in place and a few new obstacles. Here are my basic observations after finishing TM Los Angles. Registration: The registration system is really smooth. You are suppose to bring a printout with your ticket, but they can scan your phone and have other ways to retrieve the data. Having your printed ticket is the fastest way to get through the line. First they check ID and provide the beer wristband. Then then they scan tickets and take your wavier forms. Included in the packet are two thick black chipped wristbands. These tie into their new photo system. I guess they get a time print when you pass the scanners at the photo zones so they no longer have to enter peoples bib numbers. Instead they will send you a narrow time zone of photos taken when you were near the scanner and you pick the ones you were in yourself. Legionaries: This is the new marketing campaign to encourage people to sign up for more than just one TM. They have a system where they give you color headbands based on the number of TM you have done. They count the number of days that you have run when doing their tally. So Saturday and Sunday each counts as one event. WTM counts as one event. One week before the event, TM emails a survey to confirm how many events you have done in the past. I entered the total number of laps Ive done since my event total was above 10 anyway. After going through registration, there is a tent where you go to pick up your headbands. They have a master list. You also get an extra wristband to get on the Legionaries Loop. They gave me all of the headband colors I would have previously earned. So I have one of each color now. After you finish you can pick up a new headband if you have earned the next level. They simply cut the wristband from your wrist and give you the new headband. Legionaries Loop: After Everest, they send you on Legionaries Loop. They sort of check the wrist bands at the junction. The loop included a 200 Kiss of Mud. Ours in LA was on sharp gravel and uphill. It cut me to shreds after a few laps. Next came a tire flip zone. 10 quick flips before you move on. We also had a tunnel to run through with EST wires dangling in it. The wires were not live. Each laps I did however scream like a little girl running through the tunnel to freak out those behind me. Got punched once for my effort. Totally worth it. TM has a Just Kidding sign at the tunnel exit. The last obstacle is their new giant waterside called Vesuvius. Due to the fire restrictions in CA, they didnt have the full fire effect at the bottom of the slide. It will be there at other locations. Its a ton of fun. The pool is 4 deep and filled with sand. You skip off the water a few times before coming to a stop. After the slide you are given the option to do EST. New Obstacles: They had two other new obstacles - Human Triangle and Family Feud. FF is just twinkle toes (balance beam) with audience participation. Kids and the like can swing big balls at you to knock you off. They get good at it. Nice one for audience participation. Human Triangle is like a flipped Everest. It is built of the same material (slick plastic) as Everest. When dry, you can do a quick power walk up it if you have tacky shoes. They build a muddy trench and put giant tires in front of it so you can not run up it like Everest. But its more fun to build the pyramid anyway. Lots of first time mudders were raving about this one because of the mass team work involved. Finish line procedures: After getting your headband and beer, they give you a gummy wristband to turn in at the t-shirt booth for your finishers tee. Now you dont need to take a tee when you are at your muddiest and can pick it up after you change. You also get pick up your new Legionaries headband (they take your Legionaries wrist band) and you can sign up for a future TM event for only $75. You also get a full Met-RX meal replacement bar at the finish line. Its too much for me to eat a whole one between laps, but they do taste better then the Cliff bars. The new tees dont smell funny like last years. New Sponsors - Degree and Cliff are gone. So Everest is unlabeled at the moment. It looks weird without the logo stuff. New to TM are Met-RX (they give you gummies and a small piece of protein bar on the course), Oberto Jerky (lots of free samples), Garmin (cool new adventure camera that seems to be a Go-Pro killer (is naturally waterproof and has built in GPS)), and some Monster (?) energy drink company (more free samples). Well I think that is it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:33:08 +0000
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