As an obstacle course competitor, David Mitchell not only has to worry about pacing himself and staying hydrated on race days, but he also has to tolerate electric shocks charged with 10,000 volts as well as wade through ice baths and scale walls at least 10 feet tall.
Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Monarch Corp., has faced the challenges of obstacle course racing for the past two years with an affinity for both the mental and physical demands of obstacle events.
His interest in these events surged as he began searching for motivation to maintain his fitness levels.
“As you get older and as you sit behind a desk and you do the challenges of your business…you start looking for things to start challenging you outside your comfort zone,” Mitchell said.
According to Mitchell, obstacle course racing challenges athletes, “on every physical level possible.”
With several good friends in a team named Ye Old Brudders from Anudder Mudder, Mitchell completed the 2012 and 2013 Tough Mudder Wisconsin, both spanning 11.8 miles with more than 24 obstacles.
“It’s a great way to be together and bond and do something that is challenging all of you physically,” Mitchell said. “And it becomes kind of like a brotherhood in a way.”
Mitchell also crossed the finish line of the Spartan Race at Miller Park in November. The 5K obstacle race was packed with more than 20 obstacles, and for each obstacle a competitor couldn’t complete they had to perform 30 burpees on the spot.
For 2014, Mitchell has his ambitions set on at least two more Tough Mudders and another Spartan Race. In 2015, when he turns 50, he aims to qualify for the Spartan Race Vermont Ultra Beast Marathon, a 26.2-mile obstacle race in the mountains of Vermont with more than 50 obstacles imbedded in the route.
“I don’t want to grow old gracefully,” Mitchell said. “I want to grow old with endurance and strength.”
