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地球最艰难障碍赛难不倒最强悍者

"Tough Mudder" is not your typical run in the mountains; it is a world-class military-designed obstacle course. In fact, it's the type of thing you're told never to try at home with gut-wrenching obstacles like muddy, electrified¹ water, ice, and a scorching² blaze. It's treacherous³ and long, and like any other fulfilling adventure, requires participants to sign a liability waiver.

这可不是一般的跑步登山。事实上，这正是你警告大家“千万不要在家尝试”的那种活动。你要忍受筋骨和心智上的煎熬 ，经历漫长崎岖的赛程，越过各式各样的障碍，包括泥泞和带电的脏水、寒冰和烈焰。而且，就像任何不虚此行的冒险一样，参加者必须先签好免责声明，出事自理。

The 20-kilometer course is hidden in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The organizers take pride in calling it "probably the toughest event on the planet."

这是20公里的障碍赛，名为“强悍泥人”(Tough Mudder)，赛程掩映在宾夕法尼亚州翠绿的波科诺山间。组织者自豪地说，他们的障碍赛“可能是地球上最艰难的赛事”。

For the 5,000 registered "mudders," bruises⁴, blood, mud, and costumes are all part of the fun. In fact, the course has become so popular that there are 34 events like it this year covering three continents, with more in the works.

对5千名报名参赛的“泥人”来说，伤痕累累、鲜血流淌以及奇装异服都是乐趣的一部分。事实上，这场大赛已经变得如此热门，就在今年，就有34场类似的赛事遍布三大洲，更多的还在计划之中。

So how do you train for something of this magnitude? And why would you pay money months in advance to do this to yourself?

那么，你为什么要一心准备着参加这样的大赛呢？为什么要提前好几个月交钱来受这样的煎熬呢？

"It's called commitment. That, and a desire to feel invincible⁶, both in mind and spirit," noted⁷ participant Felix Foster.

参赛者菲利克斯?福斯特的答案是：“是因为执着。再加上那种在心理和精神上的战无不胜的感觉。”

Since its founding, Tough Mudder has helped to raise more than $3 million for severely⁸ wounded American servicemen and servicewomen in transitioning to civilian⁹ life, through a non-profit organization called The Wounded Warrior¹⁰ Project.

自从成立以来，“强悍泥人”已经通过一个名为“受伤勇士项目”(The Wounded Warrior Project)的非营利组织，帮助募集了3百多万美元的资金，用来辅助受过重伤的美国男女军人向民间生活过渡。

"They really highly emphasize our fallen ones and our ones who are out there fighting for us. I just put myself in their shoes at that moment, and was like, wow, this one is for them," said Jermoe Axel Brown, another participant in Tough Mudder.

参赛者阿列克西?布朗说：“他们高度重视我们的那些倒下的战士，还有那些正在海外为我们战斗的人。我此刻设身处地想着他们，感觉到，啊，这一切都是为了他们。”

An eight-man team called the "Militants," four from New York and four from Washington, trained together in the weeks leading to the main event. But there are some things you just can't train for - like an obstacle called the "electric eel⁵."

这支参赛团队名为“激进分子”(Militants)。队员有八名，四名来自纽约，四名来自华盛顿。他们在大赛之前一道训练了好几个星期。可有些是无法提前训练的，比如有道障碍叫“电鳗”。

"They tell you, oh it's 10,000 volts¹¹ and you're going to get shocked. And by the way, if anyone next to you in the water is going to get shocked, you're going to get shocked too," noted Foster.

福斯特说：“他们跟你说，哦，它的电压是1千伏，你会挨电的，顺便告诉你啊，如果在水里你身边有人触电了，你也会被电着的。”

And then, after all the training comes the moment of truth. The drumbeats of war, complete with piercing battle cries, in this three-hour rush of adrenaline - it all comes together as one, that feeling that while everything can stand in your way, nothing will stop you.

在经历了所有的训练之后，真正的时刻来到了。战鼓敲响，杀声四起，三个小时的亢奋之后，一切都结束了，它带给你的感受是：在你的人生路途上，什么都可能变成你的障碍，但是，什么都挡不住你！

In just two years since its founding, Tough Mudder has captivated more than 500,000 participants worldwide. It has also managed to raise more than $3 million for a cause the organizers feel is a good fit for the course, The Wounded Warrior Project, which provides recovery programs, counseling and employment services to severely wounded American service members as they transition to civilian life.