It's been brought to my attention that I have not really introduced myself to you readers properly, and I thought what better way to do so, then with an Athlete Profile of myself. Other members of the Tough Mudder Tour 2014 have or will have their Athlete Profile uploaded soon (check out Laura's here). So here is just a little something about myself.
So, my name is Michael Fraser, and I am a 26 year old Melbournian. I currently work as a gardener, and part time as an event planner. I found out about Tough Mudder through a friend at the beginning of 2013, and completed my first Mudder in March 2013 in Melbourne. In September 2013, my Tafe classmates and I traveled down to Phillip Island to volunteer and work at Tough Mudder on the Saturday, and we then ran the course on Sunday (my second event). From there my love for obstacle courses and Tough Mudder just exploded.
Sport is my lifelong love, especially hockey (field hockey for you internationals). I started playing when I was 7 years old, and have played ever since, minus a couple years I had to take off due to injury. About 5 years ago I started playing netball once a week, which then grew to twice a week. I loved it so much, that I was eventually playing 4+ games a week. All you netballers out there will know how bad it is for your knees and ankles, which I found out the hard way - 4 times (twice each foot) I rolled my ankle tearing all the ligaments badly. You may know from previous posts that I am quite injury prone ...
Sport is my lifelong love, especially hockey (field hockey for you internationals). I started playing when I was 7 years old, and have played ever since, minus a couple years I had to take off due to injury. About 5 years ago I started playing netball once a week, which then grew to twice a week. I loved it so much, that I was eventually playing 4+ games a week. All you netballers out there will know how bad it is for your knees and ankles, which I found out the hard way - 4 times (twice each foot) I rolled my ankle tearing all the ligaments badly. You may know from previous posts that I am quite injury prone ...
That about sums up my life. I work, I play sport constantly, and I love my Tough Mudders. If you're reading this on this blog, you obviously know that I am completing every Tough Mudder in Australia and New Zealand this year, multiple laps each event.
Anyways, here are a few questions about me answered for your interest :)
Anyways, here are a few questions about me answered for your interest :)
Athlete Profile Q&A
What is your involvement in sport?
I have been playing sport my entire life. My first love is hockey, which I have been playing since I was 7 years old, and am currently in my 15th season with Camberwell Hockey Club (missed a few years to injury unfortunately). Over the last 5 or so years, I have also been playing social netball. After laughing at netball during high school and never taking it seriously as a sport, I find it quite humorous that I was to spend the last 5 years playing 2, 3 or even 4 games a week. I fell for netball quite hard and very quickly.
I used to play basketball, dabbled in American Football, and was quite the indoor soccer athlete. You could easily say that my whole life is sport orientated, which was why it crushed me when I injured myself to such a point that I had to give up everything except Hockey at the beginning of 2014.
What are your athletic achievements?
In sport, I won my under 15’s Hockey Grand Final as the captain, and won the Best and Fairest that year. Scoring the winning goal in extra time was really one of the best experiences of my life to that point, which was recently overtaken by winning my Metro 1 Seniors Grand Final last year. 2 weeks from today we actually play in the Grand Final again. Back to Back? Only time will tell.
Speaking of back to back, winning back to back to back netball premierships a few years ago, and only dropping 1 game in those 3 seasons, was quite an achievement as well.
In a non-sporting sense, my proudest athletic achievement is completing my first and only half marathon a few months ago, in a time of 1 hour 50 minutes, or there abouts.
Obstacle Course racing goals (Mudder goals)?
Obviously, for the regular readers of the Tough Mudder Tour 2014 blog, you know that my obstacle course racing goals are to complete every single Tough Mudder in Australia and New Zealand in 2014. That consists of 6 events total, and each one of those events I will be running at least 2 laps each. My goal for the last 3 events this year is to run twice on the Saturday and once on the Sunday of each. That will give me a grand total of 17 Tough Mudder laps completed, and 15 just this year.
Who is your fitness inspiration?
I don’t have any one person to inspire me, just anyone that is fitness orientated really. If there is someone that outplays me in hockey, netball or on the Tough Mudder course, my first thought is “how dare they!”, but then I eventually change my tune to being inspired by them. They’ve obviously put in the hard yards, so why hate them for that? I would love people to think of me as an inspiration, so I can’t be putting hate out into the world. Gotta have that good attitude towards everything!
What is your proudest moment in sport?
My proudest moment in sport (aside from the premierships I’ve already mentioned) would be playing for the Malaysia Men’s Netball Team a couple years ago. Their team came over to play in Melbourne, and had a horrible run of injuries, and as I’m well known in the netball circles in Melbourne, I was asked to fill in for a few games. So, my first international level game of any sport wasn’t for Australia, my home country born and raised, but for Malaysia! Sadly, the Aussie’s destroyed us on the court, but it was amazing to play at an international level though!
What is your training schedule leading up to Mudder?
As I am running 2 or 3 laps per Mudder this year, my training schedule consists of a lot of running - a huge amount of running! 2 laps on the Saturday of an event is about 40 kilometres, or basically a full marathon, and to back that up with another lap the next day, that’s a marathon and a half marathon in a weekend.
But aside from all the damn running, there is a bit of strength training thrown in as well for all the obstacles, to keep me in tip top shape during Mudder season.
Advice to someone at their first Mudder?
Do not skip any obstacle. There is no shame in trying and failing, but just not even trying, that’s not what Tough Mudder is about!
What are your pre and post Mudder foods?
Pre Mudder I pound the Gatorade for a couple days beforehand, and then throughout the weekend. Dinner the night before is your usual carb loading; pasta, bread etc. Breakfast the morning of the events usually consists of toast with avocado, and then a banana or two on the trip to the course. After the weekend, usually on the Sunday night, a big parma or burger. Running 60km of Mudder deserves that, right?
When not playing sport, what do you do?
Not playing sport? I don’t understand the question…
Any last words?
If you haven’t tried a Tough Mudder yet, get on it. It is a great experience that you can’t find anywhere else. The comradery is amazing, the fact that it’s not a race is great, overall it’s just awesome. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone! Only one thing – first timers check out the Obstacle Series posts and How To Series posts so you know what to expect!
Sporting Resume:
8 Tough Mudder laps to date (Melbourne, New Zealand Auckland, Sunshine Coast)
The Stampede 2012/2013
3rd Place Victorian ISKA Karate tournament (at some point as a child)
Many other karate awards
A few Basketball premierships
Hockey Premiers Under 15’s 2002
Hockey Premiers Seniors 2013
Multiple Netball premierships
Malaysian Mens Netball Squad 2012
The Age Run Melbourne Half Marathon
And many others which I can’t recall currently!
- Michael Fraser
#TMtour2014
What is your involvement in sport?
I have been playing sport my entire life. My first love is hockey, which I have been playing since I was 7 years old, and am currently in my 15th season with Camberwell Hockey Club (missed a few years to injury unfortunately). Over the last 5 or so years, I have also been playing social netball. After laughing at netball during high school and never taking it seriously as a sport, I find it quite humorous that I was to spend the last 5 years playing 2, 3 or even 4 games a week. I fell for netball quite hard and very quickly.
I used to play basketball, dabbled in American Football, and was quite the indoor soccer athlete. You could easily say that my whole life is sport orientated, which was why it crushed me when I injured myself to such a point that I had to give up everything except Hockey at the beginning of 2014.
What are your athletic achievements?
In sport, I won my under 15’s Hockey Grand Final as the captain, and won the Best and Fairest that year. Scoring the winning goal in extra time was really one of the best experiences of my life to that point, which was recently overtaken by winning my Metro 1 Seniors Grand Final last year. 2 weeks from today we actually play in the Grand Final again. Back to Back? Only time will tell.
Speaking of back to back, winning back to back to back netball premierships a few years ago, and only dropping 1 game in those 3 seasons, was quite an achievement as well.
In a non-sporting sense, my proudest athletic achievement is completing my first and only half marathon a few months ago, in a time of 1 hour 50 minutes, or there abouts.
Obstacle Course racing goals (Mudder goals)?
Obviously, for the regular readers of the Tough Mudder Tour 2014 blog, you know that my obstacle course racing goals are to complete every single Tough Mudder in Australia and New Zealand in 2014. That consists of 6 events total, and each one of those events I will be running at least 2 laps each. My goal for the last 3 events this year is to run twice on the Saturday and once on the Sunday of each. That will give me a grand total of 17 Tough Mudder laps completed, and 15 just this year.
Who is your fitness inspiration?
I don’t have any one person to inspire me, just anyone that is fitness orientated really. If there is someone that outplays me in hockey, netball or on the Tough Mudder course, my first thought is “how dare they!”, but then I eventually change my tune to being inspired by them. They’ve obviously put in the hard yards, so why hate them for that? I would love people to think of me as an inspiration, so I can’t be putting hate out into the world. Gotta have that good attitude towards everything!
What is your proudest moment in sport?
My proudest moment in sport (aside from the premierships I’ve already mentioned) would be playing for the Malaysia Men’s Netball Team a couple years ago. Their team came over to play in Melbourne, and had a horrible run of injuries, and as I’m well known in the netball circles in Melbourne, I was asked to fill in for a few games. So, my first international level game of any sport wasn’t for Australia, my home country born and raised, but for Malaysia! Sadly, the Aussie’s destroyed us on the court, but it was amazing to play at an international level though!
What is your training schedule leading up to Mudder?
As I am running 2 or 3 laps per Mudder this year, my training schedule consists of a lot of running - a huge amount of running! 2 laps on the Saturday of an event is about 40 kilometres, or basically a full marathon, and to back that up with another lap the next day, that’s a marathon and a half marathon in a weekend.
But aside from all the damn running, there is a bit of strength training thrown in as well for all the obstacles, to keep me in tip top shape during Mudder season.
Advice to someone at their first Mudder?
Do not skip any obstacle. There is no shame in trying and failing, but just not even trying, that’s not what Tough Mudder is about!
What are your pre and post Mudder foods?
Pre Mudder I pound the Gatorade for a couple days beforehand, and then throughout the weekend. Dinner the night before is your usual carb loading; pasta, bread etc. Breakfast the morning of the events usually consists of toast with avocado, and then a banana or two on the trip to the course. After the weekend, usually on the Sunday night, a big parma or burger. Running 60km of Mudder deserves that, right?
When not playing sport, what do you do?
Not playing sport? I don’t understand the question…
Any last words?
If you haven’t tried a Tough Mudder yet, get on it. It is a great experience that you can’t find anywhere else. The comradery is amazing, the fact that it’s not a race is great, overall it’s just awesome. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone! Only one thing – first timers check out the Obstacle Series posts and How To Series posts so you know what to expect!
Sporting Resume:
8 Tough Mudder laps to date (Melbourne, New Zealand Auckland, Sunshine Coast)
The Stampede 2012/2013
3rd Place Victorian ISKA Karate tournament (at some point as a child)
Many other karate awards
A few Basketball premierships
Hockey Premiers Under 15’s 2002
Hockey Premiers Seniors 2013
Multiple Netball premierships
Malaysian Mens Netball Squad 2012
The Age Run Melbourne Half Marathon
And many others which I can’t recall currently!
- Michael Fraser
#TMtour2014