As a dentist, Chad Trammell says he takes pride in having a steady hand. It's a skill his patients no doubt value, and it's a skill that recently earned the Anchorage man $10,000 and an awe-inspiring title.
Trammell earlier this month became the World's Toughest Mudder, a title he earned at a 24-hour endurance obstacle race held outside Las Vegas on Nov. 14-15.
Trammell, 31, completed 19 laps around a five-mile loop containing 21 obstacles testing grip, strength, agility, balance and bravery.
Fueled by Krispy Kreme donuts, he was the only person in a field of 1,200 to complete that many laps during the 24-hour time period.
"It was everything from swimming to climbing over things," he said. Competitors swung on ropes and trapezes, crawled through mud – lots of mud, hence the Tough Mudder name – and jumped 35 feet off a cliff into a pool of water.
"I'm not sure I'll do it again," Trammell said, "but it was a pretty surreal and awesome experience."
One of the obstacles involved sticking a pole with a hook at the end into a circular hole, grabbing a small ring inside and bringing the ring and the hook out without touching either to the edge of the hole.
The obstacle is called Operation, after the board game, because the edges of the hole are electrified and the competitors are standing in a small pool of water. A shaky hand, a little wobble, and zap!
"You get a pretty good jolt," Trammell said. "I pride myself since I'm a dentist for having pretty steady hands. The diabolical part is you're standing with your feet in water so if any of the other people fail, you get a shock as well.
"I think all of my shocks were from somebody else."
Trammell said he failed an average of one obstacle per lap. Each failure required racers to run a short penalty loop.
Each lap included 850 feet of climbing plus all those obstacles and miles. Trammell's fastest lap, coming near the beginning of the competition, was 58 minutes. His slowest lap, coming near the end of the 24 hours, was 92 minutes.
In all, Trammell covered 95 miles and climbed 16,000 feet.
"My legs were just destroyed," he said. "I was actually thinking I was going to need a wheelchair to get through the airport. I could walk as long as my legs were straight and knees locked. If I bent my knee, I pretty much collapsed."
Trammell prepped for the race by participating in Spartan Race obstacle events in the Lower 48. He and Anchorage's Matt Novokavich are both members of the Spartan Pro Team.
"Those are about three, three-and-a-half hours," he said. "My longest ever run before was 28 miles.
"… Usually I like relatively shorter races and wouldn't think of doing something insanely long, but over the summer I just had so much fun running in the mountains, I figured if I was ever gonna be fit enough and in shape enough to do this, it'd be now."
Trammell, who ran college cross country at Pepperpine and moved to Anchorage a year ago, worked out at a climbing gym and a crossfit gym to hone his abilities. His time spent running in the Chugach Mountains over the summer made him nimble and increased his stamina.
During the race, he wore a hydration vest and often wore one of two wetsuits, one long, one short.
Each lap took runners to a pit area, where they could rest or grab food. Trammell never rested, but he did slow down enough in the pit area to eat.
"The thing I ate the most, because it went down so well, was donuts," he said. "Krispy Kremes. It didn't take much to chew."
The race began at 2 p.m. Saturday and ended at 2 p.m. Sunday. At midnight, course officials tweaked the course to add a 35-foot cliff jump into water Trammell estimated at 53 degrees.
Jumping off a cliff in the dark was unsettling. But the hardest part was simply staying awake for 24 hours.
"There was a lap in the morning where I was falling asleep," he said. "I was definitely counting down the hours. I had a moment when the sun came up where initially I was excited because it felt like it was almost over – but it was 5 a.m. and I still had nine more hours.
"So that was a little disheartening, but I never thought about quitting."
Trammell said at least one racer had to be rescued after bumping his head while making the cliff jump – the water below was manned by divers in case of emergencies – and several others broken bones.
"You kinda sign a death waiver" before being allowed in the competition, he said.
Since returning to Anchorage, the World's Toughest Mudder has been taking on gentle activities like stretching and walking on a treadmill. His friends know about his achievement, but most of those who come to his office have no idea what their dentist does in his spare time.
"I usually don't disclose it to patients," Trammell said. "They might think I'm crazy."