Local Firefighters Have 'Absolute Ball' In Hellish Competition

Eight Hampton firefighters went into an intense, British Special Forces-designed onslaught of extreme obstacles Sunday knowing they'd complete the rigorous 10 miles as one supportive team.

What they didn't quite expect, though, was the overall level of inspiration and joy they would take out of the Tough Mudder on Mount Snow in Vermont.

Firefighter Dean Tsonas said the group "had an absolute ball with it," and said that it was moving to see the station's brotherhood mindset working in a non-emergency situation to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project.

"It had to do with the attitude we all had," said Tsonas, who said Sunday's grueling run was more "hands-down more enjoyable" to him than when he ran the Tough Mudder for the first time last year. "I thought it was amazing. Everyone was smiling the whole time. That really comes out in the pictures we have — the positive attitude."

There's one thing, though, that might not be so apparent in the hundreds of photos taken Sunday of firefighters Tsonas, Craig Jordan, Craig Magner, Kevin Lavigne, Jason Newman, Nate Denio, Brian Akerley, and Jed Carpentier — a military veteran.

Tsonas said the group got a strong mental boost — something he said was needed to withstand bruises, scrapes and strains during 10 miles of vertical climbs, mountain running, frigid water, barbed wire, electrical shocks and mud — from seeing a veteran running the course on a hand-pedaled bike despite the fact that he was paralyzed from the waist down.

The veteran wasn't able to complete all of the 27 obstacles thrown at the dozens of teams Sunday morning, although Tsonas said it was beyond moving to see the man's determination.

"When you run past someone like that, you can’t help but be blessed you're running on two feet with your friends and coworkers," said Tsonas, whose girlfriend's brother received life-changing aid from the Wounded Warriors Project after a bullet to the arm in Afghanistan eliminated almost all of his arm's function. "That’s definitely motivating and pretty unbelievable to see."

Tsonas said the most difficult obstacle Sunday was the Berlin Walls, which are three, 11-foot walls in a row that teams have to climb over without falling.

Obstacles like that, as well as numerous endurance- and mental stamina-testing moments, helped reaffirm to Tsonas that every firefighter has each other's back. He said it also served to confirm that the team, which finished the Tough Mudder in three hours, wouldn't have completed the course together had they not had that instilled sense of brotherhood.

"This event was great to run together," said Tsonas, who also said the Hampton Fire Warriors team, which wore shirts Sunday paid for by MaxEdge Fitness of Hampton, will run the Tough Mudder again next year. "It definitely felt like a brotherhood running through, and we definitely felt that amongst each other."