At 33-years-old, Josiah Middaugh has been unbeatable in the Teva Mountain Games鈥 Ultimate Mountain Challenge (UMC) since it started six years ago; he鈥檚 won every edition. But Teva is just his warm-up. He鈥檚 a seven-time X-Terra National tri champ and will be competing in鈥攃ount 鈥榚m鈥攕even X-Terra events this summer. For the past 12 years, he hasn鈥檛 gone a month without competing. We caught up with Middaugh mid-UMC, which he went on to win. Naturally.
This was your sixth appearance at the Teva Mountain Games. How have you progressed over the years?
I鈥檝e become more and more competitive at every event. As I鈥檝e gotten better, though, the field has gotten better too, and most of the time better than me. I used to be able to get on the podium in the individual events and now I have a hard time doing that.
What event do you struggle most with?
The paddle, by far. I had never kayaked before I entered the Teva Mountain Challenge. The first year, I bought a kayak for a hundred bucks and took it to a lake nearby and taught myself how to roll. That鈥檚 the extent of my training. After six years, the locals still laugh at my attire and my boat. Most of the races, I end up upside down.
Do you practice for the paddle at all?
No, I dread it too much. I go out the day before the race and paddle once, then won鈥檛 even look at the kayak again for a year. For the real kayakers this is easy, but for me this is the most stressful and intense event all year.
Are you just not a water person?
With most of the other events I don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 risking my life. With kayaking, the water is so powerful and so unpredictable that it becomes a mental and physical challenge. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I love challenges, but that river can be pretty intense.
If the paddle is the event you鈥檙e dreading, then which one are you looking forward to?
The run is my favorite, even though I suffer the most. I think it makes you feel alive. It鈥檚 also super competitive鈥攁ctually one of the hardest 10k鈥檚 in the country鈥攂ecause you鈥檙e surrounded by the best trail runners out there.
You鈥檝e been doing this for a while鈥12 years in fact. Will you ever stop?
As long as I鈥檓 competitive, I鈥檒l keep doing this for as long as I can. I鈥檒l do it until my kids start beating me. They鈥檙e actually doing the mud run right now, so perhaps it鈥檚 sooner than I think.