Gloucester residents Matt Sikora and Melissa Dugan-Makowiec have been training for the "Tough Mudder" marathon to be held this fall at Wintergreen. This is no ordinary marathon, as participants compete and run in the most extreme conditions designed by British Special Forces to test all-around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.

All of the proceeds from their efforts support the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian.

According to Sikora, he and Dugan-Makowiec got together and decided it would be great exercise and a great way to stay in shape in an untraditional type of workout. "Everyone does 5K races, but we thought it would be interesting to try the obstacle races," Sikora said. "It looked as though these races make you push yourself to do things you wouldn’t traditionally do."

These runners will run regard...