e last four holes to card a disappointing 75.

LONDON - For many, just the thought of running 12 miles (19 kilometres) over mounds of mud and through pools of ice water is enough to make them cry.Now comes something that will really make them weep.Tough Mudder, one of several obstacle course-style distance running events gaining in popularity, announced Tuesday it is adding a tear gas-experience to its repertoire this year with a stop labeled Cry Baby. Its not dangerous, according to the companys CEO, but it can pose quite a challenge for participants.The idea of doing something that sounds painful, disorientating, is definitely something thats a little scary, said Will Dean, who came up with the business plan for Tough Mudder while studying for a masters degree at Harvard. It definitely will make your eyes sting while youre in the smoke, but ultimately its safe.The reason we have it is because its intimidating.Dean was not the first to come up with the idea of asking people to pay money for the chance to challenge themselves in a military-style obstacle course. Tough Guy, for one, has been around for nearly 30 years and bills itself as The Original since 1987. Many others have followed in a similar vein, including Spartan Race and True Grit.I reinvent every year. Well, two or three times a year, said Tough Guy organizer Billy Wilson, who took Tough Mudder to court in its early days but eventually settled. I create a new obstacle for each event, sometimes two.Tough Mudder is a New York-based company that started in 2009 and this year is planning to stage 55 events in eight countries around the world. In addition to the main 10-12-mile (16-19-kilometre) challenge with about 20 obstacles for both men and women, the company also has Mudderella events for women and Mini Mudder runs for kids between 8 and 12.Crawling over logs and under wooden beams through an enclosed area filled with tear gas is the most eye-catching of the new obstacles on the slate for this years Tough Mudder events. There is also Ring of Fire, where people slide down a firemans pole through a ring set alight and into a tub of muddy water, and Birth Canal, where participants crawl under a water-filled tarpaulin that creates a sense of claustrophobia.The well-known Electroshock Therapy will also be in the mix, with participants running through wires charged with 10,000 volts of electricity.Its as much about the mental challenge as it is the physical component, said Dean, a 34-year-old British transplant who worked in counterterrorism for the U.K.s Foreign Office before heading to Boston and then New York.The first chance for runners to face the new Tough Mudder challenges, including the tear gas, will be at the Gulf Coast event near Pensacola, Florida, on March 7 at a cost of nearly $200 for a standard entry. Dean said he is expecting Cry Baby to be in place for all 55 editions in 2015.The tear gas that will be used was created by the people at Tough Mudder to give runners a sense of what its like to be faced with the chemical weapon often employed by police to disperse crowds, but the burning sensation will wear off quickly.Its best described as a tear gas-like substance, said Lucas Barclay, the vice-president of event delivery for Tough Mudder. It has no lasting effects.Tough Guy also tries to stay fresh and ahead of the competition, and Wilson is planning to commemorate a famous World War I battle at his next event near Birmingham in central England on Feb. 1.I recreated Gallipoli beach for the 100th anniversary this year, Wilson said of the battle that started in April 1915 in which more than 46,000 allied soldiers were killed among 250,000 casualties. Gallipoli has become a sacred place. Ive recreated that.The quest to give paying customers an exciting and challenging experience can come with complications and catastrophes. In April 2013, 28-year-old Avishek Sengupta died at a Tough Mudder event in West Virginia.We treat, first and foremost, safety as the most important part of our event, Barclay said. We are always reviewing our safety features.The prospect of being injured certainly keeps some people on the sidelines, but Dean said Tough Mudder is expecting its 2 millionth competitor this year.And, as he is quick to point out, its not a race against the clock. Its a test of ones inner strength.We spend so much of our lives competing with one another, Dean said. In the long run, the race is only within yourself. Matt Carpenter Jersey .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Yadier Molina Cardinals Jersey . - Kentucky freshmen Stanley Boom Williams, Dorian Baker, Drew Barker and Tymere Dubose have been charged with disorderly conduct for their involvement with air pistol shots being fired near a residence hall on the South campus Sunday night. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-paul-dejong-jersey/ . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Ken Boyer Cardinals Jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Steve Carlton Cardinals Jersey . We wonder if the price of a Roberts rookie card has at least gone up a few cents? Tribute Tweets #Padres Tony Gwynn had 287 career plate appearances against #Braves trio of Maddux, Glavine, & Smoltz, he hit .Billy Payne wore a smile as wide as the Augusta National fairways as he watched eight kids file out of the room with their trophies from the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship on the Sunday before the Masters. "Were going to be hearing from some of these kids again," he said. Yes, but six weeks later? An 11-year-old girl who won her age group in the youth competition before the Masters has played her way into the U.S. Womens Open next month at Pinehurst No. 2. Lucy Li, a sixth grader with braces and a sharp short game, made history Monday at Half Moon Bay with rounds of 74-68 to become the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Womens Open. Not only did she earn a spot at the biggest event in womens golf, she won the 36-hole qualifier by seven shots. Its another example that golf has no age limits. The record for youngest qualifier had belonged to Lexi Thompson, who was 12 when she made it to the 2007 Womens Open at Pine Needles. Its only fitting that when Li signed up for the Drive, Chip and Putt, she listed Thompson as among her favourite players. Li, from the suburbs south of San Francisco, still wont be the youngest player. Beverly Klass was 10 when she played in 1967, but that was when the U.S. Womens Open didnt have qualifying. Judy Rankin was a 14-year-old prodigy from Missouri when she entered the 1959 U.S. Womens Open at Churchill Valley Country Club in Pittsburgh. "When I went to register, they asked me if I was registering for my mother," Rankin said Tuesday. "I weighed 80 pounds. I remember the first tee was way up high. I was shaking. I was so scared, so nervous. I thought I could fall off. I didnt even make the cut. I was probably ill-prepared to be playing. But the next year, I was low amateur." Teenagers in the U.S. Womens Open are nothing new. Morgan Pressel, who went on to become the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history at 18, qualified for the U.S. Womens Open in 2001 when she 12. Michelle Wie was 12 when she qualified for her first LPGA Tour event, and she was in the final group at a major when she was 13. Lydia Ko was 15 when she won the Canadian Womens Open two years ago, making her the youngest winner in LPGA history.ddddddddddddNow shes in range of becoming No. 1 in the world. In mens golf, Matteo Manassero won twice on the European Tour before he had his drivers license. Ryo Ishikawa won his first professional tournament when he was 15. Jordan Spieth nearly won the Masters last month at age 20. And who can forget Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old from China who made the cut at the Masters last year? Even so, two numbers are enough to get anyones attention — "11" and "sixth grade." "This is ridiculous," Dottie Pepper said Tuesday, more amazed than concerned. Earlier in the day, Pepper was on Twitter and tried to get her head around an 11-year-old teeing it up at Pinehurst No. 2 when she noted that Lis date of birth was "THIS CENTURY. Whoa!" Rankin and Pepper both attributed the increasing achievements by teens — pre-teens in Lis case — to modern equipment and coaching. Li began playing when she was 7 by whacking a few golf balls on the range while waiting for her brother and cousin to finish a golf tournament. She now works with Jim McLean. And this is not the first time Li has written herself into USGA history. She set a record last year in the U.S. Womens Amateur as the youngest qualifier at age 10. She also was the youngest in the U.S. Womens Amateur Public Links to reach match play, losing in the first round to a college player. "For people with talent, regardless of age, todays equipment is making the game a lot easier to learn," Rankin said. "For talented people, they are learning the game quicker and easier. That has a big bearing on it." Rankin also points to the very best in golf being on television so often, and the fact that kids copy what they see. "No one in the world is better at mimicking than children," she said. "I can go way back to a friend of mine from U.S. Amateur days, Helen Sigel Wilson. She always said the way to teach a kid how to play good golf is only let them see great players. They can figure it out." Sooner than later, thats what theyre doing. ' ' '