Most people celebrate their birthdays surrounded by family and friends as they enjoy special dinners, blow out colorful candles and open gifts.

Oxford resident Tim Speed celebrated his 55th birthday Saturday surrounded by thousands of strangers as he crawled through the mud, plunged into icy water and got shocked by live wires.

“It was quite the adventure,” he said.

Speed was among those who participated in Tough Mudder, a team-based challenge where people tackle a variety of military-style obstacles designed to test physical and mental strength, stamina and the ability to work together.

“I was very happy with the whole thing,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”

Between Saturday and Sunday, the event drew approximately 7,800 participants and approximately 1,200 spectators to the 1,200-acre Koenig Sand & Gravel property in Oxford Township, according to Ethan Metelenis, publicist for Tough Mudder.

Speed ran the full Tough Mudder course, which consisted of 20 obstacles spread over 10.8 miles. He was extremely pleased with how well he did.

“They tell you it takes three to five hours (to complete it). I did it in two hours and 39 minutes,” he said.

Speed is no stranger to going the distance. Every year, he runs 10 miles in Flint as part of the Crim Festival of Races.

When he learned Tough Mudder was coming to Oxford on his birthday, Speed couldn’t resist signing up.

“I thought it was destiny,” he said.

“I would do it again,” Speed noted. “Hopefully, they’ll stay in Oxford because I think it’s a great event.”

He encourages others to join in the fun and challenge themselves. “You have to have goals,” Speed said.

Don’t let age be a deterrent or an excuse, he noted.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” Speed said. “I saw plenty of people out there my age. Don’t think you can’t do it because you can.”

Oxford Village Police Reserve Officer John Drake ran the half Mudder – 5.5 miles and 13 obstacles – with his son, Hunter Drake, 14, an eighth-grader at OMS. They completed it in about one hour and 50 minutes.

“I thought it was a very good bonding experience for my son and I,” he said. “He’s actually looking forward to doing the full one next year. I thought I’d be the one carrying him, but he did really well. He breezed right through it. It was tough to keep up with him.”

“I’m good with the half,” Drake admitted. “I usually run on a treadmill, not outside. I was sore today. It was definitely a workout. It was tiring.”

Drake enjoyed seeing all the Mudder participants working together to overcome the obstacles.

“We had some pretty tall walls where it took two, three, four people to pull somebody up, depending on their size,” he said. “It’s not a race against time. It’s a race to finish. Everybody helps each other out. There’s a lot of camaraderie. Everybody needed each other’s help to complete the course.”

Drake had nothing but praise for Tough Mudder.

“I was pretty impressed with how well run and organized it was,” he said. “We had a blast. I highly recommend it.”

This was the second time Josh Nelson, of Oxford, participated in Tough Mudder. He took on the course last year at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

How did the Oxford course compare?

“This one was a lot tougher,” Nelson said. “The environment was a lot different than (what) I’m used to. You had a lot more hills. It wasn’t just solid ground you were running on. You were running on sand and gravel.”

Nelson, who works for HealthQuest Physical Therapy in Oxford, was part of a team consisting of 25 co-workers, patients and friends.

“We started at 10 a.m. We finished right around 3 o’clock,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll do it again.”

Nelson encourages folks to give the Mudder a try because it’s a good way to “challenge yourself.”

“It makes you look at life a little bit differently,” he said.

It’s also a good way to face personal “phobias.”

“(Having) people there, cheering you along, (helps) you to get over that fear,” Nelson said.