What is the Tough Mudder?
Tough Mudder is an endurance event where the race participants attempt to traverse a 10-12 mile long course with military-style obstacle courses.
The course was originally designed by British Special Forces to test mental as well as physical strength. The obstacles that need to be overcome often play on human fears like fire, cold water, electric shocks and heights.
The organizers of Tough Mudder encourage teamwork, and many obstacles are designed to be very difficult or impossible to complete alone. Most teams consist of 5-10 people and is co-ed. The events are untimed, and an average 78% of race entrants successfully complete the course.
The first Tough Mudder challenge was held in the United States in 2010. The Tough Mudder has grown exponentially and in 2012, roughly 500,000 people worldwide participated in 35 events.
Tough Mudder was co-founded in 2010 by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, both British citizens living in New York. Dean had developed the idea for the company while attending Harvard Business School. Dean entered the concept in the school’s annual business plan competition and was a semifinalist.
Dean and Livingstone organized the first Tough Mudder event on May 2, 2010 at Bear Creek Ski Resort near Allentown, PA. It was promoted almost exclusively through Facebook advertising and word of mouth. Even with a very limited advertising campaign the event drew more than 4,500 participants.
Due to its amazing success, two additional 2010 events were held in Northern California and New Jersey. In 2011, 14 events were held throughout the United States. In 2012 the Tough Mudder went international, 35 events were held in a total of four countries.
Tough Mudder keeps growing and in 2013 there were 53 events in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, and Germany. Registration prices for the races range between $85 and $180, depending on how far in advance participants sign up.Tough Mudder has also started an early registration for 2014, including 60 different locations in South Africa, North America, Europe, and Australia.
May 2, 2013, Tough Mudder reached the one million race participants milestone since it started in 2010.
The World’s Toughest Mudder is an invitation-only 24-hour challenge. Unlike the normal races, The World’s Toughest Mudder is a competition with the top-ranking man, woman, and team winning money.
In order to qualify for The World’s Toughest Mudder, participants must finish a standard Tough Mudder event in the top 5% of self-reported times. The competition consists of a 10-mile looped course, where the race participants run continuously for 24 hours. The participant who completes the most laps is declared the winner. The winners receive the title of “World’s Toughest Mudder” and $15,000
If you are really serious about doing a Tough Mudder, or any other type of “Mud Run” the training program I recommend is called “Turbulence Training“. It has gotten me into the best shape of my life. The program was created by fitness expert Craig Ballantyne, frequent author for Men’s Health.
It is designed to get you into peak fitness in a short period of time using “Interval Workouts”, which have been proven the most effective way to lose weight and get into phenomenal shape. Its a complete program of workouts and how to eat for the most effective results and have you scaling the “Berlin Wall“, running the “Mude Mile” and crossing the “Funky Money“.
If you follow this training plan you should be ready for the Tough Mudder, Spartan Race or Warrior Dash!
-Rich
See Also:
The Best Shoes for Tough Mudder
The Best Gloves for Tough Mudder