Tough Mudder...Worth It?

Alright this is a question to those who have actually DONE the tough mudder… I wanna know is it worth it? I gotta be honest I’m kinda pissed…I was pumped, but now pissed…and here’s why…

So I knew for some time that this would cost money…didn’t realize it was gonna be 100 bucks or more. The location is 2 hours away…that’s gas money going to and from. Now my buds/team want to stay in a hotel the night before…that’ll be whatever that costs. There is a fee to park. There is a fee for spectators to watch(40 bucks)…I have some friends and family who want to watch. And lastly(for now), you are not allowed to bring any food or beverage on-site. They will supply water for you, but you must pay the vendors to eat or drink anything besides water, I mean c’mon are you serious. So I do realize some of the aforementioned b.s. costs can be divided among SOME of the team members, but still…

So anyways despite all that…does the event kick that much a$$ to where it outweighs the costs(literally)? Even if you don’t give me a definitive answer, I would greatly appreciate maybe a list of pros and cons(besides the costs)

P.S. This is coming from a guy who makes very little and tends to be very conservative with money. But if I know that something is worth doing…I will make the exception. Useful replies are welcome…all others can shove off…

Sounds like a niche in the market for white people to claim some superhero effort without climbing more mountains.

I dont know if they differ over here in the UK compared to their US counterparts but banning people from bringing food and water on site? They can go fuck themselves for all I care.

$100 + 2hours worth of gas + parking + food/drink + hotel = not worth it.

sounds like something crossfitters do to prove theyre “elite”


This is a pic from the Pa Tough Mudder website, need I say more? I think it speaks for itself…

I will say this though about the organization, alot of the proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project for our veterans. Having a brother and sister that are both veterans and both did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s nice to see organizations supporting our troops.At least you know your money will be going to a good cause…

Alright, good good…def appreciate the replies. Pitbull…I thought for a sec that was a pic of you and your team…and you stated it was PA and you’re from PA and I’m from PA… and I was planning on doing the PA one…hahaha sorry for the run on, but the more I read about this event the less appealing it becomes.

Now in regards to the WWP…man that was the primary reason I didn’t mind spending the money, but now that I’m reading that only a fraction of a fraction of the fee actually goes to WWP (according to various probably not credible websites), it pisses me off. Plus all the videos I see, the people remind me of those hardcore cross fitters that are relentlessly annoying…

Also I’m reading that as the years go on the popularity increases exponentially to the point where there are 10’s if not 100’s of thousands of people competing at once, meaning that there are longer wait times for obstacles and more chance of injury, as a result of some other dumb ass. I dunno…as of now everything points to not being worth it…

Like I said, I think the picture speaks for itself as far as the type of people who are doing it…Lol! To be fair, I’m sure not everyone doing it is like that and I’m sure someone on here will get offended and flame me… As far as the WWP, I was just giving you a positive side to look at as far as spending the money.I’m sure it’s only a small amount that actually goes to the troops… Unfortunately greed runs our country and I’m sure the powers to be over at Tough Mudder wouldn’t be doing it if they weren’t making money… And the more and more people that are signing up, the more they are charging because it has now becaome a fad, like cross fit, and they can make big bucks off of it…

You could have done it for free. I did it for free two years ago at Bear Valley in California. I wrote for a magazine at the time, a small locally-based one. I simply applied for a press pass for the event by virtue of being a writer, even though I had no intention of writing about it unless something totally outlandish happened.

I got free room and board at a small motel about 20 minutes from the race site AND I got to race for free.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You don’t write professionally and you aren’t a member of the media or whatever. Well, for all they knew at Tough Mudder I wasn’t either. I wasn’t required to provide proof of anything other than my driver’s license. I WAS a member of the press, but I could have told them I was the National Affairs Editor at Rolling Stone and they would have given me the free pass/access.

My experience in Ontario’s this year past was mixed. It was well organized overall and the crews that put it together did a top notch job. There were significant delays with the offsite parking due to congestion and busing to the venue (~2 hours +/-). It was extra cash,$20 but the lots were secure.

The obstacles were well placed, diverse and frequent enough to keep me interested even after 18km. There was a significant number of people but the crowds didn’t cause too much of a backlog on the challenges and it was possible to finish the event sub 2.5 hours. I didn’t notice that I had to wait in line for most things with the odd exception (ie. some water hazards.)

I’m sure for a weekend warrior type or beginners this could have been great challenge. I enjoyed it (mainly cause of my teammates), but didn’t think it posed much of demand to either strength, cardio or overall endurance. I had fun being outside in nice weather, getting muddy and finishing the day with a beer or two in good company. Approach it like that and you’ll have a blast.

Like most charities, a significant portion of the earnings go toward administration, advertising, event execution and in this case insurance, before reaching the intended recipient. With that in mind you’ll have to make your own choice on what cause you think your money would best suit your principles and where you think it would do the most good.

[quote]goldfingers25 wrote:
Alright this is a question to those who have actually DONE the tough mudder… I wanna know is it worth it? I gotta be honest I’m kinda pissed…I was pumped, but now pissed…and here’s why…

So I knew for some time that this would cost money…didn’t realize it was gonna be 100 bucks or more. The location is 2 hours away…that’s gas money going to and from. Now my buds/team want to stay in a hotel the night before…that’ll be whatever that costs. There is a fee to park. There is a fee for spectators to watch(40 bucks)…I have some friends and family who want to watch. And lastly(for now), you are not allowed to bring any food or beverage on-site. They will supply water for you, but you must pay the vendors to eat or drink anything besides water, I mean c’mon are you serious. So I do realize some of the aforementioned b.s. costs can be divided among SOME of the team members, but still…

So anyways despite all that…does the event kick that much a$$ to where it outweighs the costs(literally)? Even if you don’t give me a definitive answer, I would greatly appreciate maybe a list of pros and cons(besides the costs)

P.S. This is coming from a guy who makes very little and tends to be very conservative with money. But if I know that something is worth doing…I will make the exception. Useful replies are welcome…all others can shove off…[/quote]

Yes, I give a lot of money to WWP as is, but the fact that TM gives to WWP, I have gone to a few and every time got the $25 refund for fundraising for WWP (I usually give the $25 to WWP in the end). Plus it is a blast to go act like Billy McBadAss for a day with my buddies.

Signed up to do the Mudder in April next year here in Texas, I have done Warrior dash and beach dash. Its just something to go and do with friends, yes it may cost some money, but its for entertainment. Some people take the thing serious but most just do it to go have some fun. You run, you then drink beer and eat food and enjoy your time with your friends.

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Signed up to do the Mudder in April next year here in Texas, I have done Warrior dash and beach dash. Its just something to go and do with friends, yes it may cost some money, but its for entertainment. Some people take the thing serious but most just do it to go have some fun. You run, you then drink beer and eat food and enjoy your time with your friends. [/quote]

Two of my nieces do these events with essentially the same attitude. It seems to work for them. They have fun.

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Signed up to do the Mudder in April next year here in Texas, I have done Warrior dash and beach dash. Its just something to go and do with friends, yes it may cost some money, but its for entertainment. Some people take the thing serious but most just do it to go have some fun. You run, you then drink beer and eat food and enjoy your time with your friends. [/quote]

Two of my nieces do these events with essentially the same attitude. It seems to work for them. They have fun.

[/quote]

I went in with this attitude and had fun.

[quote]Otep wrote:

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Signed up to do the Mudder in April next year here in Texas, I have done Warrior dash and beach dash. Its just something to go and do with friends, yes it may cost some money, but its for entertainment. Some people take the thing serious but most just do it to go have some fun. You run, you then drink beer and eat food and enjoy your time with your friends. [/quote]

Two of my nieces do these events with essentially the same attitude. It seems to work for them. They have fun.

[/quote]

I went in with this attitude and had fun.[/quote]

Dude, where the fuck you been hiding?

Where did and when did you do it?

just enter a local 10k race.

bandit the race! Paint on some fake numbers!

When I ran a lot the races were 20-30$ for entry fees. 100 seems pretty steep.

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
bandit the race! Paint on some fake numbers!

When I ran a lot the races were 20-30$ for entry fees. 100 seems pretty steep.

[/quote]

They have computer chip tags that you have to put on after you register.

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
bandit the race! Paint on some fake numbers!

When I ran a lot the races were 20-30$ for entry fees. 100 seems pretty steep.

[/quote]

They have computer chip tags that you have to put on after you register.[/quote]

hmm, I think that’s pretty common for computer recorded splits. Does not having a tag somehow keep you from being on the course?

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
bandit the race! Paint on some fake numbers!

When I ran a lot the races were 20-30$ for entry fees. 100 seems pretty steep.

[/quote]

They have computer chip tags that you have to put on after you register.[/quote]

hmm, I think that’s pretty common for computer recorded splits. Does not having a tag somehow keep you from being on the course?
[/quote]

Probably not, there are always a lot of people running. We sometimes change our heats and run with others. If I was a “struggling” college kid I understand doing that. To me most of those guys do a great job at organizing this and its fun afterwards so to me its money well spent for having a great day outside with friends.

I dont see the point in paying to run through mud, which I can do for free.

If you want the social aspect of it however, by all means that is up to you.