We find that the answers to 95% of all the questions we get are actually here in the FAQ section, so to save yourself some time we suggest checking through the FAQs below before contacting us. However, if you still have questions please email us.
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The Tough Mudder series is being launched because there is not an event in America that tests toughness, fitness, strength, stamina, and mental grit all in one place and all in one day. Sure, there are a few that will test these things – for thousands of dollars and a week of your life. But in one day in one location? We don’t think so. Other summer sun and fun mud runs? Forget it – unless you want to run alongside your 60-year-old grandmother. Tough Mudder is a truly exceptional event for truly exceptional people. Fair weather runners should stay at home.
The founder of Tough Mudder is Will Dean, an Englishman, whose background prior to the series lay in financial counter-terrorism for the British Government, followed by an MBA at Harvard. He was inspired to start the business after growing frustrated by the unimaginative and repetitive events that already existed, and a desire to create something that would occupy the space that marathons, triathlons, mud runs, and other adventure runs weren’t filling.
This depends upon your definition of tough. Sure, running 40 miles in a straight line isn’t easy, but here at Tough Mudder we don’t think running 40 miles in a straight line is a test of all-round toughness, strength, stamina, and mental grit. Tough Mudder gives participants the opportunity to test themselves in every way – all in one place and all in one day. Our relatively low prices and close proximity to major cities means that you can compete against thousands of other participants, not just thirty guys with more time and money than sense.
No. Muddy Buddy and Warrior Dash are both great events and really fun days out – but Tough Mudder is a very different proposition. Our events are three times as long, take place in hostile environments, often at altitude, and whatever the level of your fitness they are a significant physical and mental challenge. Completing a Tough Mudder requires camaraderie and a degree of toughness that other mud-runs will not even begin to test.
Tough Mudder is not a race. It is supposed to be a personal challenge – the goal is simply to complete the course. This is why we do not time people and why we try to avoid using the word ‘race’ when describing our events. We really want all Tough Mudders to embrace this philosophy, and that is why we have them sign the Tough Mudder pledge. However, at the request of elite athletes from around the world, we do have an elite start wave for those than can run a marathon in under 3.15 or an Olympic distance triathlon in 2.15. For these guys, we have the World’s Toughest Mudder competition, where they can compete against Mudders from all over the world. We thought long and had about having this event run alongside our other events and whether it impacted on the sense of camaraderie and non-competition that we are trying to achieve. Ultimately, we decided that if we put all these guys together in one separate group away from everyone else, they could have the competition they want, and everyone else can focus on enjoying the event with their buddies instead of having a bunch of guys trying to push past them in a mad dash to get to the finish. We can see why some people think this is inconsistent,but with the number of requests we were getting, we decided that rather than saying ‘no’ again and again, we could satisfy these guys and let everyone else focus on just completing the course and having fun.
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Tough Mudder is coming to New York / Pennsylvania, NorCal, Texas and Tri-State in 2010, and to twelve additional locations in 2011. Check out our
Yes. You must be 18 years old on event day to participate in Tough Mudder. There is no age limit, though – and there will be a Tough Old Mudder Award for the fastest finisher over 45 years.
Tough Mudder NY/PA has sold out! At this stage, we are not be able to accommodate additional entry requests. For all other events the final date for registration is one week before the event. However the price of registration increases the closer to the event that you register.
Unfortunately, registration has closed and we have reached our maximum capacity. Due to safety and insurance reasons we cannot allow any more participants.
No. You must register for all events online.
The earlier you register, the cheaper your ticket.
In addition to participation in the event itself, you also get an official Tough Mudder T-shirt and Tough Mudder Sweatband, as well as entry to the post-party. If you finish the course, you also get to enjoy a free beer and – if you dare – a free Tough Mudder tattoo.
Yes. You can get a discount by registering early, registering as a team, or raising money for The Wounded Warrior Project.
Because TMHQ has received inquiries asking whether or not women can participate, we would like to make it clear that women are strongly encouraged to register, and that 20% of all registrants are female.
For insurance and legal reasons, ALL participants must be 18 years old on the day of the Event.
Absolutely. Information on purchasing spectator tickets is available here.
Yes. More information for journalists, including instructions on how to register for free press entry, is available here.
No. Tough Mudder tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. The person who signs up must be the same one who participates.
Yes. When you arrive on event day, you must sign a waiver in which you acknowledge (among other things) that by participating in Tough Mudder you expose yourself to certain risks, including the risk of personal injury. For legal reasons, we suggest that you read and understand the waiver before you sign it on event day. The waiver is available here.
The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is a non-profit organization that helps American servicemen and servicewomen who have been severely injured. Tough Mudders who raise money for the WWP may be eligible for a discount on their tickets. Click here for more information.
Tough Mudder raises money for The Wounded Warrior Project by offering a $25 discount to people who pledge to raise $150. We’ve found this is the best way to raise money for them.
All donations must be made online through the following link. Please note that donors must designate their gift on behalf of a team or individual.
Tough Mudders encourages all participants to raise money for a charity of their choosing. However, Tough Mudder is associated with the Wounded Warrior Project, and the charity discount is only available to participants who pledge to raise $150 for the Wounded Warrior Project through activegiving.com. All participants registering will be offered the opportunity to set-up an activegiving.com page to allow their friends and family to donate online to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Yes, and they’re pretty awesome. Click here for more information.
Yes. After the event, Tough Mudder will publish league tables showing exactly how well your team did – and how you stacked up against your competition. There will be special tables for fraternities, police, firemen and women, and the military, as well as a general table with all team results. And be warned – Tough Mudder plans to e-mail and post these tables on the web, so if you don’t have what it takes, you can bet your competition will never let you forget it afterwards.
In a perfect world, everything would be easy breezy. Of course Tough Mudders prefer things tougher, but unfortunately the registration system has its limitations. Please be attentive and precise when selecting a team name, as you’re stuck with it…this will probably make you tougher anyway.
This is quite possible, and we can gladly accommodate changes in team size. However, this must be done by contacting Active.com, as they handle our registration inquiries. Please note that teams which decrease their member size from 11+ teammates to 6-10 teammates will be required to pay an additional $5 per member, and teams falling in member size to 5 or below must pay an additional $10 per member. These fees must be paid at the registration desk on the day of the event. Also, previously registered participants belonging to teams which are increasing their member size are not eligible for a refund/price break, but new team members will qualify for the upgraded discount.
All teams will start at the same time for logistical reasons. The team starting time is designated by the team captain upon creating a team and individual starting times for subsequent registrants joining a team are null. All team members should disregard their individual starting time which was selected during the registration process. It is not necessary to contact Tough Mudder to have your individual time changed to correspond with that of your team as all team members start the challenge together.
Team members can choose to run the course at their own pace, but some might say Where is the camaraderie in that? Or, run and finish collectively as a group, now that’s tough! However, we at Tough Mudder leave this decision at each team member’s sole discretion.
If you have entered as an individual participant but now want to be added to an existing team that is already registered on our system, or you and your friends have registered as individuals and now want to join together to form a team, please email us, and we’ll get you sorted out. Please note you will not be eligible for a team participant discount if you have already paid an individual entry.
Duplicate team names are permitted and we apologize for the confusion this may cause. That being said, however, team captains can set a custom password to ensure that only previously invited registrants join their team. Please see the next question on how to create a password.
Team captains can create a custom password for their team by accessing and logging into active.com. As teams with duplicate names exist, custom passwords are highly encouraged because they prevent new registrants from joining the wrong team.
Note: Team captains can also access the password page through the “Update team information” link located beneath the Team Captain Tools menu which is displayed when logged in through the Team Center.
It’s important to prepare yourself both mentally and physically for Tough Mudder. For more information and our suggestions, click here.
Short answer – wear normal running shoes and warm but light clothing, plus gloves and a swim cap. Long answer – click here.
Bring warm clothes in case the weather gets nasty (it shouldn’t). Although there is plenty of space inside, all the fun stuff and the post-event party will be outside, so come prepared.
Tough Mudder events are designed to test all round fitness. However, fitness alone will not get you round the course. You will also need mental endurance to complete the course and overcome the obstacles. You will need to train beforehand – See our training program
Tough Mudder recommends that all participants possess basic swimming fundamentals and be skilled to not only tread water but also prepared to swim a minimum distance of 25-30 feet. Also, we suggest that persons with limited swimming ability to bypass the deep water parts of the course, as basic swimming skills are essential for the safe completion of these obstacles. Persons who cannot swim should not enter.
The course is not going to be finalized until a couple of days before each event. We will try our best to ensure that participants can view the course the day before the event.
Directions to all Tough Mudder events can be found on the event page on this website here
Tough Mudder events will have at least 3 water and aid stations on each course.
Tough Mudder events will happen regardless of the weather conditions.
Registration for each event will take place on location the day before and the day of the event. There will be signs directing all participants to the pick-up point. Each participant must collect his/her packet in person in order to sign a physical waiver.
The first start group will vary according to the event. You can request a particular start time when registering.
There are 9 waves/flights running every 15 minutes. The time of the first wave will vary according to the event.
Start times are published on the events page of each event at least one week before. We will try to keep all members of teams together so that they start at the same time.
There are at least 3 water & aid stations along every course.
Tough Mudder is not a race. It is an event to be completed. We built this event for people to push themselves and see what they are capable of. We sincerely believe that worrying too much about your time takes away from some of the most important parts of Tough Mudder–namely, camaraderie and teamwork. Because of this, only the first 100 members of the first start group will have their time officially monitored and recorded by Tough Mudder staff. For everyone else, your timing is up to you to record and input the results page on our website. We think honesty with yourself and other Mudders is one of the core values of being a Tough Mudder. If you want to lie about your time, you can, but we think you would just be cheating yourself. After the event, there will be a form on our website for you and your team to submit your times, if you want to. This will be open for 1 week. After that, we’ll email out the official results for all that want them. However, we know a small percentage of you are out to win this event, so if you think you have what it takes to be in the top 100 finishers, we’d like to offer you the opportunity to be part of the first wave of starters. There will be 500 in this group, but only the top 100 of these will have their times recorded by Tough Mudder staff. Please note: in order to qualify, you MUST have completed a marathon in 3 hours and 15 minutes and/or an olympic triathlon in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Of course, you could lie. We can’t stop you. We just think it’s incredibly uncool. Click here to sign up. Entry to the elite start group will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
There is no time limit for completing Tough Mudder. But if takes you more than 4 hours, you’re not that tough.
The average Tough Mudder will complete the course in around two and quarter hours.
Tough Mudder is not supposed to be about getting a faster time than your buddy, so it’s fine by us if you want to skip an obstacle. The way we see it, you are there to have fun and get a real sense of achievement at the end. If you think a particular obstacle isn’t going to do this for you, just go round it – no shame there. The marshalls that you will see at each obstacle are there for safety reasons, not to make you do something you don’t want to do. However, if you are skipping an obstacle just to improve your time, then we think you are only cheating yourself. You paid to do the course – why not actually do it? Obviously, though, for some who participate there is a real element of competition involved in the event, so we do say that to qualify for a winners’s prize or for the World’s Toughest Mudder competition you must have completed all the obstacles.
Tough Mudders do not cheat. If any participants are caught cheating, they will be disqualified.
If you cannot complete an obstacle, one of the marshals of the course will determine whether it is safe for you to continue. His decision will be final.
If you cannot swim, then you shouldn’t enter a Tough Mudder event.
There will be plenty of volunteer paramedics and EMS personnel at each event.
First aid personnel will be distributed widely around the course.
All children under the age of 10 are allowed free entrance onto the site.
For health & safety reasons, you are not allowed to bring your pets to Tough Mudder.
There is a baggage drop facility at each event.
No. The post-event party is free for all participants and spectators.
All participants will have the opportunity to be hosed down by volunteer firemen after finishing the course.
There will be plenty of food for sale throughout the day.
There will be alcohol available for sale. All participants over 21 will receive a free beer which they can collect after the conclusion of the event.
No. You are not allowed to bring your own food or alcohol on-site.
Yes. All participants will receive one free beer, which they can collect after the conclusion of the event.
Yes. There will be a licensed and approved tattooist on-site who will be giving tattoos of the Tough Mudder logo to anyone tough enough to accept!
Yes. Information about the Tough Mudder Awards can be found here.
You can nominate a participant for a Most Respect Award by emailing us in confidence at mostrespect@toughmudder.com.
We recognize that the toughest people aren’t always the fastest or most athletic. One way of celebrating this is the Tough Mullet Competition. Participants can either arrive with a mullet or take advantage of the free head shave. Those with the best mullets will be invited to take to the stage, and prizes will be awarded to the top five mullets.
We will be selling Tough Mudder gear at a dedicated sales tent near the finish line at each event. You can check out the range of kit we will be selling on the Tough Gear section of this website by clicking here.
You can have a poster mailed to you by filling in our mail order poster request by Clicking Here
We will be posting the results of the top 100 finishers and the special league tables onto our website after the event.
Yes. We will be posting photos from the event and post-event party onto our website.
Customer Service can be reached by sending an email to info@toughmudder.com or by calling 917-338-2135. Please leave your full name, team name (if applicable), email address, and phone number, along with your question/issue. However, before contacting us, please check through the FAQs for the answer(s) to your question(s) as answers to most frequently asked questions can be found here.
If any of your queries are not answered by these FAQs, please email us at info@toughmudder.com
Please email TMHQ at volunteer@toughmudder.com
Tough Mudder is always on the look-out for intelligent people to work as part of our team. We are currently looking for 2 – 3 ambitious graduates with a couple of years experience who wish to take on a business development position. If you think you have what it takes, please email TMHQ at jobs@toughmudder.com
Tough Mudder is offering free registration to all journalists who wish to participate if they agree to cover the event. If you are interested please email TMHQ at journalist@toughmudder.com from your work email address and we will take it from there.
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