The Course
Toughest Mudder Midwest, held in Chicago, doled out a fast, flat and super competitive course. In a surprise twist, obstacles did not open until 2:30 a.m., meaning that the first two and a half hours of the race was a battle of leg speed.
The five and a half hours that followed brought obstacles that were placed in clusters, as opposed to spread out as they had been in previous Toughest Mudder courses, which made for several challenging sections. “Arctic Enema was a doozy this time—especially right before Funky Monkey,” said Allison Tai. Plus, there was plenty of water thanks to the night crossing of the Kishwaukee River and obstacles like Augustus Gloop, Arctic Enema, and Blockness Monster, which meant plenty of mud. “The ground got pretty slick after the rain came on my last lap which made traction hard to come by” said Tai.
While a flatter course made for faster times, it also meant a lot more running. “I found that constantly running the same terrain really wore on my body,” said Ryan Atkins. “I’ve been running mountains for the last months, so the flatness was a definite weakness for me.” Despite their challenges, however, ultimately Allison Tai and Ryan Atkins took the win for both Toughest Mudder Midwest and the Toughest Mudder competitive series.
Women’s Race
Allison Tai has run strong all season, placing 3rd at Canada, 1st at Northeast, 2nd at South, and 3rd at West. So while this weekend’s race had plenty of competition, it was her win to take. With an incredible 45 miles in 8 hours, 14 minutes, Tai finished Toughest Mudder Midwest with a 1st place win. Second-place Zoe Chazen also ran a strong race to complete 40 miles in 7 hours, 57 minutes while Alex “Chikorita” Roudayna came in less than a minute behind in 7 hours, 58 minutes for Third-place. Fourth-place went to Morgan McKay who ran 40 miles in 8 hours, 18 minutes, while Kc Northup finished fifth with 35 miles in 7 hours, 32 minutes.
Men’s Race
Having won Toughest Mudder Canada, Toughest Mudder Northeast, Toughest Mudder South, and Toughest Mudder West already this season, Ryan Atkins pulled out his fastest time yet, running 50 miles in 7 hours and 50 minutes at this weekend’s Chicago race. His strong finish left him with a 150 miles logged this season in a cumulative time of 24 hours, 16 minutes, 35 seconds and a 2017 Tough Mudder Competitive Series win. Matthew Lister ran a strong race to complete 50 miles in 8 hours, 14 minutes with Tyler Nash just 12 minutes back. In fourth place was Kris Mendoza with 45 miles in 7 hours, 44 minutes, while Miguel Medina finished the 45 miles just six minutes behind Mendoza.
For a full list of race results from Toughest Mudder Midwest, click here.
Toughest Mudder Series Winners
With the conclusion of Toughest Mudder Midwest, Ryan Atkins and Allison Tai took the win for the 2017 Toughest Mudder Series, finishing a total of 150 miles and 120 miles, respectively. Atkins completed his 150 in a total time of 24:16:35 while Tai ran her 120 in 23:12:46. In the men’s standings, Tyler Nash ultimately placed second behind Atkins with 135 miles in 24:38:09 while Kris Mendoza completed 125 miles in 23:55:26. In the women’s standings, Lindsay Webster, who was absent at this race, completed a total of 120 miles in 24:08:18, while Alex “Chikorita” Roudayna was third with 110 miles in 24:09:05.
For a full list of the Toughest Mudder Rankings, click here.
