If you’ve never tackled a Tough Mudder before, signing up for a Tough Mudder 5K is the perfect way to join Mudder Nation and experience one of our epic, teamwork-focused, obstacle-crammed events for the first time.
Tough Mudder 5K is untimed, so there’s no pressure, no judgement, and no need to commit to a crazy-intense training regimen (this 4-week Tough Mudder 5K training plan is all you need). But that doesn’t mean it’s easy—or that you won’t benefit from a little insider info. Here, Tough Mudder Bootcamp Creative Director Eric “ERock” Botsford takes you through some of the obstacles you’ll encounter in a Tough Mudder 5K and breaks down the tips and tricks you and your team will need to conquer the 3 miles and 13 obstacles.
Our muddiest obstacle by far, requiring you and your fellow Mudders to navigate six 6-foot trenches. This one’s all about teamwork, people.
Throw up a knee
Give a boost
Turn around and help a friend
New for 2019—and the biggest obstacle on the Tough Mudder course—Mudderhorn is a three-story cargo net A-frame. Hope you’re not afraid of heights.
Get a boost to get up to the cargo net
Climb hand-over-hand
Don’t look down!
Another new obstacle, Black Widow is a 30-foot cobweb of slacklines suspended over a pool of water. Yep, you just might get wet on this one.
Side shuffle or foot-over-foot
Use your hands and knees
Choose your route wisely
A Tough Mudder course favorite, this beast of an obstacle is a series of spinning blocks that you and your teammates have to get up and over.
Communicate — only 1-2 athletes should try to get over at a time
Be strategic: Stay on top of the block and pull from the other side
Keep the blocks spinning
Prepare to get your face (and everything else) dirty: This is 40 feet of mud you’ll need to crawl through—with razor-sharp barbed wire suspended just 18 inches above you.
Stay low. Really low.
Crawl with your arms, not your legs
Use the muddy lane to slide through
This 9-foot wall is the quintessential Tough Mudder teamwork obstacle.
Take a knee: Your teammates can step up
Give your teammates a boost
Rotate your hips over the top of the wall
A 12-foot quarter-pipe that’s all about sprinting and commitment.
Sprint all the way up
Grab an outstretched arm
Swing your leg up
It’s all about slowing down to speed up when it comes to conquering this 60-foot cargo net that’s staked to the ground. You can do it by yourself—but it’ll be easier if you don’t.
- Grab your group
- First person stands up halfway
- Arch your back to elevate the net off the ground
New for 2019, this one’s made up of 30-foot lengths of slackline spaced about 18 inches apart.
- Slow your roll—or you’ll end up in the water.
- Use all fours, inchworm, or even roll across
This brand new obstacle requires you to get down on your hands and knees and go under multiple tubes, and then climb and crawl your way out the other side. If you weren’t totally muddy before, you will be now.
- Crawl under
- Arch your back
- Use teamwork to create a path
What to Bring to a Tough Mudder:
Wondering what to pack for Tough Mudder event day? Here are the absolute essentials:
- ID
- Shoes
- Change of clothes
- Bag (we recommend the Tough Mudder Dry Bag)
- Towel
- Good attitude
Check out all of the 2019 Tough Mudder obstacles and register for an event today.
