are you offended by the Tough Mudder races that are out there?

I don't have any desire in a Tough Mudder or for that matter Zombie Race. Friends have however, best described as people who were reluctant to take up running as an activity. However, they were intrigued by the idea of those special obstacle events. After having a good experience there, they are now running regular 5ks and saying, "this running isn't so bad after all".

It's harmless. No more an affront to running than professional wrestling is to amateur wrestling.

There is a market for it. There are Tough Mudders, Warrior Dashes, Zombie Races, and I see even more advertised online all the time. It's fast growing industry really. I like the idea of obstacle course racing. There are about 3 or 4 road races every weekend in my mid-sized city. It's good to have some variety offered. It's no mockery. It looks like people having fun. Crossfit on the other hand, those folks are kind of annoying.

I agree with both resopnses. It just might open up the sport to more people.

The more people that go into regular 5K's the more there will be. I come from the days when road races were very hard to find and had about 40-50 die hard runners. A 3 mile race was anywhere from 2.5-3.5 miles.

Now, the masses bring us more and very accurate races.

I think the problem is that these people doing the Tough Mudders think they are better runners/better athletes than pure runners. That's not true, of cours, but it does bother me.

My only beef is that they are generally run by for profit groups and compete with races that are fund raisers for non-profits. I have seen a few long time 5k/8k/10k events lose numbers between the marathon/half marathon craze, two day relays and mud/obstacle races. The mud/obstacle races are growing very fast and advertise heavily in the same publications that non-profit road races use. Yeah, I know, free market blah blah balh. But I do not want to see local road races diminish as a result of a fad.

I think you better zip up your fly because your insecurities are showing again...

Tough Mudder is actually a great event. Went out to Beaver Creek last year and it was a great event: think tailgating and running.

http://toughmudder.com/

Some of my junior college athletes and I were talking about these last week. My first thought was like many--that they are just silly gimmicks, but as we talked I realized that it might be a fun time to get out there with some fit buddies and beat ourselves up a bit.

To the poster who said tough mudder participants think they're better athletes, I've personally never heard that claim but I would approach it as a competitive event. If you're lacing em up might as well battle to the finish, right?

And to be honest, I don't see these events as all that different than crazy hard race courses (mountain marathons or ultra-marathons), where the goal isn't fast times, but testing yourself.

The only issue I have with them is when they market their races by bashing other running events. I believe it was tough mudder that had an ad saying something about 'boring old marathons' or something to that effect.

No doubt the mud and other events could be fun to go participate in with friends but I see no reason for the organizers to degrade other runners to market their own event. That is a big turn off for me. That and the price they charge, Good God they are expensive. I've run a mud races many years ago but it was on a military base and very cheap. I can't imagine paying the entry fees they ask now.

OMG somebody went out there and had some fun! You mean actual F U N?? They didn't obsess on split times, or PRs, or whether they were 40th or 41st in their age group??

This has GOT to stop!!

There's nothing wrong with these people having fun. The problem is that they're bashing pure runners by thinking that their "sport" is more difficult/challenging than ours.

joho wrote:

The only issue I have with them is when they market their races by bashing other running events. I believe it was tough mudder that had an ad saying something about 'boring old marathons' or something to that effect.

Advertising 101: play on insecurities. Obviously we are annoyed by them claiming to be "tougher" than running races, but serious runners aren't the target market. They appeal to people who have never taken running too seriously or don't think they can or have the desire to train for a real running race. Maybe they have tried and lost to a bunch of skinny runners. These obstacle courses give them something to excel at. Nothing wrong with that. Don't let it get to you.

asdfsdfa wrote:

There's nothing wrong with these people having fun. The problem is that they're bashing pure runners by thinking that their "sport" is more difficult/challenging than ours.

I don't think I've ever heard a 'tough mudder' say anything like this. It's just different, not better.

Artificial obstacles are fun but silly.

But isn't a run across a field, streams, a swamp, or whatever else may be between you and the finish line at least as close to the origin of running as 25 laps around a red rubber track?

I did the Warrior Dash with a bunch of friends who don't run as much as I do (which isn't that much anymore) and it was actually a really good time. The nice thing about having a running base was the running parts made for a good recovery as some of the obstacles were kind of taxing (ie, more difficult than I thought) plus you could get some separation from the pack and not encounter bottlenecks at obstacles. It was sort of funny, though, that some people were actually taking it really, really seriously. Like guys acting like they just conquered Everest by completing the event. For the most part, though, it was a bunch of people having fun and there were tons of hot girls there (I'm married, so it didn't matter, but I could see it being a target rich environment otherwise).

Well they must be tough. I had a customer a few weeks ago that needed lighter shoes than her traditional trainers. The "coach" that is helping her get ready for a mudder switched her from more traditional long runs of 4-5 miles to sprint training where she goes for like 30-45 seconds at 8.5 on the treadmill.

I wouldn't say it's a "mockery of our sport" at all, but I wish these things were actual races. I get that it's a team event, but even though I'm not competitive, the idea of just jogging around an obstacle course with a group of people seems embarrassing.

Tough mudders are similar to ultras. They give people something to brag about, even though slogging through an event is hardly an "accomplishment"...especially when there are few few serious athletes there.

I love these posts because it solidifies my theory that a majority of letsrun posters are insecure d-bags.

You laugh at a woman because she does intervals on a treadmill at a slower speed than you could do? You laugh at her because she was excited about a race and bought new shoes? F**k off you little twit. Thousands of elite runners could snicker at you and your racing flats and your short shorts as you crank out your 17 minute 5k.

By continuing to start threads about tough muddier, warrior dash, Crossfit, etc. you only prove their worth. What are you so afraid of?