Tough Mudder announced today a rebranding of sorts. It includes all-new obstacles at 2015 events, expansion into Mexico, and the addition of five- to eight-mile city events called Urban Mudders.
“All of the obstacles are more teamwork focused,” says Ben Johnson, Tough Mudder’s global head of communications. “We want to get people out to do things they haven’t tried before.” In an effort to increase participation, Tough Mudder will also offer registration discounts of 15 to 25 percent through the end of January to teams of five. The average Tough Mudder team size is four people.
Among the new obstacles, the most cringe-worthy is Cry Baby. Participants must “crawl through a tear gas–filled tunnel, navigating a series of small hazards along the way to slow them down,” Johnson wrote in an email.
Other noteworthy new or updated obstacles include Birth Canal, in which participants must shimmy under a heavy, red water–filled liner; Everest 2.0, a quarter-pipe with a rounded-off top and a constant stream of water pouring down its face; and Arctic Enema 2.0, a short slide under a chain-link fence into ice water, where participants must then duck under a center baffle before exiting the freezing muck.
Tough Mudder is also replacing Walk the Plank, the obstacle on which 28-year-old Avishek Sengupta died in 2013. In that obstacle, participants jumped off a 15-foot-high platform into water of about the same depth.
In 2015, participants will face King of the Swingers, a pendulum swing off a 12-foot-high platform into a pit of water. Runners must hit a bell at the end of the swing before dropping down to complete the obstacle.
Spectators will also have the chance to attempt obstacles, including Human Hamster Wheel, a wheel of monkey bars; Ring of Fire, a 20-foot-long sliding pole on which people pass through fire into water; and Fire in Your Hole, a tall slide through flames into water.
The Tough Mudder season kicks off on March 7 in Milton, Florida. The first Urban Mudder will be held in New York City on July 25.