Tough Mudder

IF you have a child participating in the event, BEWARE! You do not need to buy spectator tickets. We bought them, the rest of our team did not. The rest of our team was able to get in for FREE and my husband and I had to pay $ 50.00 to watch our son race… when I inquired about getting a refund, they would not refund it and my Credit Card company can’t get a hold of them as they only deal in EMAIL… so you are screwed on both sides. BEWARE fraudulent practices for the kids race. If you are looking for a race, the Spartan Kids race was so much better. The tough mudder race was ¼ mile, the kids had to go around 4 times. Terribly run, the lady running it was mean to the kids, was a control freak and frankly hated her job. Kids had more fun at the Spartan Race… plus parents can watch for FREE. there is no confusion with their paperwork. Be smart, chose a different race.

Tough mudder sucks d. The creator is super greedy and makes refunds damn near impossible.
My team got injured and decided to reschedule to a different month. The whole team got charged $ 30 each. But I won’t be in the country in that month, so I started to fill out a refund form on
(I had bought more expensive refundable ticket, which is useless: www​.red​dit​.com/​r​/​T​o​u​g​h​m​u​d​d​e​r​/​c​o​m​m​e​n​t​s​/​2​h​6​o​z​g​/​d​o​_​n​o​t​_​b​o​t​h​e​r​_​w​i​t​h​_​t​h​e​_​r​e​f​u​n​d​_​i​n​s​u​r​a​n​c​e​_its/). Also, the month my team transferred to is currently $ 130. We bought our current tickets for $ 180 — $ 200. But they’re STILL charging us an extra $ 30 to transfer.
Despite all its profits, tough mudder is too cheap/​lazy to make its own refund website (Or its own payment website for that matter because it uses eventBrite, and joining a team is a pain in the ass). But
refund website doesn’t even look like it’s https, and it’s asking for my bank routing number (WTF?!). I paid with a credit card, and I expect to get a refund via credit card. I’m not going to give my bank routing number via an unsecured connection.

Summary: Worst. Customer. Service. Ever.
Ran in 2014. Had a blast and killed it on the course.
Signed up for 2015… sustained a serious injury while training. Possible surgery, yadda, yadda. Multiple requests to transfer my tickets, emails, efforts through both Tough Mudder and Event Brite. The only customer service rep who responded to me wrote back «it looks like your issue has been resolved.» No other feedback. My husband and I have wasted several hundred dollars on tickets for this year, hotel room, parking, etc. No one will help me transfer my ticket to 2016 despite a serious injury and my full willingness to pay a transfer fee. All the online transfer options are closed for registration. There’s phone number to contact for assistance and the only response to my requests for help have been automatic email replies.
Sign up for Tough Mudder if you like being jerked around. Otherwise, find a mud run with a better organizer.

Great events but terrible customer service. I just wanted to transfer an open event but they can’t get it right and there is no customer service to call. I think there is a serious language barrier. It was a simple request, which makes me wonder what would happen if you needed something serious resolved. I’m deeply concerned about a company you trust with your life… but they are basically inaccessible.

I want to preface this review by saying that the Tough Mudder is a great event to participate in. However, I did not have a great experience when I could not make the event I signed up for. I tried to get a refund for 2 tickets, my wife and I, when we could not make the event. I don’t understand why Tough Mudder will not refund your money, they only allow transfers to another event. If that is not bad enough, they then charge you another 30 dollars per ticket just to transfer. I really feel that this is not right.

I thought I was truly going to die reading all of the hype prior to running this race with my 26 year old son. Being an endurance runner and after completing several obstacle races, we wanted to tackle the Mecca of all obstacle race challenges. We competed the race on the Snow Valley Ski slopes during mid July and the hills and heat made it extremely challenging. I have finished the Camp Pendleton Marine Mud Run several times but the ski slopes at TM were about impossible to actually run. Most of the race was a hike. The Berlin Walls were really high and pretty tiring. The final obstacle, Electro Shock Therapy was no joke.

The best thing I’ve ever done for my confidence and learning what being a member of a team and larger community is all about. From start to finish, the hardest thing I’ve ever finished. Add to it that proceeds benefit wounded veterans in need, and Tough Mudder is a unique event that benefits others while showing yourself what you’re made of.
Do it.

SUNSCREEN… PUT ON SUNSCREEN. I ran this on Memorial Day 2011 and to this day (6÷30÷2012), the numbers are still burned into my arm.
We got early due to parking issues, which I heard later were problematic.
The course was indeed difficult, especially, the two massive consecutive inclines that pretty much wiped me out. However, the rest of the obstacles were over-​hyped as «tough» and really, they’re not difficult.
Course didn’t have much mud. Yes, there was gravel and water or dirt and water, but not enough mud to make it challenging. BUT, it was a fun day and the length, elevation and inclines make it overall a tough day. I ran Saturday, but I know the Sunday crowd was brutalized by an unusual winter storm.

Not sure if people give it a high rating because they were able to finish the course and call themselves a tough mudder, or because the course honestly was that bad ass.
I have very mix emotions about Tough Mudder. I really thought it was going to be a «tough» challenge, however I was quite disappointed at the obstacle courses. It said i was going to test my fears and push me to the limit. It didn’t do any of that. I trained for the tough mudder for about 2 months, thinking it was going to kick my ass. Honestly, no real training was necessary. The obstacle courses didn’t require too much out of me (of course I had help from my team mates, but still)
Here is the break down of my Tough Mudder SoCal #2 experience:
Pro:
— The name: Tough Mudder is pretty badass name
— The comradery with all those participating and how people who weren’t even your teammates were willing to help you out
— variety of obstacle courses
— the amount of craziness from outfits, to people hyping us up
— the free beer at the end, the cool headband
Cons:
— Location was a b*tch, this event should of been called Tough HILLER! Imagine climbing/​walking/​hiking up the MOUNTAINS that we snowboard on!
— Course, what an ugly route, we found ourselves walking miles at a time in desserted areas. Honestly they were rarely any folks «cheering us on», Many times we found ourselves just traveling through and there wasn’t even route guides or anything that reminded us of what we are doing!
— The obstacle courses were not spread out, some instances there would be obstacles after obstacles, other times we would have to travel for miles at end to reach something
— Man the heat was a killer! Not to mention my sunburn was so bad, i got water blisters. I wish the water stops had sunblock for us, I mean undoubtly the sunblock we put on before the race would be washed off
— the «Mud Mile» was NOT even muddy!
— There was no fiiiiiyah! i was looking forward to jumping through fire! But then again, i guess because it was during summer and there were trees and dried plants, it wouldnt have been a good idea
— It wasn’t as tough as they made it seem, I was able to get through 80% of the obstacles just fine. I failed on the monkey bars and swinging rings, but it was more of the fact that they were wet
— Those monitoring the obstacle courses, weren’t really engaging. In some obstacles they would yell at you or push you to go, others were just standing there, one guy even had a large bag of doritos and fed me one. haha i guess that’s a Pro not a Con haha
— Price! talk about exxxxpensive! I’ve participated in many charity events and I was surprised to see the lack of goodies and freebies that were provided.
Overall, I doubt I would do tough mudder again, especially not in snow valley, the water blisters and ugly tan line still almost three weeks later is a good reminder of why I wouldn’t. I will have to do Warrior Dash, The Spartan Race and other similar events to weigh out if tough mudder is realest the baddest bitch out there!
I still do recommend everyone try it at least once. This is just my own personal experience, but all my other teammates enjoyed it for the most part.

toughest challenge indeed!!!—
officially a TOUGH MUDDER!!!

What a great atmosphere, great people, great accomplishment and most of all. it’s for a great cause. It was my first mudder and definitely won’t be my last. We had fun all the way through and got done in 3 hrs. I do have a suggestion for anyone doing a tough mudder in Snow Valley in the future. Train w/​alot of steep hills. Your basically walking up steep black diamond ski slopes which makes that part of the course the hardest. The obstacles are fun and not very challenging although the shocks are pretty strong and definitely wake you up. Also suggest getting there EARLY if the parking is limited.

A piece of cake! It’s ALL about the water obstacles soo much fun! 10 miles of harsh hills, rock climbs, steep descents, mud crawls, 21 GREAT obstacles even electrical shock! Leave feeling higher than ever and with tons if free supplements, stories, the need for more and a shirt!

It was awesome!!!

There was a lot of runnin in them thar hills.
This was my second SoCal mudder this year and Snow Valley has a lot more uphill trekking and dusty trails than Temecula. Went on Sunday and it was a lot less crowded and more parking available.
Anyways, it is fun as always and for a great cause.

It’s that time again, back for another Mudder!
This was my first time at this location and it probably won’t be my last. Since I stayed at a local hotel I was able to get up early (06:00) and eat breakfast and get up to the resort and get a parking spot. As soon as I got there and unpacked I got a text message (07:51) saying that parking was full. It happened that fast! To their credit, the traffic organizers did a great job.
It was packed! It was another miracle that I was able to get into my 09:00 wave. After hopping the wall it was packed like a sardine can! I couldn’t even take a knee during the pep talk because I was backed up against the wall. They actually had to keep people from coming over the wall because no more would fit. Then the normal pep talk drill ensued and we were off.
To say this course had a lot of hills was an understatement. It was like trekking up Mount Doom. Luckily I had been doing a lot of hiking and running prior to help prepare myself a little. It was still a lot more challenging than I initially expected, my legs were burning going up the hills and the elevation did affect my speed going up the hills. There were a few people puking at the top of these things, and a lot of people resting on the way up, and resting at the top. When you thought there weren’t going to be any other hills, there ended up being another. Where I ran most the stuff at the last TM, I ended up walking most of the uphill stuff at this one. The hills were pretty brutal, but hey, why the hell should this be easy? That’s no fun.
I liked the water obstacles at this one better, I felt like I got more dirty on this course than the Vail Lake one. At least there was more mud this time around. I must have got lucky on the electric eel (low crawl electroshock) because I only got hit once or twice and it wasn’t that bad, nothing like So. Cal #1 (Vail Lake) where I got hit 5 – 6 times and they all really hurt. The log carry was a lot longer and difficult on this one. Again, you carried this log uphill then another I don’t know how long and then back down. My teammate and I grabbed one of the longer logs and trekked uphill and then ran the rest of the flat/​road. It was definitely fun. All the other stuff was pretty much the same, Arctic Enema was the 2^nd obstacle which was cool, I like getting that one out of the way early. I liked the ring swing that they had. It wasn’t at So. Cal #1 and I found it really fun.
I brought a Camelbak again but for some reason this time I didn’t use much of it other than for carrying stuff because they had plenty of water stations and portable restrooms along the way.
Again I got really lucky with the finish line, I don’t think I got shocked once, I’m actually a little disappointed. That sounds weird but I got shocked a few times last time and I thought that this was going to be the time I got floored but it never happened.
Overall, the course was short this time around. They were claiming 10 miles but I don’t remember seeing any markers higher than 8, and it took my teammate and I about 2:50 to finish where the 11 mile course at Vail Lake which we went faster at took us 2:40 to complete. I’d definitely say this course was harder but I felt it was more fun and I felt a little more accomplished after doing this one. Now I just need to do an east coast one or the World’s Toughest to truly feel challenged.
If you haven’t done one of these, do one! They are really fun. So see you there!

I can barely type right now after I jammed my middle finger while trying to reach the top of Everest (a TM obstacle involving a slippery and wet half-​pipe) but I’d like to share some highlights from the craziest experience in my life:
–Watching my coworkers and fellow runner strip down to nothing but man tights and Captain America board shorts to embark on a 10-​mi hike/​run from hell
–Holding up my friend above water after his leg cramped while jumping into cold water off a 15-​foot platform
–Scarfing down water, bananas, and energy gels at the aid stations
–Having random strangers boost me over the 12-​ft high Berlin Wall obstacles (I’m only 5′-5″ =p)
–Climbing up a black diamond ski slope on all fours Spiderman-​style; this saved my calves for the later horrors of the course
–Feeling like an authentic Rambo crawling under barbed wire and charged wires through muddy water
–Being pulled to the top of a crazy half-​pipe on my third attempt (first two attempts involved me barely grabbing the top and sliding back down on my ass into the mud; I had to have someone grab me on the third try)
–The general encouragement of fellow Mudders and spectators at the obstacles at along the route
–Sprinting and hurdling over hale bales and live electrical wires before receiving an electric shock during Electroshock Therapy which felt like something bit my leg and totally eating it just before the finishing line
Thanks TMHQ for putting on a sick event! Looking forward to recovering and planning how and where to get my next orange headband!

I completed the SoCal #2 event this year in Running Springs with a couple of my running gfs. Those girls are tough! I was the wimpiest one of us all since I couldn’t swim! Anyway, this 10 mile course really tested our endurance and it took a lot out of us, but we all finished with smiles across our faces.
There were 21 obstacles and some of them were very doable if you don’t mind getting shocked, scraped, or dunked in freeeeezing water. Actually, no… that freezing water obstacle was one of the WORST on the course. It took my breath away and I had never felt such pain and numbness simultaneously after I hopped out of the pool. Seriously took me a minute to catch my bearings to continue my long march uphills. These hills are actually the black diamond slopes people usually snowboard or ski down during the wintertime. So yes, that should give you an idea of how bad the inclines were.
The course was always clearly marked and even during my moments of confusion, I managed to follow the hundreds of dirtied and tired participants to the next obstacle. There were about 4 water stations spread throughout the course. They gave out Sharkies energizing gummies at one of the stations and bananas were available at all the stations as well. Portopotties were available at the water stations. THANK GOODNESS. We had to stay hydrated or else I’m sure we coulda cramped up badly. It was HOT yesterday. I am sunburned, but only on two patches on my back… maybe the sunscreen didn’t reach those two areas. Who knows?
Around Mile 7, a bunch of Mudders had to scream for medic because someone at the top of a very steep hill was injured and there was no medical person or volunteer in sight. We all crossed our arms above our heads to indicate the need for medical attention and passed the message all the way down to the bottom. I think shortly afterward, the injured person was taken down the mountain. Kinda sad because that person was so close to finishing! However, that just motivated the rest of us to keep on going and finish.
It took a lot of time to muster up the courage to run through the electroshock therapy obstacle. I made it through ¹⁄₃ of the way without getting shocked and was so confused about not getting shocked that I kinda stood there for a second… then that was when I got like 6 hits in a matter of 2 seconds HAHAH! GOOD TIMES!
I wish there were more photogs along the path and more medical personnel on the course, but overall I had a great time and would love to do another TM! WE EARNED OUR HEADBANDS!

I thought I was in shape until I did this.
It lives up to the name. It is a must do for anyone wanting to test there physical and mental fortitude. I am signed up to do the next one in Nor Cal and have been re doubling my efforts for the upcoming challenge. The course was exciting and the obstacles were both fun and challenging. I pushed myself to do them all, especially at the end when I was out of gas and it took all my mental energy to push my way over the last obstacles and through the electroshock curtain.
All in all I recommend this event for anyone out there looking for a way to focus their workouts in anticipation for an extreme event.

This event was a blast.
It’s challenging, but a lot of fun especially if you have a fun group of people to do it with. All the Tough Mudder event organizers, volunteers, directors, safety observers, first aid station folks, water stations, etc… did a SUPERB job. They were very supportive and motivating. From the starting line the guy (reminded me of Cee-​Lo), to the finish line. they were all very enthusiastic for the participants… taking pics, cheering you on, putting a beer in your hand. etc… And I got a free T-​shirt which I like very much.
Its an adventurous experience, towards a noteworthy cause and leaves you with a sense of accomplishment afterwards…
It will also leave you with sunburn, bruises, scrapes, cuts and a lot of sore muscles… But the boos will help alleviate some of that discomfort. (I recommend Makers Mark on ice…)

Highly recommend. I already pre-​registered for next year’s Tough Mudder. The course is up and down the Snow Valley ski slope, an ideal choice for Mudders. Lots of opportunities to carry heavy objects up steep slopes and slip in mud on the way down. The view at the top for the Primal Scream is memorable. The drop in temperature from the high altitude makes it possible for snow on the course even though it is May in southern California. Great event for friends, military friendly.