Mud Runs seem like the new trend of athletic sports. Honestly, we need to understand why crawling and running on the mud while paying a fee to do so is so well-liked. Perhaps seeing your friends completing the Tough Mudder, Tough Guy Challenge, or Spartan Race has you pumped?
Whatever the reason might be, I have listed 7 Reasons why Mud Runs are so popular and why it is worth trying them out.
- Exciting Way to Stay Fit.
- Adrenaline Rush.
- Camaraderie.
- Physical and Mentally Challenging Obstacles.
- Achievement and Bragging Rights.
- Finish line Prizes.
- Badass Advertisement and Marketing Efforts
Before we start on the whys, let’s start with what are mud runs?
SHORT HISTORY OF MUD RUN
During the 20th century, Frenchman Georges Hebert got the idea of taking different exercises and arranging them into a set of obstacle courses. Hebert traveled the world in the French Navy.
During a visit to Africa, he was impressed by how “flexible, nimble, skillful, enduring, [and] resistant” the natives were, even though they didn’t follow any kind of formal exercise program.
Hebert drew inspiration from this experience, from ancient Greek and Roman culture. This is when he and his physical education predecessors’ work to create his own fitness philosophy. “The Natural Method” was born and encouraged its adherents to get strong and agile in the same way tribesmen had for thousands of years.
Mud runs and obstacle course races (OCR) have been a practice that uses different challenging hurdles between the start and finish line. “On the most basic level, any event where impediments or challenges are placed on the course in the path of competitors is an obstacle race.” (“History & about the Sport”).
While most obstacle races incorporate mud as an obstacle, they differ from mud runs with the additional obstacles found, such as ropes and walls.
Tough Guy Challenge
In 1987 in the United Kingdom, a former British army soldier Billy Wilson — aka Mr. Mouse — organized the “Tough Guy Challenge.” It is a 15-kilometer obstacle course held on a 600-acre farm near Wolverhampton, England.
Wilson specifically designed the course to induce fear and pain and to push participants to their very limits. Most of the big companies doing obstacle courses started appearing since then.
Data shows an increase in the number of participants–from different gender and age groups–from less than 100,000 to almost 500,000. The saturation of the participants occurs in 2015, and the numbers are relatively stable until 2017.
These show that Mud Runs are getting even popular since then, not just in the US but worldwide. From then on, some biggest races are expanding abroad, and Mud Run is becoming one of the in-demand sports.
So, you are on a roll and excited to start on your Country’s or State’s Mud Run; let’s get started on the list.
1 – Exciting Way to Stay Fit
It is all about the preparation and results.
The initial thought we usually have about Mud Runs is that they are mud-filled tests of stamina, agility, and toughness that you may think is new. However, their roots can actually be traced further back in history.
Preparation makes the anticipation of joining something “to survive” notion. Finishing the course is not an ardent requirement, but why not try to do so. Here lies the motivation to train and prepare.
From building stamina and endurance to accepting the fact that you will end the race covered in mud, sweat, and most likely bruises. That is where mental preparation comes in, accepting that you will, without a doubt, be put on challenging tasks. Part of mental training is also researching what is appropriate for you to participate in all honesty.
Doing exercises, just these two words, will put most of us back on our couches, but what if you are having fun while losing weight and gaining muscle? The main goal of these courses IS to try out our body’s and mind’s capabilities while enjoying the adventure that the course brings. Imagine doing treadmills or doing your usual push-ups versus going outside, running on all these life-sized games we call obstacles.
After all the hard work and time you invested in preparation, putting them into action also gives the sense of your hardship being worthwhile. You would have thought you were satisfied with just running a mile or two before the mud run, but during the actual race, running while carrying logs or covered in rubble and soil added weight is on a different level of experience.
In the end, preparing and then putting them to fair use makes you feel that you can have the motivation and drive to start it and end it.
2 – Adrenaline Rush
Different from your day to day routine. Addicting thrill.
So, what makes mud Runs a must-try sport or activity? One of the reasons why it is so popular–It’s EXCITING! It is not just exciting; it’s mind-blowing, which gives that so-called “adrenaline rush.” Without exaggerating, merely thinking of conquering 20, 30, or 35 different obstacles in a single mud run event will really make your senses go wild. Running on fires, crawling on muds, carrying 60 lbs of sacks while running, pulling loads of weights, and more obstacles along your way will make your adrenaline go crazy to pull off every single hurdle prepared for all the participants.
An adrenaline rush on mud runs event could give that excitement all athletes, health buffs, and thrill-seekers are looking for. An adrenaline rush is produced when one is nervous or stressed over an event or a current situation. The adrenaline rush pumps the participants to conquer their fears, push their limits, and give their all to reach the finish line as fast as they can (for timed-events).
The body produces adrenaline that causes sudden changes—increased heart rate, sweatiness, a surge in energy, and shallow breathing—on our entire system to prepare us for possible flight and be more alert. Besides, adrenaline stimulates the release of Dopamine in our nervous system. That is to say, it contributes to the release of a substance that causes a “feeling of wellbeing.”
Without a doubt, mud runs are so popular because of their fulfillment in conquering all the obstacles. It raises your self-confidence level and gives a sensation of pleasure once you can finish one block after another.
3 – Camaraderie
Friends and comrades that you will meet while overcoming challenges together.
Friendships play a vital role in helping people get through substantial challenges in life, building resilience to adversity–surviving and thriving in the face of difficult times.
We do know and confirm that obstacle runs are a hell of a great team-building exercise. As newer obstacles are presenting themselves, the theme of Teamwork-Obstacles is becoming a staple in the planning of these events. This appeals to people’s desire to work together. No hidden agendas, just helping each other out. Gaining comrades in the face of challenges speed things up a little.
During these events, it is a familiar scene where participants come in pairs or groups of friends as they will always help each other along the way. Friends will laugh with you if you stumble but help you back up shortly after. Getting over a wall is much easier when your brawny friends are boosting your spirits up. This activity adds a layer to your connections. It strengthens them because, as you know, obstacles were based on soldiers training to be a functional and efficient unit.
The experience will shed light on how much even strangers can help you back up. Though mud Runs always start out on a frenzy and getting pushed around is nothing new, the cake is when you just need a boost or a push. Opposite of the anonymous morning commute on the subway, completing a teamwork-obstacles task connects people. You will also have a lot more fun celebrating after the race when your friends or family are there to share in the celebration.
4 – Physically and Mentally Challenging Obstacle Courses
Out of the box experience of survival and defying your limit
Obstacle courses themselves were used for training devices, designed to build the overall fitness of soldiers, marines, and sailors for combat. Greek legionaries, Sparta, for example, trained for battle by practicing ever since they can walk from one-on-one combat to almost daily strength contests to build a better soldier, a better unit. Unlike our forefathers, we spent much of our time on our phones at home and stayed for 8 hours on our office chairs.
Some days are just a blur due to routine, and that dulls our minds and body. We do chores and study, but nothing beats the great outdoors when we want to experience life as we know it. You can do mountain biking or mountaineering, and those are in itself fulfilling. Surprisingly, adding activities that you usually won’t do also has its charms, such as getting yourself willingly on neck-deep dirt.
Mud Runs’ primary obstacle is deep, thick, soupy, slimy mud that you will need to navigate from start to finish. These races are the human version of mud-bog tractor pulls – only you’re providing all the horsepower to get through. Running with all your might to jump at ropes, crawling through wet-thick-mud, screaming at the GO! Signal and climbing over boulders more prominent than you are, if not already obvious, not your usual daily occurrence. Doing so gives a reset on your thought process and routine. Sometimes a new environment is all you need to kick your brain into gear.
“Our mission is to get people off their couches and try things they didn’t think were possible—to redefine what is considered normal,”
Carrie Adams/ Spartan Race Brand Manager
5 – The Sense of Achievement and Added Bragging Rights
Just finishing the course is a story to tell.
It’s good to have goals, no matter what size they are. Finishing obstacles that are right in your view are a sight to behold, and not many “couch potatoes” can pull themselves off to do so. Many of what happens in the Mud Runs are challenges that you never want to stop talking about. Most of the Mud Runs are posted online by your friends, and who would go past that without hitting the Like or Heart button.
You make it through, and guess what? You revel in the glory when you’re done because you earned it. It’s even better than you think, and you’re surrounded by countless others who have just been through the same life-changing experience. Take it all in and enjoy it. Achieving such feats are what you keep in your heart even though you might not want to share them online, it is yours to treasure.
All covered in mud, slime, and sweat, but overcoming all that builds up the confidence in many ways than one. After you are done, finishing or not, you have a story and a smile. Stephen King once said: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration—the rest of us just get up and go to work.” and working for that finish line is sweet and rewarding. A massive kick of Dopamine after giving yourself that achievement as if you’ve survived a battle.
6 – Badass Advertisement and Marketing Effort
Most mud runs have strong marketing slogans with brands and celebrities joining.
As in any business, advertisement and marketing can make or break the profits, which goes along with Physical Activity events. Many of which have “It’s not about Winning,” “Toughest Battle to Conquer, Yourself,” “Are You Tough Enough?”, “We Build Warriors,” and so on.
These slogans try to string your ego and challenge you to win them effectively, especially those proud of their abilities. Also, some advertisements cater to changing your current self into a healthier and livelier version. Mud Runs are enticing since they provide us the not so dull path of weight loss.
Basically, he said, OCRs are more fun than marathons. “Look, at the end of the day, most of us are extremely lazy, and our modern environment allows us to be lazy. If someone wants to change that and feel good and go exercise, does a 26.2-mile run on pavement sound appealing?” Spartan’s founder, Joe De Sena, once said.
And athletes aren’t the only ones interested in getting involved—brands want in on the party, too. In 2013, Reebok signed on as the Spartan Race title, and Merrell recently announced a similar partnership with Tough Mudder.
Not to mention social media has played a massive role in making these advertisements even more widespread.
7 – Finish Line Prizes
Cool and custom prizes
Tough Mudder, meanwhile, trumpets toughness but maintains a critical ethos that it is not a race. Everyone gets a bottle of beer at the finish, and some have cool music festivities or parties.
No matter how exhausted you are after conquering one obstacle course after another, seeing the finish line will give you that extra push to finish the race no matter what.
Exciting prizes await for all finishers, from cash prizes ranging from $50 to as much as $100,000.00 depending on the type of event and the organizer. To personalized medals and tokens, to a glass of icy cold beer and party. Or merely the one-of-kind fulfillment of being able to finish tough challenges by yourself or with the help of strangers and friends.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Safety first, always be prepared and do your homework before signing up for an event. Honestly, rate yourself physically and mentally if you can or should exert that much on strenuous activity. You do this for yourself, and you should live to tell the tale and live long enough because the idea behind joining and challenging your limits is to be healthier and live better. Challenge your limits but take calculated risks. Always be aware of what you are getting yourself into.
Mud Runs are exceedingly fun and exciting; that is why they are so popular. Taking a friend and family will not only get you guys to work together but will definitely get you closer. The amount of work you put into doing the runs is your drive and motivation, so having said that, it gives a sense of pride that you conquered with your God-given body.
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