Tough Mudder started off the 2018 season in New Orleans this past weekend with some visible changes. The biggest difference between the 2017 and the 2018 season was the five mile, two loop course format instead of one ten mile loop for anyone doing the Tough Mudder Full. On paper, it didn’t seem like that big of a difference, but on the course, it became clear that it had a very different feeling.
Tough Mudder's New 2018 Race Format
Last year, the course was ten miles for anyone doing the Full. For anyone doing the Half, they took an early exit to the finish line about five miles in. This year, both Half and Full racers shared the six-mile course, with anyone doing the Full completing two laps, while those doing the Half, completed just one lap. The majority of the obstacles on both laps were the same, with just a handful of obstacles different for people doing their second lap. Five unique obstacles for anyone on their second lap to be exact.
I tried to stay positive about it and for about the first half of the first loop, I didn’t have any complaints. Then I started to see issues. Minor things really, but compared to the previous year, it wasn’t the same experience.
Tough Mudder New Orleans 2017 Course Map – click on image for full size.
My favorite part of the 2017 race was the second half of the race, after the masses racing the Half exited the course, crossed the finish line and drank their celebratory beer. The second half of the race course was wide open, there weren’t lines at the obstacles and I felt part of an elite group with enough grit to complete that many obstacles and that distance.
My least favorite part of the 2018 race was doing the same obstacles a second time. Crawling through the mud under barb wire is my kind of Saturday morning activity, but it’s not as much fun a second time around. I felt ripped off, especially since by the second time around the crowds had increased.
Other drawbacks included a feeling like I was about the get stampeded by fresh racers a mile into the course. Not to mention running the same stretches through the woods a second time. I love running through the woods, but half of the fun of running off roads is seeing new views and terrain, not counting down the turns until the next obstacle.
I ran in the 8:30-time slot, one of the first waves after the elite/Tougher Mudder wave. About a mile in, I started getting passed by the competitive racers and at times I felt like I was in their way on the course and at obstacles.
A very small sample size of feedback from some of the people that ran in the Tougher Mudder was that it wasn’t a big deal, there was a little bit of a backup at some of the obstacles the second time around, but for the most part it wasn’t an issue. A friend of mine even said that he liked the second time around because it allowed himself to pace himself because he knew what to expect.
Talking to other open athletes that had run Tough Mudder Full’s in the previous years feel mostly into the negative realm. Again a small sample size.
Starting line emcee Sean Corvelle mentioned the new two loops format in his motivation speech. He said something along the lines of people don’t always like change. I don’t mind change, but to me, it seems like this change isn’t benefiting the racers. I think it's a change designed to make it easier to build a course, say there’s more obstacles and save a few bucks.
Final Thoughts
I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud to wear my Tough Mudder finisher shirt to the gym, I enjoyed the obstacles, I liked the course, I just wish that I didn’t have to do it twice. At this point, I’ll probably run another Tough Mudder Full, but I’d say it’s not guaranteed. After my first Tough Mudder last year, I couldn’t wait to sign up for my next one. I hope they go back to the old course format.
I’d love to hear what you think.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and official policies of Mud Run Guide LLC, or their staff. The comments posted on this Website are solely the opinions of the posters.
I haven’t even done the new format yet but just reading about it makes me less enthused. As you mentioned, the best part of the full is getting past the half way mark with the racers who chose to do the longer race and seeing new terrain. Tough Mudder already has issues with long lines in my opinion. I don’t want my 2 hour race taking 4 hours because of crowds. Waiting at obstacles takes away from the experience for many of us.
Wow, not liking this format. Hope they go back to the old format. Ran the tougher to avoid all the backups. Doesnt seem to be fair to pay extra to be on the course with people fresh half way in. Hope Tough Mudder listens!
That’s a bummer and yesterday I saw some pretty negative feedback as well on the Tough Mudder Legionnaires Facebook page. Last year I did the Toughest East 8 hr with 5 mile loops but the loops were actually DIFFERENT…the only Toughest with different courses I believe. In doing Toughest South in May so we’ll see how those same 5 mile loops go…I’m trying to stay positive but with only 1 race into 2018 it’s not sounding great.
This is why I never ran the old spartan ultra beast because it was basically two laps of the Beast race that was going on that day…now that they have moved on to the ultra race format I will give it a try in Hawaii but knowing that the Tough Mudder is now basically two laps of the 5 miler with some extra obstacles it will slide down on my priority list a little bit when planning my races and other weekend activities 🙁
Edward, not to burst your bubble but I am aware of the course planning for the 2018 Hawaii Spartan Ultra and it is still two laps of the beast with an extra 2-3 mile spur – just like all other Spartan Ultras. Don’t want you to fly out there on a misconception. Think about it though. What venue / property on an island as mountainous as Hawaii is going to have enough open land to put on 30 unique miles of trail with 60+ unique obstacle locations wide enough for 15 people going through at a time? Not to mention the cost in staff and materials to build that many obstacles would make the event uneconomical. Just letting you know.
I am going to agree with Eric above. Reading this makes me not want to do a full because the lack of obstacle variety. When I do a longer races I want more obstacles not the same one twice. Waiting in line is also something that is a major turn off for me. I had once race I timed my wait at over 5 minutes and it makes me not want to run that brand in open because of it.
This really sucks and makes me less excited for our next TM. I prefer to not know what’s coming up and stopped doing runs that make you do multiple laps. I hope they don’t stick with this format!
We are doing the AZ tough mudder full this weekend and was not a fan when the course map came out. Not a fan of multi lap events and if I sign up, it would be for the single lap option cause I did not want to do the same thing twice. I have the same fears about the lines and don’t want to hinder the Tougher runners. We shall see but if they keep the multi lap, will probably go with the single lap option in the future. I like the larger obstacles that Tough Mudder has over some of the other races but not if I have to wait in long lines to do it.
Doing my 5 th full TM this year and was super excited because it will be the first for my two sons. Now they go and do this! Not a happy camper right now. Already bought my tickets so I’m going to give it a try but this might be my last TM.
Everything this year was done extremely cheaply. Unfortunately I sustained a serious injury because of the cheapness 4 miles in at Funky Monkey, where instead of having a drop pool, like last year, there was only about 3 inches of hay. I slipped off the muddy bars and upon landing, dislocated my kneecap about 90 degrees out of place. Talking with other Mudders, found out that there were 4 or 5 other serious dislocations or broken bones. If TM continues with this cheapness and circuit setup, I definitely would not be interested in returning.
NOLA finisher and agree 100%. A day on course is always a good day but this is BY FAR my least favorite Tough Mudder when my others were always my favorite OCRs. Looking forward to Bonefrog this week!
First of all sorry about your injury and I hope you recover quickly and its not too serious
They really got rid of the drop pool and just put a pile of hay? I shocked they would think that’s enough to support someone from falling.
On Reach Around last year I saw someone fall trying to swing to the top and broke their ankle. I always thought that obstacle was too high up for it’s own good. I realize there is a fine line between making an obstacle fun and challenging but someones I think they don’t think enough about what happens if a runner falls off their obstacles.
I don’t know who in their right mind thought this multi-lap option would be a good idea! He/She/They should be fired! This is NOT what Tough Mudder is known for! You cannot advertise 20+ obstacles when it’s REALLY about 10 obstacles that you are completing TWICE. And then you have to run an entire second lap for about five new obstacles?!?! Screw that noise! Forget the fact that they are still charging you even more money this time around, that’s not the point. I have always been willing to pay TOP dollar for the quality and craftsmanship of their obstacles. The point is that Tough Mudder WAS known for having the biggest and best obstacles and being at the forefront of OCRs. Now they have become just like all the other OCRs. And the obstacles aren’t even all that anymore. Kiss of Mud, Mud Mile, Hero Carry, Tired Yet and Devil’s Beard?!?! That sounds more like a field day or a P.E. class for third graders. So in short, not only are you completing repeated obstacles, the obstacles themselves aren’t what they used to be! Where are King of the Swingers, Shawshanked, Arctic Enema, etc. There are some obstacles that need to be staples on the course map and the ones advertised for Miami are not the “classics.” I think this truly may be the beginning of the end for Tough Mudder. What was once known as the OCR with the most innovative and challenging obstacles has now become BORING! They are either getting very greedy and want to do less with more, struggling financially or are just plain too lazy or disorganized to build 20+ DIFFERENT obstacles like they used to! I used to brag about this race and company to all of my friends and followers and even pegged TM as “THE OCR of all OCRs.” However, I will now make sure to spread the word of how disappointed I am. For those reading this post, please help let TM and your friends/followers know how disappointed you are too in this new layout. If they don’t change the layout back to how it used to be, I can foresee many more people refusing to pay and participate. Congratulations TM on ruining a great thing! I don’t know what direction Tough Mudder is going in but I’m not following. I’m out!
I’m signed up for the full in VA on 6/9 and just found out about this new format… WTF!? In the past, there have been lines for some obstacles on the single 10 mile loop, which I understand, but I can only imagine how crowded it will be with this format.
I’ll try to go in with an open mind, but I already feel jipped. Hopefully TM see’s all the negative feedback and goes back to the old format
John I’m hoping the experience gets better than it was back in March. Let me know what you think of it.
I did NOLA also. I did not like the new format. After that one was over, I said I would do Michigan and go from there. Michigan was better (albeit rockier) and due to the location being a sand and gravel pit, mud mile was dubbed the Sunday stroll.
I’m on board for Chicago. J
I’ve done 10 Tough Mudder runs and now I’m done. They half-assed the last two, making it a two-lap, instead on one longer one. Wait times at the obstacles was terrible & don’t get me started on how bad Wounded Warrior has gotten! I’ll be looking for something new, maybe a Spartan?
I ran the Tough Mudder full in Pittsburgh PA 9-8-2018. This was my 5th TM and if they do not get rid of this new 2 lap format it may be my last. IT WAS SOOOOOO BAD!!! Like many of you I did not find out about the new format until right before my event, long after I had already paid my money. Not only did I have to repeat pretty much all obstacles twice (with 1 or 2 exceptions) what few obstacles they did bring were total cop outs. I mean who wants to do Devil’s Beard Twice, really? I used to love the TM, I run several brands of races all over the country, and the TM was the one I would recommend to a lot of ppl looking to get into it as the most fun but no longer. For me it started going down hill when they started offering the cut down versions….it used to be just the TM FULL and that was it, then came the half, then came the 5k, and each time the real thing that we all looked forward to died a little more – the obstacles got smaller, easier, more mundane……and now this 2 lap repeating format…….NO THANK YOU. Add to that the price increases of the bag check and parking in 2017….only to produce a much lower quality product at a higher cost to the competitors…..WTF?!?!?!? My parents wont even come and watch which they love to do because it would cost them over $60. I get that they want to make more money but at what cost? And I am all for getting a new generation of couch potatoes out there and racing but let them start with another event that is geared towards beginners and leave my Tough Mudder alone. BRING BACK THE TOUGH MUDDER IN ALL ITS GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The way it stands right now it is just not worth my money. I am supposed to be running the TM in SoCal in November but I am not sure I will with this new format….Bummer.
What a complete rip off. I’ve run 5x the Tri-State and I’m running it again next week, but I’m sure this will be my last time.