Together At Last? (UPDATE: Maybe Not.)

As new information continues to come in, it seems the Spartan and Tough Mudder merger has “gotten stuck in the mud”. We'll have new details as they emerge, the Mud Run Crew is digging into the details to provide a timeline of TM's fall and what we – the OCR Community – can do to save Tough Mudder. Stay Tuned.

Spartan has acquired Tough Mudder’s UK, Canadian, and German events

The races will still operate under the Tough Mudder brand and will be organized by the Tough Mudder team, but will now fall under the Spartan Umbrella. This acquisition is the first step in what Spartan hopes to be a full merger between Spartan Race and Tough Mudder.

We just got off the phone with Joe De Sena while he was skiing in Telluride, and he's obviously excited about the prospects of working together with Tough Mudder to continue to grow the sport of obstacle racing worldwide.

“I've known Will and Guy for like 10 years now, and they really set the standard for the sport of obstacle racing – the competition we've had has really helped shape the sport. To finally get to work together after battling for so many years is just awesome, and anything that helps us to reach more people worldwide and drag them off the couch is a good thing.”– Joe De Sena

Joe confirmed that this option to produce events was “step 1” in the process of working together in these specific international markets with the hopes to grow into a fully-encompassing global partnership.

Wild Times at Spartan HQ

Just to recap: Over the past 6 months Spartan has acquired Warrior Dash, expanded Spartan Trail series, launched Urban Sprints internationally, acquired La Ruta MTB race, launched DEKAFIT, and now they have teamed up with Tough Mudder. Check out our article on what we think is Next for Spartan in 2020 and beyond

Full press release:

Spartan Race announced the acquisition of an exclusive option to acquire Tough Mudder's UK, Canadian, and German events today, as the first step in an effort to bring together a complete merger of the two obstacle course racing leaders.
Tough Mudder events in those countries would continue to be operated by the same team and under the same brand, to be a part of the larger Spartan family of brands and events. Tough Mudder associates and participants in the UK, Germany and Canada will be able to continue on with their Tough Mudder adventure.

“This is a goal we've had for some time,” said Joe De Sena, Spartan founder & CEO. “Tough Mudder UK, Canada & Germany bring a unique experience and putting the success of the two together strengthens our global mission of getting 100 million people off the couch.”

Under Spartan ownership, Tough Mudder UK, Canada and Germany races and events would focus on teamwork-based non-competitive festival events, leaving the competition to the Spartan side of the business.

“I look forward to creating a lasting partnership with Will and Guy as we seek to complete the merger,” De Sena said. “I'm excited about the prospect of what we can do together, as one team.”

Spartan will continue to work with Tough Mudder's founders, Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, in efforts to complete the acquisition and renewal of Tough Mudder's US-based events and operations in the coming days.

Share this post!