Conquer The Gauntlet (CTG) will have a Pro Team for the third year in a row in 2018, after a strong 2017 season. Despite the series having a reduced racing schedule due growing families from the owners (read about it here, Family First at Conquer The Gauntlet), the Pro Team will still be racing year round, coast to coast and occasionally overseas.
Bonefrog Challenge is back for 2018. Mud Run Guide has the exclusive preview of the finisher t-shirts for all four distances and new medal designs for 2018. Year after year the Bonefrog Challenge continues to be a favorite among participants. With several different offerings, there is a distance for every obstacle racer.
Tough Mudder introduced Tough Mudder X in 2017. The one-mile event showcased some of the best Tough Mudder obstacles while mixing in grueling functional fitness tasks. The fast-paced race was an instant success among both spectators and participants showcased on CBS. Tough Mudder X is back in 2018 with more events, more television time, and more athletes looking to take home the huge cash prizes.
Tough Mudder continues to be a leader in obstacle innovation with the release of several new obstacles in advance of the 2018 season. Starting in 2018, instead of electroshock therapy at the end of a race, participants will be up against "Happy Ending". Tough Mudder also continues to innovate Kong for 2018. With races offered on five continents in 2018, many participants will able to have their own Happy Ending to finish out the course.
Warrior Dash recently inked a multi-year deal with an apparel company Grunt Style. Starting in 2018 finisher t-shirts will be co-branded as Warrior Dash and Grunt Style. The American apparel company showcases the best in America with bold statement t-shirts, supporting pride in self, pride in military, and pride in country.
The Ultra Beast was first introduced by Spartan Race in 2012 at Killington, Vermont. Instead of just one lap on the famed beast course, competitors completed two laps in one day. The Ultra Beast has become a defining option in obstacle racing for the endurance enthusiast. In 2018, the Spartan Race Ultra Beast has been rebranded as simply the Spartan Race Ultra. This new designation places the Spartan Race Ultra in its own category, giving the race its own identity.
In a ceremony a few weeks ago at Cedar Lake Cellars Winery outside of St. Louis, The Battlegrounds Mud Run married Tough Mudder. This “tying of the knot” subsequently created what is one of the unique Tough Mudder venues for their Missouri event while, at the same time, putting an end to the largest single-site obstacle race in the Midwest.
Italy officially has it's own homegrown OCR Series with the introduction of the Inferno OCR Series. Inferno Run was the first OCR race to come to Italy and now they are the first to have their own series. The three event series features Inferno Snow, Inferno City, and Inferno Mud creating a unique series for athletes to take on all the different aspects of obstacle course racing.
Tough Mudder produced the first Tough Mudder X a shortened course with function fitness added into the mix in 2017. Instantly, due to the special on CBS and the fast and furious format, became a hit among the OCR Community. After the event, Tough Mudder announced pre-registration for several events in 2018 but recently some of those pre-registrations have been refunded.
Mud Run Guide held the fourth annual Mud Run Guide Best of OCR Awards in 2017. The process began with an open nomination period where the OCR Community was invited to nominate their favorites over 30-categories for 2017.
