Carrying a big bucket full of gravel up and down a mountain isn’t what most people would consider fun.
Yet an estimated 5 million people will willingly crawl dozens of yards in dirt and rocks under barbed wire, wade in pools of mud and sometimes endure electric shocks and tear gas this year at obstacle races — a sport that has been called the fastest growing in America, according to Obstacle Race World, a website that tracks the sport.
And entrepreneurs are looking to cash in: The number of race organizers has exploded from just 15 in 2012 to 633 this year — a more than 4,000% increase, according to MudRunGuide.com, an industry resource. Last year saw more than 1,370 events, compared with 354 in 2012.
“This has really redefined the idea of what it is to be a weekend warrior. Mom and Dad just don’t wake up on a weekend morning and go for a quick jog like before,” says Hunter McIntyre, a 25-year-old professional obstacle racer who has won first place at more than 20 events. “Our world is getting out of that little petri dish lifestyle where you go to your apartment, your car, your desk and go back. You see people running through rivers and just weird shit.”
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Electroshock therapy and tear gas. Carrying sandbags through mountain ranges. Climbing up 20 feet of rope to ring a bell, without falling into the pool of mud below. Crawling through dark, wet tunnels, only to learn there’s a dead end at the end. Some of these obstacles may sound like retribution for protesting in an undemocratic country. But to the participants who sign death waivers and pay $100 or more for entry, they’re considered sport.
“The traditional sports of endurance like triathlons or running a marathon, that’s not sexy anymore,” McIntyre says. He’s right: 4 million people took part in non-traditional races like obstacle, mud or themed runs in 2013, compared with 2.5 million marathoners and half-marathoners, according to Running USA, which is still calculating those figures for 2014.
For some, it’s easy to see the appeal. Obstacle races can be considered an equalizer. With unpredictable courses and harsh terrain, even the fittest of racers breathe heavy. Each juncture tests a different skill: Fast runners can sprint up mountains, but it takes upper body strength to hoist sandbags into the air using a rope and pulley.
“You’re going to be covered in mud. You’re going to trip. You’re going to fall,” says Brett Stewart, who runs MudRunGuide.com. “Because everyone looks like a fool, no one’s going to laugh at anyone. The obstacles are going to force everyone to walk.”
Unlike at road races, where runners set off from the starting line at the same time, obstacle races release athletes in waves to prevent backlogs at the hurdles. So even if you’re dead last of everyone in your starting time, you’ll still be surrounded by other racers and would be hard-pressed to guess your standing. There’s the added glory of posting an action shot on social media afterward, abs unleashed, covered in dirt, swinging from the monkey bars.
At many obstacle races, getting through the challenge is all about teamwork. This 5-foot-3-inch writer completed her first obstacle race last month — a Spartan Race event — and several strangers offered a boost when she approached a 10-foot wall.
“You push together to get things done. You get some people in these groups who normally wouldn’t do any of this on their own,” says Patrick Pastrana, a 30-year-old technology consultant at Accenture who moved from the New York area to London six months ago. He’s done a handful of obstacle races since his first in 2010, and is organizing his department to complete a Tough Mudder this fall. “The satisfaction comes from completing it as a unit.”
The majority of obstacle racers range from ages 25 to 40, according to Obstacle Race World, with a 60-40 ratio of men to women. That gap may narrow as many women are drawn to females-only races, such as the Dirty Girl Mud Run, a 3-mile course, and Mudderella, a 5-7 mile event.
