Dubai: Dubai residents can soon leap, slide, and dodge through a gruelling military-inspired obstacle course to be held over a two-day period in December.
The Tough Mudder course will offer participants the chance to run through mud, crawl under wires and climb over walls, organisers have said.
Dubbed ‘the toughest event on the planet’, the course will be held on December 9 and 10 for people looking for some fun in a team-oriented challenge designed to test physical strength, stamina, and mental grit.
“The challenge is not for athletes, it’s open for anyone who is up for running in mud, crawling under wires, climbing over walls, running through electric wires together with a group of friends or family,” said Will Dean, CEO and founder of Tough Mudder. “The obstacles are designed to be fun rather than tough and people need to work together to complete them.”
In partnership with du, the military-style event will be held around the Hamdan Sports Complex in two versions, said Dean. It will be set up in the desert for the first time in the history of the Tough Mudder challenge, which was first launched in 2010, now with over 120 events worldwide.
“There will be the Tough Mudder Full, which is an 18km event involving 20 military style obstacles and we have the Tough Mudder Half, an 8km event involving 10 obstacles. Both will be happening concurrently on both days of the event. We are expecting at least 5,000 participants.”
There are no winners, finisher medals, or clocks to race against, as mentioned on the website. A Mini Mudder event for children is also being organised at the same site.
“People would only need a bit of training before the event, but nothing major. All the details about the fitness levels and how to train for the event are on the website. The longer distance event is definitely more challenging and for more fit people. Mentally, there will be moments that will be challenging in both events. They can be tough, but they are doable.”
Most people leave the competition feeling proud about themselves, he added. “It’s a great way to build confidence and self-esteem, improve your health and connect with friends. Many people said it has changed their life for the better in many ways.”
Dean said more than two and a half million people have taken part in the event worldwide and half of the participants have been females. “Tough Mudder has also raised $12 million (Dh44.08 million) for charity worldwide and we are in the process of finalising our charity partner here.”
Tickets to the Tough Mudder event including spectator tickets are available online on ToughMudder.ae.
