World’s Toughest Mudder was designed to give the world’s most hardcore OCR athletes the opportunity to display their competitive spirit in a non-stop 24 hour battle of grit and willpower. It’s where Mudder Nation and OCR-fanatics push their physical strength and mental toughness beyond their limits. Oh, and as a bonus, they’re also the first to test *potential* new 2018 obstacle innovations.
The UK’s Top Contenders (Seriously, a Brit could win this thing)
The UK’s own Jonathan Albon is favourite to take out the grand prize and be the first European to win at World’s Toughest Mudder. That’s reason enough to watch right there. Jon has a decorated Tough Mudder history including winning the event last year in the team category alongside Ryan Atkins. Both men completed 105 miles in the 24 hours. This year they will be squaring off against each other in must-see action.
Earlier this year Albon won the first ever Europe’s Toughest Mudder, completing 50 miles in 8-hours on what was widely considered the most difficult Toughest course of the season. He has been competing and training in Europe all year with an eye on taking out this race.
In the female category, Beth Albon (Jon’s sister) will be lining up to take on the best in her first attempt at World’s Toughest. Relatively new to the world of OCR, Beth had a really strong showing at Europe’s Toughest Mudder this year placing 4th with 30 miles.
In the all-new National Team Relay Category, the UK is being represented by the mud-loving legionnaires from Team Short Shorts. Do they have what it takes to take out the inaugural title?
Catch All The Action
You can tune in to #WTM2017 without stepping foot on the desert sands of Lake Las Vegas by watching it all go down LIVE here.
3 Unique Shows, 14 Hours of Sports Programming on Facebook Live
1. World’s Toughest Mudder Day 1 Kick Off (6 hours): Saturday 11 November, 7pm GMT
2. World’s Toughest Mudder Midnight Special (1 hour): Sunday 12 November, 8am GMT
3. World’s Toughest Mudder Day 2 Finish (7 hours): Sunday 12 November, 3pm GMT
Follow along at www.toughmudderae.wpengine.com/live and the UK Facebook page for 14 hours of sports programming featuring OCR experts in the box and Hunter McIntyre on the sidelines.
Behind The Scenes Social Coverage
When: Live social coverage will kick off on Friday, November 10 and run through Sunday, November 14. Follow along on our Instagram story and Snapchat for behind the scenes footage. And keep your Twitter feed open for 24+ hours of race updates from the race centre.
Top Women To Watch
This year the 2016 World’s Toughest Mudder Champion Stef Bishop will be fighting to hole onto her 2016 title of World’s Toughest Mudder. But just because they’re newer to the OCR scene doesn’t mean they can be discounted: the 2016 World’s Toughest Mudder Runner-Up Suzanne Kraus, American’s Toughest Mudder Midwest & Northeast first-place finisher Allison Tai, and American’s Toughest Mudder South & West first-place finisher Lindsey Webster, are all serious contenders. To more *formally* meet the 5 female Mudder’s that’ll be fighting each other for podium spots at WTM 2017, click HERE.
Top Men To Watch
This year 5 of the Toughest Men On The Planet will have Mudder Nation wondering: What happens when 2016 WTM team champions put their toughness to the test by racing as individuals? And who’ll come out on top when the 2015 and 2016 WTM Champ go head-to-head?
With 2016 WTM team champion, along with Jonathan Albon, Ryan Atkins going up against the 2015 and 2016 individual WTM podium holders Chad Trammell and Trevor Cichosz, and the 2016 runner-up Austin Azar coming back tougher than ever, WTM will show just what happens when OCR athletes are pushed past their limits. To study up on the toughest men, click HERE.
Adaptive Athletes To Watch
This year the first paraplegic athletes (that’s right, plural) are taking on the mud. Mudder Nation, meet Superman and Jessie.Tyson, aka “Superman”, is a 33-year-old paraplegic athlete from Woodland, California. He’s a true Legionnaire with 10 Tough Mudder Fulls under his belt. And this year he’s been training every single day with his team to prepare for WTM 2017. With a goal of completing 25 miles with his team and Coach, he will be one of the first paraplegic athlete to attempt this gruelling race. To watch his story, click HERE. Jessie might have just started obstacle course racing this year, but she’s ready to tackle the mud with her mighty mud-lovin’ team and ERock.
Top Teams To Watch
And in case you haven’t heard, this year, in addition to the tried-and-true solo and team categories at WTM, we’re creating a new layer of competition…Enter the National Team Relay Category. This format promises to pit teams of 4 (or more) from nations across the world against each other in a fast-paced, strategic 24-hour test of toughness. Relay teams will be required to run their first and last laps together as a team, and at all other times at least 50% of the team must be active. But the strategy the nation uses is up to them. With 9 National Teams Competing, it’s sure to be a tight race. Study up on the team’s strengths, stats, and experience HERE before wagering your bets, Mudder Nation.
Track the Athletes
Have a sweet spot for certain athletes and teams? Track your fave athletes in real time HERE.
More WTM Info
And if you’re still wondering what the heck is World’s Toughest Mudder, click HERE.
