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| Betchel Reserve, WV
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Summit Bechtel Reserve delivered a fully stacked weekend, Sprint, Super, Beast and Trail all on the card, and lived up to its reputation in every distance: brutal elevation, thinner air and a double lake swim that pushed racers to their limit. The rope climb broke more than one competitor before it finally gave way, three attempts, real failure, real redemption.
Sunday's Super brought fresh cramps and fresh grit. But the story here wasn't the clock. Struggling racers found strangers willing to slow down and regroup, four competitors becoming one team through the cargo net, the fire jump and the finish line.
Once the mud washed off, several racers stuck around for New River Gorge, cold water and big views proving West Virginia's pull runs deeper than the course.
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| Sacramento, CA
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Mahon Ranch brought Spartans back to an authentic working cattle ranch in the Cosumnes River Valley, Northern California farmland, oak woodlands and cold river crossings, with bald eagles watching from above.
The Super 10K delivered exactly the kind of test this venue is known for. Twenty-five obstacles, mud, water and tall grass turned 6.2 miles into something closer to eight, penalty laps and burpees included for anyone who couldn't stick the spear or muscle through the bars. Just when racers thought they'd crossed the line, an extra mile waited beyond it, one final test before the real finish.
Teams pushed each other through every mile, refusing to let one another quit when the terrain, and the extra mile, tried to break them. Raw grit, unbroken camaraderie, earned glory.
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| Philadelphia, PA
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Citizens Bank Park emptied out for the weekend, handing racers a course most fans never see, push-ups in the Visitors' Clubhouse, laps through the dugout, and a run along the perimeter of left field.
The setting brought out something special beyond the stats. Dealers of Hope partnered with the IM ABLE Foundation and Oscar Mike to help Kyle take on the course, obstacles, stairs, and a smile contagious enough to keep the whole group moving.
For others, Philadelphia was a personal benchmark. One racer shaved nearly 12 minutes off last year's time, climbing from 411th to 56th overall. But the finish line meant more, family waiting at the end, and a chance to show his sons what choosing to do hard things looks like.
Stadium walls, family in the stands, a whole
lot of grit.
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| Berlin, Germany
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Spargelhof-Klaistow in Beelitz brought Spartan to one of Europe's quickest course profiles, flat forest trails, sandy paths and open fields letting racers take on a Trifecta in a single day, Sprint, Super and Beast back to back to back. Sunshine and cloud shared the sky, with Tough Mudder sharing the same grounds for a joint weekend of dual-brand energy.
The Germany-Austria Series Sprint delivered pure speed. Christian Röttger topped the men's field in a sub-30-minute 29:16, ahead of Christian Kraus and Matteo Pelizza, while Laura Kirsch led the women's race in 37:38, seconds clear of Viola Oberländer and
Pauline Becker.
Fast course, faster field, Berlin set the bar
for the series.
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| Bielsko-Biała, Poland
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Bielsko-Biała, nestled at the foot of the Beskid Mountains in southern Poland, welcomed 3,300 adult racers and 400 kids to one of the toughest courses on the CEU calendar, extreme heat adding another layer of difficulty throughout the weekend.
The CEU Series title went to Ján Vladár and Hortobágyiová Eszter, with prize money shared across the top five finishers. In the Ultra, Adam Wójcik led the men's field home in an incredible 6:12:27, with Michaela Váryová topping the women's race in 6:39:24, both closing out a punishing Trifecta weekend in style.
Little Vienna proved it can handle the biggest tests Spartan has to offer.
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| Chicago, Illnois
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Chicago brought some of the toughest obstacles of the season, mud from the very first stretch and no letting up from there. Running in mud-filled shoes turned out to be a whole different kind of suck, but the crowd pushed through and came out smiling on the other side.
First-timers found their footing fast, leaning on friends old and new to get through it, proof that nobody tackles Tough Mudder alone. One racer closed out the weekend with their first-ever Tough Mudder Trifecta Medal, capping off a year that also included Spartan and DEKA Trifectas, three brands, one incredible
year of grit.
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| Berlin, Germany
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Spargelhof-Klaistow in Beelitz, better known for its famous asparagus farm, turned into Western Europe's only Tough Mudder outside the UK this weekend. Flat Brandenburg woodland trails, dirt paths and open fields under sunny skies gave 3,000 Mudders the perfect setting for a course built on one thing: getting through it together.
There was no podium to chase here, just Everest, Electroshock Therapy, Cage Crawl and Arctic Enema, obstacles that demand a team, not a stopwatch. Spartan shared the same grounds across the weekend, dual-brand energy running through the whole event.
Camaraderie over the clock. That's Tough Mudder.
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