Tough Mudder

OK. I did the Tough Mudder last years with my work team and had a blast. However, this review is specifically on their REGISTRATION INSURANCE. DON“T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! I paid the $ 10 for insurance to be prudent due to the intense training. And unfortunately, I did injure my ankle shortly prior to the event, so I was forced to exercise a claim. I followed the claim procedures to the letter… doctors note, receipts, etc. AND THEY SIMPLY REFUSED TO PAY MY CLAIM. They said in an email that it is not covered, BUT it clearly states that an injury with a doctor;s note is covered!!! The company that handles the REGISTRATION INSURANCE is very responsive when you make your claim and refused it the next day… after that… they go dark!!!
For that reason, I will never do a Tough Mudder again… VERY dishonest. So, instead of them getting the regular admission fee, they basically were able to steel $ 10 more from me under to false notion of insurance…

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. My experience with Tough Mudder and EventBrite as companies has been horrible. This review does not reflect the actual event itself.
First of all: I had a discount code that I wanted to use; instructions had told me to enter my personal information and then continue to the confirmation page (which is the logical next step when fucking paying for something). And instead, it charged me immediately. No confirmation page, no secondary page at all. Apparently the discount code was supposed to be entered before any personal information (including names, etc). Entering the discount code before proceeding to buying the ticket is rather unintuitive in general and I hope no one else runs into that mistake. I am positive other people have though because my friend did the exact same thing, completely separately.
Additionally, when I immediately emailed both EventBrite and Tough Mudder to deal with the issue, I got no response. What a terrible terrible customer service from both companies. I was able to only get the discount retro-​actively applied from AnyPerk (the place where I originally got the discount code from). Their customer service was completely the opposite from these two terrible companies and was completely amazing. (BTW, still have not heard back from Tough Mudder or EventBrite… so that’s cool).
Finally, and I admit that Tough Mudder does a very good job at making it clear that it’s very difficult to transfer tickets. However, some shit comes up; and sometimes you just have to reschedule (not even transfer to someone else, just plain reschedule). Rescheduling is not impossible but they make the overhead high. You have to pay $ 30 for rescheduling, plus a $ 3 processing fee for EventBrite. You can only transfer one ticket at a time, even if you bought multiple. What a farse.
Completely disappointed in their customer service and rescheduling (not transfer) policy.
All of the negative reviews are the same: they treat their customers like dirt.

Tough Mudder is one of the more challenging, fun cross country obstacle races out there. For all the hype, it’s still a fun day, and race organizers donate a (miniscule) fraction of race proceeds towards Wounded Warrior. The cameraderie and pure teamsmanship of the race makes for an enjoyable day.
For 2013, Luci N. & I ran the Tahoe TM together. We chose the September race for less crowds. Set in late September, we hadn’t counted on 34 degree-​weather at start time. Extensive runner support throughout the race resulted in our having a great day and finishing strong.
If you’ve never run a TM, consider whether Tahoe is where you want to run it! September’s near-​freezing temps put lots of folks in the warming room under emergency blankets. Also take into account that you’ll be running your entire race at 6,300−8,800 feet elevation with rocky, sliding and uneven footing. You’ll want to wear the absolute minimum in clothing because every piece you put on will just get heavy, wet and cold. De minimus footwear (e.g., Nike Air), no socks, no thermals, no arm or leg gear whatsoever or you’ll get really cold fast.
Tip: wear snug fitting rubber work gloves; they’ll protect your hands in all the crawling, and they’ll come in handy in many of the obstacles.
If you’re a mud and trail running enthusiast, the race will be more about fun and less about just slogging through it.
Original review, from Sept ’12, below:
For those who were disappointed because this wasn’t «The Toughest Challenge On The Planet,» well, really.? C’mon! TM is a fun event, a challenging race, 11 miles charging up and down a ski mountain, with two dozen obstacles along the way that you’ll probably never encounter anywhere else .
But let’s face it: if it really was a survival course, or a Navy SEALs hell week, there wouldn’t be food and water along the way and a free beer at the end of the race. Sure, the rings, monkey bars, walls etc are all mettle-​busting. But what other race would require you to jump off of a 15 foot tower into icy, muddy water — hoist a log on your back and carry it a quarter mile — submerge yourself in a tank of frigid water and push through a wall of ice cubes on your way out. (And just for fun, the water is fluorescent green so you emerge lookin like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) — or wade through a half-​dozen mud holes in succession, waist deep.
Yo, many of the obstacles are easier if you’re tall! But you’ll be be lovin’ your short stature when you’re slithering under electric wires or belly crawling thru pipes, underground tunnels or burning thru the monkey bars like Grant through Richmond.
The best aspect of the contest is that it isn’t really a race, as much as it challenges everyone to work as a team. One of our team members has cerebral palsy — so what, he said, as he finished the entire course along with the rest of our team, even climbing the Everest wall !! Now THAT’s some whup-​ass mettle, brah !!
Bottom line, go to have fun, support your team, eat the bananas/​drink the water so you don’t cramp up. Could it be better? Yeah … make it two free beers at the end!

The fact that such a popular (and expensive) event does NOT have a customer service number to call is unacceptable. Every time I try to reach a contact person/​email/​number I get looped around to a Q&A survey where I am forced to log in, submit a claim and wait until someone decides to get back to me. I’m currently trying to transfer to a different event and at this point, they can keep my money! I don’t want to participate with a group that can’t even treat me like a human being. Thanks for nothing TM.