If you think making the trek from your couch to the bathroom in the middle of a Netflix binge is tiring, try wading through pools of ice, narrowly avoiding live electrical wires and running across mud pits of doom, all spread across a 10 or 20km course. Welcome to the world of obstacle course racing, or OCR, now one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
Tough Mudder, one of the biggest global events in endurance racing, makes its Middle East debut in Dubai later this year, joining a growing list of similar events in the UAE.
Founded in the US in 2010, more than two million people have participated in Tough Mudder races worldwide.
Greg Sproule, the managing director of IMG Middle East and North Africa, organiser of Tough Mudder in the UAE, says he was pleasantly surprised with the “overwhelming response” the event has received since its announcement.
“People are always looking for different and unique experiences to test their physical and mental grit and prefer alternatives to typical running events,” he says. “So we knew the [market] space was buoyant, and because Tough Mudder is already a globally recognised name, we knew there’d be interest.”
Interestingly, Desert Warrior Challenge, one of the first obstacle course race events in the Emirates when it debuted in 2014, was modelled on Tough Mudder races.
“We could see that there was a rising community of fitness enthusiasts, boot camps were becoming popular and people were looking for new ways to get out of the gym and challenge themselves,” recalls Troy Gilham, the managing director at Desert Warrior Challenge, on why his team put together the first event in Dubai in 2014.
The event has since gone across the UAE, with the next Dubai event taking place on Friday, October 21.
“At the first event we had about 1,800 participants and at the last event there were close to 3,000. That just shows how many people are keen for such an event,” says Gilham, adding that the only challenge his event faces, is that it’s a home-grown event.
“Attracting enough sponsorship can be a challenge since we are Dubai-owned company and not a global brand.”
Spartan Race, another popular obstacle-course racing now held in 14 countries around the world, made its debut in the UAE last year. The event has quickly spread its web across the GCC, with an Oman race being held this weekend, on October 21, and one in Sharjah on November 18. On the schedule are races in Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Doha and Bahrain, says Rayyan Yacob Agha, the managing director of Spartan Race.
“More than 5,000 people showed up at our first event in Dubai so the fact that obstacle races are popular is an understatement,” he says. “We were wowed by people’s need for new challenges and adventures.”
But that’s something the marketing department of Ski Dubai already knew when they introduced the Ice Warrior Challenge seven years ago. The indoor skiing attraction is completely shut down one Friday morning a year for the challenge, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the Dubai Centre for Children with Special Needs. The next event is on November 4.
“When we started it, we were trying to show the diversity of Ski Dubai as a venue, and do something for CSR. But it’s grown into an important event in our calendar every year,” says Sherif Hashem, senior marketing manager at Ski Dubai. “And hey, it’s the only place where you can do an obstacle course at minus four degrees in the middle desert!”
Go online:
— spartanarabia.com
— toughmudder.ae
— desertwarriorchallenge.com
— premieronline.com (For Ice Warrior Challenge)
WHY YOU SHOULD TRY AN OBSTACLE COURSE RACE
“Get off the couch and come try something you’ll never regret. People come out to race on wheelchairs, an entire school with students with Down’s syndrome came. People that are way overweight come and struggled and through our races, they get help. You’ll know at the finish line. It will give you the motivation to push yourself to the limit. Come and start new life.” - Rayyan Yacob Agha, the managing director of Spartan Race.
“It’s a chance to get out there and get out of your comfort zone. Sign up as a team, dress up and come have some fun and do something that you wouldn’t normally do: Become a warrior.” - Troy Gilham, the managing director at Desert Warrior Challenge
“Do something different and get and push yourself to do something you otherwise might not do. Do it with a group, start with a Half Mudder, try the 8km course. You don’t have to be the most fit person in the neighbourhood. It’s all about teamwork. Each obstacle, everyone will be encouraged and assisted by one another to complete. And if it’s really not your cup of tea, you are not required to complete it. The point is to overcome obstacles, and pushing yourself. That’s how we as humans.” - Greg Sproule, the managing director of IMG Middle East and North Africa, organiser of Tough Mudder in the UAE.
“The event requires an adequate level of fitness. If you work out and exercise regularly and are bored of gyms and want to push the boundaries of stamina and mental strength, this is for you to test yourseft.” - Sherif Hashem, senior marketing manager at Ski Dubai, organiser of Ice Warrior Challenge.
