Participants in the competitive wave line up to start the Indiana Tough Mudder July 31, 2021 at Ceraland.
The Republic file photo
Tough Mudder is expecting to field its strongest attendance since debuting in Columbus in 2019.
This year’s event will take place July 29 and 30 at Ceraland Park. It will consist of a 5K with 13 obstacles and a 10K event with 20 obstacles. Athletes from all over the Midwest, and perhaps, across the country, will be participating in the event. It is expected to feature around 6,000 participants combined from all the events.
It is not too late to sign up. The cost for the 5K race is $119, and cost for the 10K is $139. Participants may choose their starting time. The event will go off in waves every 45 minutes to an hour from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 29 and from 9:30 to 11 a.m. July 30 for the 5K, and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. July 29 and 9 to 11 a.m. July 30 for the 10K.
Ceraland executive director Jim Kreutzjans said Tough Mudder crews will begin arriving next week to start setting up the equipment for the obstacles. Most of the obstacles will be the same, but there may be some new additional obstacles added for this year.
One major change is that there will be no “Toughest Mudder,” which was a 12-hour endurance race that took place last year. There also will not be a 15K race; however Kreutzjans noted the 15K will return next year.
“I think it’s a trend. It’s got nothing to do with the property or the course. It worked out well last year,” Kreutzjans said. “I think they do a trend where it will move from one site to the next in the Midwest area.”
Volunteers will be provided by both Ceraland and Tough Mudder this year. Tough Mudder will provide the volunteers that pertain to them, and Ceraland will utilize volunteers to help pull off the all the tasks from their end of the spectrum.
Tough Mudder and Ceraland are under contract through 2024. Kreutzjans hopes Tough Mudder can stay at Ceraland for many years in the future.
“We’ve got a great partnership with them,” Kreutzjans said. “We’ve got a good relationship with them, so I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t be sitting down and talking to them and trying to extend that.”
