Harvard Business student Will Dean has turned in one year his Business Plan Contest winning plan into a potentially successful new sport and business, Tough Mudder. With 4,500 people signed up for the first race on May 2nd, 2 more races in 2010 and 11 planned races across the United States in 2011, The New York Times believes this is "the grueling race for action-sports enthusiasts."
From the Tough Mudder Website:
"Tough Mudder is the TOUGHEST one day event on the planet. This is not your average mud run or boring, spirit-crushing road race. Our 7 mile obstacle courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all around toughness, strength, stamina, fitness, camaraderie, and mental grit. Forget about your race time. Simply completing the event is a badge of honor. Not everyone will finish, but those who do make it to our post-race party will have truly earned the right to call themselves a Tough Mudder."
From the New York Times:
"Sunday’s race [in Allentown (New York & Pennsylvania)] will feature long slogs up ski slopes, wades through mud bogs, crawls through corrugated pipes and under barbed wire, climbs over vertical walls, traverses on rope bridges and a drop from a plank into a cold pond. The finish line is through a ring of fire — next to the free beer, near the live band."