Rugged Maniac

When Mark Cuban chose to invest in Rugged Maniac in 2014, the show Shark Tank made him famous. It's comparable to Tough Mudder, but Rugged Maniac is noted for having some more innovative obstacles that are borderline brutal in their cleverness.

The Pyromaniac, in which participants must leave over flaming logs, the Head Scratcher, a crawl through muddy water under barbed wire, and Off the Rails, which involves zip lining uphill, are just a few of the potential obstacles. The races are typically 5K in length, with varying degrees of difficulty. However, none are easy, and the topography from one location to the next might make them even more challenging.

The first Rugged Maniac event was held in Southwick, Massachusetts, in October 2010, with approximately 2,000 race participants. Scudder paid for the event with his funds from the previous two years as a lawyer. The main race featured 330-person waves every half hour, as well as a festival with music, food, and beer for the racers. Since then, the festival has grown to 30 event days throughout the United States and Canada. In the fall of 2015, the largest event, held in the inaugural New England location Southwick, MA, attracted approximately 12,000 total race participants.

Primary sponsor: Men's Health, Women's Health (magazine), Harpoon Brewery, American Cancer Society

Established: September 2010

Location: 30 Locations United States / Canada