[6] In January 2020, the Tough Mudder was petitioned for involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy by creditors Valley Builders LLC, Trademarc Associates Inc. and David Watkins Homes Inc.[7][8] Spartan Race acquired Tough Mudder, which had been forced into involuntary bankruptcy proceedings, in February 2020.

Spartan Race purchased Tough Mudder assets for $700,000 and the assumption of debts, including honoring prepaid tickets, which was approved by the bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware.

[10] Tough Mudder was co-founded in 2010 by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, both British subjects living in New York City.

[12] Dean and Livingstone, a former corporate lawyer, held the first Tough Mudder event on May 2, 2010 at Bear Creek Mountain Resort near Allentown, Pennsylvania.

[17] In April 2016, Tough Mudder announced a partnership with international sports management company IMG to bring its events to Asia and the Middle East, beginning with China and United Arab Emirates in 2016.

Tough Mudder also announced a partnership with media and technology investment firm Seroja Partners to host an event in Bali, Indonesia in October 2016.

[19] On December 9–10, 2016, up to 5,000 participated in Tough Mudder's first event in the Middle East that took place at the Hamdan Sports Complex.

[20][21] Tough Mudder CEO Will Dean revealed that the company would seek to launch a chain of fitness boutiques in the United States in 2017 to expand the brand beyond Obstacle Course Racing events.

Tough Mudder expanded its 2016 partnership deal with IMG to include Australia for 2017 and 2018 seasons, adding to events already slated in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates.

Tough Mudder announced in October 2017, that it will be bringing the 5K to London, Manchester, and Edinburgh in the Summer of 2018 and will offer an "Up-Late" special Friday Evening 5K event as a way for people to kick off their weekends.

[37][38] Tough Mudder expanded its 5K event to more than 25 cities in the US and more than five countries globally including Germany, Canada, and Oman in 2018.

[51][52] Mini Mudder events are designed for children aged five to twelve (as of 2019), and are about a mile long, including of four laps of a loop that has 10 obstacles.

In addition, all three men's finalists surpassed the 100-mile mark (another event milestone) with first place going to Trevor Cichosz who also completed 105 miles.

[33][57] In 2017, Ryan Atkins and Rea Kolbl captured the World's Toughest Mudder titles for Men and Women.

[78] Tough Mudder also revealed three new obstacles for 2016 that are exclusive to participants who have completed more than one Tough Mudder event: Backstabber, an inclined wall ascent using pegs; Rain Main, a watery passage underneath a chain-link fence while water drips down; and Frequent Flyers' Club, a jump from a height onto a crash mat.

Obstacles include: Augustus Gloop, ascend up a vertical tube with water gushing down; Funky Monkey: The Revolution – an update on the original obstacle with series of revolving wheels to be traversed dangling over water; Arctic Enema: The Rebirth – another update on a classic – slide head first down a tube into icy water and submerge again under a wall to escape; Black Hole – an update on the original Birth Canal obstacle – one must crawl their way through a gauntlet of 100 lb.

[80][81] In January 2018, Tough Mudder introduced its new obstacles for the year which include Kong Infinity and Happy Ending.

[82][83] At the April 20, 2013 Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic event in Gerrardstown, West Virginia, 28-year-old participant Avishek Sengupta died following an incident on the "Walk the Plank" obstacle.

There, three military personnel were admitted to the Nellis Air Force Base medical center with vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Subsequent investigations linked 22 cases "most likely caused by infection with the fecally transmitted bacterium Campylobacter coli," possibly from water contaminated by livestock.

[91] According to study by Canadian researchers and published in the Emergency Medicine Journal in 2016,[92] serious injuries are rare at obstacle course races like Tough Mudder.

Most of those injured - 89 percent - in the study group of more than 45,000 people participating in eight mud runs returned to the event without needing any further medical care.

[93][94] In June 2016, Tough Mudder named its new charity partner Team Rubicon, the veteran first responder organization, TEAMRUBICONUSA.org.

In 2017, CBS Sports Network will air coverage from each of the six-event "Toughest Mudder Series", going behind-the-scenes as teams train and compete in the new event.

[103] The docu-series focused on "everyday heroes" attempting to run and complete a Tough Mudder including their personal stories and training for the grueling obstacle course that tests teamwork skills, physical abilities and "mental grit.

[113] ESPN media distribution was named Tough Mudder's international media distribution partner in March 2017 for all of Tough Mudder's global digital and linear broadcast rights (except for the UK and the US) to the brand's competitive event series and original video offerings.