ATHX vs Toughest: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

ATHX is a UK-born hybrid fitness competition, co-founded by coach Ollie Marchon, that now runs events across the UK, Europe and the United States. Each ATHX event is a continuous 2.5-hour session across six zones. Every competitor completes the same three workouts: a Strength zone (20 minutes), an Endurance zone (30 minutes) and a MetCon X zone (30 minutes). These are separated by a warm-up zone, a refuel zone and a recovery zone. The workouts and movement standards are published for each season.

Athletes enter as singles or pairs, in an ATHX or a harder ATHX PRO category, and pairs can be same-sex or mixed. Season results lead to the ATHX Finals, held in Lisbon in 2026. The fixed rest periods and clear divisions make ATHX accessible to first-timers, while the strength element suits athletes who lift as well as run and row.

Toughest is an obstacle course race series held in Sweden and Norway. The organisers report more than 220,000 runners since 2013, and the race has repeatedly been voted the best obstacle course race in Europe in runner polls.

Each event weekend offers several formats. The Main Race covers about 8 km with the full set of obstacles, and Double Distance is two laps of that course, about 16 km. Xplore is a 4 km version with the hardest obstacles removed and no timing, aimed at first-timers, and Toughest Family is a 2 km course for children and adults together. An Elite class runs the 8 km course for competitive athletes, with the Toughest Tour and OCR World Championship qualification. Courses mix grass, sand, gravel, mud and water, with signature obstacles such as the Ramp and the Holmenkollen. Current venues are Gothenburg, Malmö, Stockholm, Oslo and Sälen. Every finisher receives a medal.