GYMRACE vs Tough Guy and Gal Challenge: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

GYMRACE is an indoor fitness race organised by the team behind Mud Masters, which has run sports events in the Netherlands and Germany since 2012. Races are held in large indoor venues in the Netherlands, Germany and France, including Utrecht, Amsterdam, Weeze, Duisburg and Paris.

The course has five 1 km runs, 5 km in total. Each run is followed by two stations, and the race ends with a 50 m sprint. The ten stations are a sled push, wall balls, a slam ball carry, a 1,000 m row, kettlebell swings to overhead, a 1,000 m SkiErg, dumbbell farmers lunges, a 2,000 m bike, burpee broad jumps and the final sprint. Athletes race solo, as buddies who split the station work, or in a relay team, in women's, men's, mixed and heavier 'Heavy' categories. The average finish time is about 1 hour 20 minutes and there is no cut-off time. The buddy category is the organiser's suggested entry point for newer athletes.

The Tough Guy and Gal Challenge is New Zealand's longest-running mud run series, organised by Event Promotions (Cambridge, NZ) with naming sponsor Middleware. Adult events offer roughly 6 km (1 lap) and 12 km (2 laps) obstacle courses plus a 6 km Team Challenge (teams of 5+, at least 2 women), with Open (13-39) and 40+ grades, and a daily cap of 1,500 competitors. The 2027 adult series runs at Camp Wainui (Wellington), Kumeu Showgrounds (Auckland) and Lakes Ranch (Rotorua), alongside junior, secondary-school and family editions in more cities. Entries for 2027 open 1 November 2026.