The Hybrid Games vs Toughest: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

The Hybrid Games is a fitness race series run at indoor venues across the UK. The course alternates ten 600 m runs with ten functional stations and finishes with a 200 m sprint, about 6.2 km of running in total. Stations include an air bike, wall balls, rowing, burpee broad jumps, dumbbell snatches, lunges, a farmers carry, a sled pull, SkiErg and a sled push, with separate weights for men and women.

Entries are available as Male or Female Solo and as Male, Female or Mixed Doubles. Every station is judged, athletes are chip-timed, and the organisers state that there is no cut-off time. Results feed a season leaderboard ranked by age group. Recent and upcoming host cities include Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow. It suits athletes who train both running and strength and want a judged race.

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.