THOUSANDS of Australians are among the growing number of global competitors paying for the privilege to take part in the physically gruelling Tough Mudder event, reaping millions of dollars for organisers.
In 2012 the 20km races which send entrants scrambling over military-style obstacles - climbing ropes, crossing greased monkey bars and crawling under barbed wire - sold out in both Sydney and Melbourne, with plans to expand to Brisbane and Perth in 2013.
Participants register online, paying an entry fee of up to $US180, which along with brand sponsorship, is expected to earn the Tough Mudder company at least $US70 million ($A67.35 million) in 2012, Britain's Financial Times newspaper reported.
"We haven't had any serious injuries," British co-founder Will Dean, 31, told the FT of the company's two years of operation.
"We know we will. It's just a statistical certainty, unfortunately."
In a bid to mitigate the company's responsibility in the case of injury or death, competitors - some 80 per cent of them men - sign a waiver when registering.
A graduate of Harvard Business School, Mr Dean and Tough Mudder partner Guy Livingstone started the company in 2010 with $US20,000.
The pair has already reached an undisclosed court settlement after being sued by the founder of UK Tough Guy, who claims his idea was unfairly copied in the start-up of Tough Mudder.
Despite the legal hurdle Mr Dean, himself a keen runner, is confident of his company's expansion, championing the event's attractiveness to competitors.
"We compete against things that guys do together at the weekend, and we also compete against the things that stop guys from doing things together, like having to put up shelves or visit their girlfriend's parents," he told the FT.
"This is about getting muddy and bloody and having a beer afterwards."
Tough Mudder will hold 56 events around the world in 2013 and is looking to expand further, including to New Zealand.
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