Kyle McLaughlin, former CEO of Tough Mudder, wrote Tough Mudder ambassadors with a message of hope this afternoon. The post informs the community that he has been working behind the scenes with Spartan CEO Joe DeSena on a solution to get Tough Mudder back in business.

A week ago, 3 creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Tough Mudder. 2 days later Spartan filed “In Support of Emergency Motion of Petitioning Creditors To Appoint A Chapter 11 Trustee”.  This motion asks the court to speed up the process for a 363 sale. It states in part:

“There is significant risk that the value of the Alleged Debtors will evaporate if a sale is not consummated in the near term. Upon appointment of a chapter 11 trustee, Spartan would immediately engage with the trustee to discuss the terms and conditions of the previously negotiated LOI and the framework for a potential section 363 sale. Such potential sale to Spartan may allow previously scheduled Tough Mudder events for the 2020 season to occur, thereby preserving many jobs and providing a return to the Alleged Debtors’ creditors.”

What does this mean for the OCR community: The hope is the judge rules in favor of the bankruptcy, the sale moves forward with Joe as the buyer, and ticket sales get reopened. Then Joe reinstates Kyle and his TMHQ team and we get a full 2020 Tough Mudder season. Our video from Friday explains it a bit further.

Kyle’s complete post is below:

Hey Ambassadors—

Thank you SO much for all the support, love and positive vibes over these past few challenging weeks. I know the lack of information and the drip feed of news reports and rumors must be just as frustrating for you as it is for me.

I’m a volunteer now, and as you’ve seen in the reports, Joe and I have been working diligently on a plan to save Tough Mudder and keep this experience we all love alive.

And the good news is, we’re making progress. There are still several obstacles to overcome, and we’re crossing our fingers that the courts move fast.

But I have hope— and a belief that if we get another crack at this, that the community is going to rally back stronger than ever.

Keep up the #SaveToughMudder posts and stories— it truly has been making a difference.

I’ll leave you with this thought from the one and only Teddy Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Read the most recent articles, and how we got to this point here.