The 5 Most Extreme Fitness Tests in America
Think you're tough enough for any of these 10 tests of strength and endurance? If so, pick your poison. These events can be completed in as little as four hours — if you're a highly skilled, fearless paddleboarder — or require 12 days of near-continuous cycling.
In between lies every grueling, twisted challenge imaginable to push the human body to its mental, physical and emotional limits. These challenges require a major commitment to training — and in most cases, a thick wallet to enter. Oh, and with a willingness to attempt things most people could never imagine.
1. GORUCK Selection
The all-night GORUCK Challenge, where athletes lug brick-stuffed ruck sacks and travel through urban areas while taking orders from a Special Operations veteran, is enough of a test for most. If not, there's GORUCK Selection, recommended for those training for the Special Forces Qualification Course, BUD/S and Ranger School, as well as those looking for a taste of what that's like.
While the stated hope is that everyone finishes, Selection is based on Special Operations schools that have a 10-percent pass rate. Figure on at least 48 hours of heavy bags, 80+ miles and dealing with every frigid body of water that comes along. Embrace the suck, as GORUCK encourages, and you might make it through.
2. Silver State 508
It may or may not live up to its slogan as "the toughest 48 hours in sport," but it's almost certainly the most challenging 48 hours in cycling. Founded by John Marino in 1983, the 508-mile bicycle race has earned an international reputation for its grueling mountain climbs, desert terrain and desolate roads.
Athletes can compete solo or in relays but no drafting or pack riding is allowed. Held in early October, the Silver State 508 begins just north of Los Angeles and goes across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve, and finishes at Joshua Tree National Park. Along the way, cyclists climb ten mountain passes and ascend more than 35,000 feet.
3. Ironman World Championship
There are longer triathlons, but the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI, remains the original and toughest at the signature distance of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. Just getting to Kona is a challenge, as athletes must either qualify for the event or win a slot via lottery.
From there, it's a battle with 40-mph crosswinds while biking through the black lava rock landscape and contending with the 95-degree October heat that turns the run into a death march. Nowhere do athletes labor harder to reach the finish and hear, "YOU are an IRONMAN!"
4. Molakai2Oahu Paddleboard Race
Since its inception in 1997, Molakai2Oahu has grown with the sport of stand-up paddleboarding. Still, there are only a few hundred SUP enthusiasts bold enough to attempt the choppy 32-mile journey across the 2,300-foot deep Ka'iwi Channel that connects the islands of Molokai and Oahu.
The wind and huge swells humble some of the world's most experienced paddlers. Competitors, who must prove they can paddle at least 5 mph, can race on either a traditional paddleboard or a stand-up version as a solo paddler or as part of a relay team. Winners finish in just over four hours, but others give up and board their mandatory escort boat.
5. OTILLO Swimrun World Championship
Sure, there are tougher swims and tougher runs. But no other race combines them like the OTILLO Swimrun World Championship. Held every year on the archipelago of Stockholm, Sweden, the race covers 26 islands (which means 52 transitions) and lasts from dawn 'til dusk.
The total distance is 75 km, 10 of which are open-water swimming, and the other 65 are trail running. But not just anyone can compete. According to their site, "To gain entry to OTILLO, you must either go through our Qualifiers, have great merits or just be lucky." Right. "Lucky."
