In-N-Out and its fans take the Tough Mudder Challenge in Big Bear Lake
Usa today news
Big Bear Lake doesn’t have an In-N-Out Burger drive-thru, but this weekend the fast food chain has a huge presence in the San Bernardino Mountains community, and they’re not all there to make Double-Doubles.
Bear Mountain Ski Resort is the site of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge, which started at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 7.
The event is a fundraiser for Slave 2 Nothing, an organization founded by In-N-Out owner and president Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson and her husband Sean Ellingson. Its mission is to combat substance abuse and human trafficking.
In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge features obstacles inspired by their brand as competitors crawl through a potato sack on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge finish a 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a netted, mountain-like structure on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Elijah Hamilton get shocked by the final obstacle, an electric shock challenge as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
in CITY GOES HERE on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge begin their 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a steep hill at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Josh Lewis climbs a obstacle in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge without falling into the water at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge features obstacles inspired by their brand as competitors crawl through a potato sack on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
In-N-Out partnered on the event with Tough Mudder, a Brooklyn-based producer of endurance events.
Opening day had special discounted tickets for In-N-Out family and friends, and they sold out in advance for some challenges, according to the event website.
Jason DeSouza crawls through a pipe as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge finish a 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a netted, mountain-like structure on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge finish a 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a netted, mountain-like structure on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge finish a 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a netted, mountain-like structure on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Janie Mendoza and Brandon Lopez carry a 20 pound weighted bag as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Zane Freeman runs through the final electric shock challenge as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Jason DeSouza crawls through a pipe as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Both 5k and 10k challenges began on the hour and lasted 45-minutes each. They were designed to test endurance and promote teamwork.
In-N-Out-themed challenges included “animal style” monkey bars.
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge move through the obstacle course set up at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge begin their 10K hike and obstacle course by climbing a steep hill at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Gabriella Hongslo avoids electric shocks in the final obstacle of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
A group of competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge complete a 10K hike and the final obstacle—an electric shock challenge—on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Bear Mountain. The event continues throughout the weekend. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Merson Gumtang carries a 20 pound weighted bag as part of the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge move through the obstacle course set up at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Competitors in the In-N-Out Burger Tough Mudder Challenge move through the obstacle course set up at Bear Mountain on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
After crossing the finish line, participants got to celebrate at a Mudder Village Festival set up on the grounds of the off-season ski resort. They received finisher medals, T-shirts, headbands and a meal at In-N-Out cookout trucks brought up to the mountains for the occasion.
The Tough Mudder Challenge overlaps with Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest, which will kick off Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center a couple of miles away.
