The Murph Challenge: What It Is, When It Happens, and How to Enter
Quick answer
The Murph Challenge is the official annual fundraiser of the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation, presented by Forged. It happens every year on Memorial Day, participants register at themurphchallenge.com, complete the Murph workout, and post their time to a worldwide leaderboard. Registration proceeds fund academic scholarships in Lieutenant Murphy's memory.
Plenty of gyms run a Murph workout on Memorial Day. That is a good thing, and nobody needs permission to do it. But The Murph Challenge is a specific, organized, registered event with a charitable purpose behind it, and the two get confused constantly. Here is what the official event actually is, how it works, and how to take part.
What The Murph Challenge is
The Murph Challenge is described on its own site as the only official annual fundraiser of the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. It is presented by Forged, the apparel company that has run the campaign since 2014. According to the organizers, the campaign has raised more than $2,250,000 for the Foundation in that time, and it is one of the Foundation's primary sources of funding each year.
The event is built around the Murph workout: a mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and a second mile run. Registrants pledge to complete it, do it wherever they are, and then submit their time. That is the whole mechanic. There is no single venue, no start corral, and no travel required.
You can read the official details at themurphchallenge.com.
Who the money goes to
The LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 by Michael's parents, Dan and Maureen Murphy, along with his brother John. Its board began as family and now seats nine members. The Foundation awards academic scholarships to students who show a strong record of service and leadership, which reflects something Murphy himself believed. His family notes that his favorite saying was "Education will set you free."
The scale is real. The organizers report that the Foundation awarded 40 scholarships totaling roughly $200,000 in 2023, and that the 2022 campaign raised more than $300,000 toward finishing construction of the LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum on Long Island. More on the Foundation itself is at murphfoundation.org.
When it happens
The Murph Challenge is held annually on Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. The 2026 edition took place on May 25, 2026. Because Memorial Day moves, the exact date shifts each year, so the safest thing to do is check the official site rather than assume.
The organizers also added a second official time challenge in 2026 tied to June 28, the anniversary of Operation Red Wings, the 2005 mission in Afghanistan in which Lieutenant Murphy was killed. Registrants could post a second time on that date and have it compared on the same worldwide leaderboard. Whether that repeats every year is up to the organizers, so treat it as a pattern rather than a guarantee.
How registration works
Registration is handled entirely through the official site. The pattern in recent years has looked like this:
- Host registration opens first, usually in late winter or very early spring. In 2026 it opened on March 2.
- Participant registration opens next, generally in March. In 2026 it opened on March 16.
- An official training program launches roughly six weeks out. The 2026 program, powered by CrossFit, began on April 13.
- The challenge itself happens on Memorial Day.
- Registration and time submission close in the summer. In 2026 the window closed over the July 4 weekend.
Those are the 2026 dates, confirmed on the official site. Do not treat them as the schedule for any future year. Registration windows, pricing, and gear deadlines are set annually, so check the official registration page before you plan around anything.
What participants get
Registration is a purchase, and the proceeds go to the Foundation. In exchange, registrants typically receive official event apparel, most commonly a commemorative shirt, with optional add ons like patches and other gear available through the official shop. Registering early matters more than usual here, because printing and fulfillment run on a schedule and late registrants risk their gear arriving after Memorial Day.
The other half of what you get is the leaderboard. After completing the workout, registrants return to the site and submit their time. All submitted times appear on the Official Worldwide Leaderboard, and the top five men and top five women are recognized. That is the part that turns a solo workout into a shared event.
How it differs from just doing Murph at your gym
Functionally, the workout is identical. The differences are these:
- Your money goes somewhere. Doing Murph in your garage honors the man. Registering funds the scholarships in his name.
- Your time is recorded. A gym whiteboard is local. The official leaderboard is global.
- You are counted. Registration numbers are what the Foundation and organizers point to when they talk about the campaign's reach.
- You get the official gear. Event apparel is only available through the official channel.
None of that makes an unregistered Murph less meaningful. It just means the two are different acts.
How gyms and communities host it
The event scales through host organizations. Gyms, boxes, military units, fire and police departments, schools, and community groups can buy an Official Host Package, which aligns the organization with the campaign and puts it in direct support of the Foundation. Official hosts appear on a public host list, which is how most people find a nearby event.
If you want to take part alongside other people rather than alone, the simplest route is to search the official host list for your area a few weeks out. If you run a gym and want to organize one, the host registration page is where that starts.
Preparing for it
Short version: give yourself six to eight weeks, build push-up and pull-up volume gradually, practice partitioning the reps instead of doing them straight through, and do at least one full rehearsal before the day. If you plan to wear a vest, train in it beforehand rather than putting it on for the first time on Memorial Day.
The full detail lives in our Murph workout guide, which covers the rep scheme, partition strategies, scaling options, realistic finish times, and a week by week plan.
DO MURPH IN A VEST
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Shop now →The Murph Challenge FAQ
Do I have to register to do Murph on Memorial Day?
No. Anyone can do the workout for free, anywhere. Registration is what makes it the official challenge, puts your time on the worldwide leaderboard, and sends money to the Foundation.
Where does the registration money go?
To the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) founded by the Murphy family in 2007, which awards academic scholarships. The challenge is the Foundation's official annual fundraiser.
When does registration open?
Historically in the spring, roughly two months before Memorial Day. In 2026, participant registration opened on March 16. Dates change every year, so confirm on the official site before planning.
Can I do it as a team or partition the reps?
Yes. Participants can complete the challenge individually or as a team, and the 600 middle reps can be broken up in any order, which is how nearly everyone does it.
