What Is The 'Run The Gauntlet Challenge'? The Internet Challenge Shock Site Explained

Since the dawn of the internet, shock content has garnered mass fascination by the most curious web users. Videos like 1 Guy 1 Jar and 2 Girls 1 Cup have become some of the most well-known videos online for just how gag-worthy they are, remembered as achievements by those with the stomach to sit through them and giving war flashbacks to everyone else.

For the bravest of people, the Run the Gauntlet Challenge combines the internet's worst shock videos and throws them at you one by one in what might be the web's most disturbing game. Here's how you can run the gauntlet for yourself.

Where Does The "Run The Gauntlet Challenge" Come From?

The "run the gauntlet" website was brought online in 2015 and quickly gained notoriety, even having a Vice article written about it that year. The website shows visitors one shock video at a time, each video more disturbing than the next. There are 20 levels total, ending with a snuff movie called 3 Guys 1 Hammer. Anyone who makes it through all 20 stages can officially claim they've "run the gauntlet."

The etymology of "run the gauntlet" comes from a 17th-century form of punishment, where prisoners were forced to run down two rows of soldiers flogging them with sticks or weapons. For those with weak stomachs and a low tolerance for shock content, it fittingly might feel like you're being beaten with a stick while trying to complete the challenge. There's also a much tamer cringe version of the challenge where you're shown increasingly cringeworthy videos in an attempt to make it all the way through.

How Is "Run The Gauntlet" Used In Memes?

The most popular way the run the gauntlet challenge comes up in memes is reaction videos. For years, YouTubers have been attempting the challenge and uploading their reactions to YouTube and, more recently, TikTok. A lot of the time people don't make it, giving up when the challenge gets too much, but some brave challengers, like TwoMad, have made it all the way through, likely scarring their brains for life.

The challenge experienced a peak in popularity this year on TikTok, where users shared their knowledge of the challenge, their reactions to some of the videos and their memories of taking the challenge too early, hinting at the downsides of unrestricted internet access at a young age. More recently, some TikTokers are making ironic videos imagining how certain characters and influencers might react to running the gauntlet.

Where Does The Term "Run The Gauntlet" Come From?

Historically, running the gauntlet is a form of corporal punishment that dates back to the 17th century. In those days, prisoners or people found guilty of crimes would sometimes be asked to 'run the gauntlet' by running between two rows of soldiers armed with sticks or other weapons. The soldiers would beat them with their weapons as they made their way through the rows. Running the gauntlet was notably used by the ancient Romans and Greeks. It was also used by Native American tribes in North America's Eastern Woodlands.

What Is The "Run The Gauntlet Cringe Edition?"

If you're not trying to make some regrettable memories, try the cringe edition of the run the gauntlet challenge. Hosted by the same website, the cringe edition of the challenge shows viewers increasingly cringy videos in the same format as the shock edition. These videos are a different kind of "hard to watch," but they're not going to ruin your day and you can even show the contents of the challenge on YouTube, so that's nice.

For the full details on the Run the Gauntlet Challenge, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.