MMORPG players love making challenges for themselves beyond the actual challenges offered by their games. Setting artificial level caps, soloing content designed for groups, empowering yourself through ways outside of the typical grind—you name it, someone has probably tried it in an MMO. But a group of Lord of the Rings Online players have managed an impossibility that triumphantly shows the source material’s thematic heart of hope in the face of despair so perfectly Tolkien could’ve come up with it himself.
For the past several years, streamer BurkeBlack has organized an in-game event called the Great Hobbit Run. The event sees players create low-level Hobbit characters, and, instead of traversing Middle-earth to gain the experience, gear, and levels necessary to traditionally triumph, have them run those characters from Bag End in the Shire all the way to the interior of Mount Doom itself, to replicate Sam and Frodo’s journey in, uh, as “realistic” a way as possible. More experienced characters or curious onlookers spotting a veritable militia of low-level Hobbits racing across Lotro‘s map are encouraged to join, if not as actual participants, as noble guardians of the Fellowship to protect these vulnerable halflings as they try to enter a high-level zone in one piece.
“Generally speaking, I encourage everyone to be level five Hobbits, or level one Hobbits, whatever they can get,” BurkeBlack told PC Gamer of the initiative. “If [people on] the server, though, they’re high level and they see an army of Hobbits running, and they’re like, ‘Wow, I’m gonna follow this, I wanna see what’s going on with this,’ we can’t stop that.”
Alas, the Fellowship has been broken in the past few years that BurkeBlack and his community have attempted the Great Hobbit Run. In 2023, the Hobbits fell to shadow and flame in Moria, while last year, the hour of wolves and shattered shields came upon the shirefolk in Rohan, as the trees themselves came to life and laid them low. Think that bit from the end of the extended edition of Two Towersbut with a bunch of hobbits running into a conspicuously present forest instead.
Perhaps then, this was a challenge too mighty for even the bravest and smallest among Middle-earth’s denizens. But again, The Lord of the Rings is about unyielding hope against insurmountable odds, and so the Great Hobbit Run returned this week to brave the road to Mordor once more—and finally found success.
After 3 years of attempts, the Hobbits finally made it to Mt Doom and threw ourselves into the lava! Thank you tobthe helpers and everyone that joined this year long, but saddly I forget the ring back at the shire so we’ll try again next year! pic.twitter.com/SaKSDuYQ7i
— BurkeBlack (@0BurkeBlack0) July 8, 2025
Well, mostly. Of almost 200 Hobbits that left Bag End, between 40 and 50 managed to survive the over six-hour trek to Mount Doom itself… only to get lost in its interiors as they attempted to locate the actual crack of Doom, Sammath Naur. Deciding that they were close enough, the Hobbits celebrated technical victory by casting themselves into the fires—with an emboldened promise that when they return next year, bolstered by this success, maybe this time they’ll actually find the right way in.
If you find yourself with six hours to spare and need reminding that there’s still some good in this world, BurkeBlack’s recording of the Great Hobbit Run 2025 can be found here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
About The Author
