There are not many races or events that make you sign an actual death warrant which excludes you from suing the organiser should the worse happen when your taking part. Or how many race entries come with through the post with actual risk assessment. It say’s something when it is described as the ‘safest yet most physically and mentally demanding challenge on Earth’. The thought of fire, ice cold water, mud and electrocution are not everyone’s cup of tea. But on January 31st 2010, 4500 like mind(or slightly insane) people assembled at a farm in Perton, Wolverhampton for Tough Guy 2010.

Tough Guy has always been one of things that I said would do some day, normally after a few beers! But last summer while it was still relatively warm and funds were looking healthy, I made the decision to enter, thinking it was good idea at the time!

Anyway, the day finally come after many a nervous months leading up to the event with the thoughts of possible hypothermia, broken bones or even death on the cards. I just hoped the endless array of sprints, press-up and countless miles running wearing next to nothing would pay off. You can imagine my delight then when I opened the curtains on Sunday morning to a blanket of snow! If things could be made any tougher!

A slippery drive over to Perton saw us there with plenty of time. Once ready I made my way to some make shift fenced in holding pens wear I wait with fellow ‘Wetnecks’ (the term used for newbie’s to Tough Guy along with Ghoons and Dickheads) for the start which was delayed by 15 minutes. However in the waiting period, fellow competitors who had broken set rules found themselves in the stocks and was subject to a barrage to abuse and torment from the rest of the crowd.

Finally we’re off and the start see’s us sliding down a grass embankment on our arses!! Nice! It doesn’t take us long before we hit the first obstacle and a good indication as to what we had let ourselves in for. Five ditches of ice cold water with logs to negotiate!! With frozen feet we trek on to what’s appropriately called ‘the slalom’. Six ascend and descent’s on a rather steep and muddy hill side started to take it‘s toll early on. This was followed by a quick section in ’Big Bear Wood’ of scrambling under cargo nets and vaulting bails of hay.

Once complete it was then onto more iced water in the form of the ’Water Slalom’. A trench filled with stale icy water which had us jumping in and out a stupid amount of times that seemed to go on for ever! After a bit more scrambling and water we finally made our way to my to the ’The Killing Fields’.

My first fear was up first. ’The Tiger’ which were two forty foot climbing frames. Those carefully done it was then on to ’Coldizt Walls’ which required us scaling a 2, 3 & 4m walls!!! Just what you need after with numb hands and frozen feet. People were already starting to drop like flies from exhaustion and hypothermia. From there it was series of water pits and burning bails of hay followed by ’Battle of the Somme’ which were three rope bridges that not easy to tackle to say the least.

After a scrabble through the inside of some tyres and a gentle run through ’Dead Leg Swamp’ we were hit with the Vietcong Tunnels. Once tackled, yet another cold water plunge before tackling ’Skywalk’. A net climbing frame suspended thirty foot above the ground which we had to wait around 20 minutes to get on the damn thing. The water tunnels were up next and submerging yourself completely under water in -8 deg water conditions tested both physical and mental strength. It was at this point it seemed the easy opinion would have been to pull out but after a quick dry out and cuppa I convinced myself to carry on. Straight off a 3m diving board in to, yep you guessed it, an ice cold lake!

Dragging myself out the thought of finishing in one piece was starting to become achievable . Especially when some spectator reassured that that was the last of the water(thanks to who ever that was, NOT). The next thing I know I’m crawling through mud with razor wire literally inches above my head. Onwards and upwards, a run through some energy zapping tyres then were are literally sparked back into life thanks to ‘Anaconda Sting’. Electrified cables with a few hundred volts running through them certainly got you moving again.

Home straight now and a couple of hills brought us to the last water section. An impressive(even if I do say so myself) front crawl got me through & then it was a hands and knees crawl up the bank to the final hill on which we started. That done and it was a gentle jog to the finish and a welcoming site of a foil blanket and cup of chocolate.

So another one of my personal challenges finished and would I do again???…. Possibly not, but would I recommend it to any one else? Then if ice, fire and lots of mud float your boat then give it a go.