01:38UK: It's Sunday! Fancy an electric shock and a dip in ice water?
UK: It's Sunday! Fancy an electric shock and a dip in ice water?
For many, Sunday is a day of rest, however 15,000 people shunned this notion to take on ice baths, muddy plunges and electric shocks in a 12 mile (19 kilometre) assault course in Hampshire, UK. Their goal - to prove themselves at 'probably the toughest event on the planet', Tough Mudder. The assault course, designed by army Special Forces, is meant to test mental and physical agility, strength, determination, camaraderie and stamina. It does so by sending participants over a 19 kilometre course, riddled with creatively demanding obstacles.
Taking place at the Matterley Bowl near Winchester, participants took on tasks such as running up a 20 ft (six metre) slippery slope named 'Everest', plunging into a sea of ice cubes in the 'Arctic Enema', doing a 'Funky Monkey' climbing a frame over muddy water, and avoiding the 10,000 volt stings of the 'Electric Eel'. Organizers require participants to sign a "death waiver" before taking part, showing just how grueling aspects of the terrain can be and the dangers an unprepared participant may face.
Many participants endured the gruelling course to raise money for charities such as Help For Heroes, Cancer Research and Shelter. Course organisers stress that the event is light-hearted, despite the difficulty levels. 'Marathons are boring" is a 'fact' that course organisers live by. So, participants (those who made it alive, of course) were met at the finish line with a beer and a live band to celebrate their achievement.
The Tough Mudder phenomenon first took off in the United States, when it was founded by Guy Livingstone and Will Dean, two British citizens living in New York.
Since its inception in 2010, around 500,000 people have participated in 35 events worldwide.
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UK: It's Sunday! Fancy an electric shock and a dip in ice water?
For many, Sunday is a day of rest, however 15,000 people shunned this notion to take on ice baths, muddy plunges and electric shocks in a 12 mile (19 kilometre) assault course in Hampshire, UK. Their goal - to prove themselves at 'probably the toughest event on the planet', Tough Mudder. The assault course, designed by army Special Forces, is meant to test mental and physical agility, strength, determination, camaraderie and stamina. It does so by sending participants over a 19 kilometre course, riddled with creatively demanding obstacles.
Taking place at the Matterley Bowl near Winchester, participants took on tasks such as running up a 20 ft (six metre) slippery slope named 'Everest', plunging into a sea of ice cubes in the 'Arctic Enema', doing a 'Funky Monkey' climbing a frame over muddy water, and avoiding the 10,000 volt stings of the 'Electric Eel'. Organizers require participants to sign a "death waiver" before taking part, showing just how grueling aspects of the terrain can be and the dangers an unprepared participant may face.
Many participants endured the gruelling course to raise money for charities such as Help For Heroes, Cancer Research and Shelter. Course organisers stress that the event is light-hearted, despite the difficulty levels. 'Marathons are boring" is a 'fact' that course organisers live by. So, participants (those who made it alive, of course) were met at the finish line with a beer and a live band to celebrate their achievement.
The Tough Mudder phenomenon first took off in the United States, when it was founded by Guy Livingstone and Will Dean, two British citizens living in New York.
Since its inception in 2010, around 500,000 people have participated in 35 events worldwide.