Billed as "The most dangerous event in the world," Tough Guy is a yearly race that turns a farm in the English countryside into a brutally grueling eight-mile obstacle course.
Held on the final Sunday in January -- to ensure freezing temperatures -- Tough Guy is a race so difficult that organizers expect just one-third of the roughly 5,000 competitors to finish.
"I normally stop and carry out hypothermia control when the contestants come out of the pond. You usually get around 500 suffering from hypothermia, with around 100 who need hospital treatment. I hope there are no bad injuries this year." - Nigel Dawson, organizer of the obstacles
This year's race was won by Knut Hoehler, who finished the 15k-course in a time of 1:26:22. Of course, it's not just a 15k. Running in the cold may be difficult enough, but that's before competitors reach the Killing Fields -- a 1000m scramble down a 45-degree decline leads to mud-filled ditches, ponds still frozen-over that must be waded through, barbed wire and fire pits.
The race famously requires everyone to sign a "death warrant."
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