Billed as "the toughest race in the world," the Tough Guy 2014 competition took place yesterday in Perton, England. Every year, thousands of men and women tackle the course, which is described on the Tough Guy website as eight country miles filled with freezing mud and "barbed wire, cuts, scrapes, burns, dehydration, hypothermia, acrophobia, claustrophobia, electric shocks, sprains, twists, joint dislocation and broken bones." Gathered here are some images of the fun had by the tough competitors in this year's event.
Tough Guy 2014
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![]()
Read moreA competitor pulls herself out of a tunnel during the Tough Guy Challenge on January 26, 2014 in Perton, England. Tough Guy claims to be the world's most demanding one-day survival ordeal. First staged in 1987, the Tough Guy Challenge has been widely described as one of the hardest races of it's type with up to one-third of the starters failing to finish in a typical year. The annual event to raise cash for charity challenges thousands of international competitors in a cross country run followed by an assault course consisting of obstacles including water, fire and tunnels. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreCompetitors pass a Union flag as they run through clouds of blue smoke during the Tough Guy event in Perton, England, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
![]()
Read moreOrganizer Billy Wilson, who uses the pseudonym "Mr Mouse", stands near the start of the annual Tough Guy race "the toughest race in the world" at Perton in Staffordshire, England,on January 26, 2014. #
AP Photo/Jon Super -
![]()
Read moreA competitor dressed as a knight runs through a fire during the Tough Guy Challenge, on January 26, 2014. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
-
![]()
Read moreA competitor runs through thick mud during the Tough Guy event, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
![]()
Read moreA competitor crawls under barbed wire during the Tough Guy Challenge, on January 26, 2014. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreA racer emerges from the water on the Tough Guy course, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
-
![]()
Read moreA competitor in the 2014 Tough Guy Challenge. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreCompetitors makes their way across an obstacle during the annual Tough Guy Challenge, on January 26, 2014. #
AP Photo/Jon Super -
![]()
Read moreCompetitors in the annual Tough Guy race in Perton in Staffordshire, England, on January 26, 2014. #
AP Photo/Jon Super -
-
![]()
Read moreA competitor smokes a pipe as he crawls under barbed wire during Tough Guy 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
![]()
Read moreA competitor runs past a fire during the Tough Guy Challenge, on January 26, 2014. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreA Tough Guy competitor falls in to muddy water, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
-
![]()
Read moreA racer crawls through a tunnel during the Tough Guy Challenge, on January 26, 2014. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images -
![]()
Read moreCompetitors makes their way across an obstacle during Tough Guy 2104. #
AP Photo/Jon Super -
![]()
Read moreA competitor is dragged out of the mud during the Tough Guy event, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
-
![]()
Read moreA racer jumps across a burning obstacle during Tough Guy 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
![]()
Read moreTough Guy competitors slide down a muddy bank, on January 26, 2014. #
Reuters/Darren Staples -
![]()
Read moreA racer emerges from the water during Tough Guy 2014, on January 26, 2014. #
AP Photo/Jon Super -
-
![]()
Read moreA competitor jumps a fire during the Tough Guy Challenge in Perton, England, on January 26, 2014. #
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.