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Tough guy Tony goes the distance
A PROUD father from Peterborough can boast to being one of few people in the country to complete a gruelling endurance race billed as the “toughest in the world”.
Tony Blood (31), of Walgrave, Orton Malborne, battled mud, freezing water, barbed wire and even ran the risk of electrocution during the Tough Guy Challenge on January 29.
The annual race in Worcester is staged over an eight-mile course and consists of a cross-country run with more than 75 obstacles followed by a gruelling assault course.
Running the course involves risking cuts, scrapes, burns, dehydration, hypothermia, claustrophobia, electric shocks and broken bones.
But first-time runner Tony was determined to face his fears and complete the course to raise funds for Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) - a charity close to his heart.
Tony’s 18-month-old son Ashton was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate and is currently undergoing operations.
Tony said: “The race itself was every inch as tough as I had read about.
“The worst obstacle was called the slalom where you have to run up and down the side of a hill about 12 times.
“Each time you go up the hill it gets a bit steeper and a bit longer.
“By the seventh hill climb some people were crying and others throwing up as the lactic acid build up in your thighs, hamstrings and calves is unbearable.
“The worst obstacle was where you had to wade chest deep through the freezing cold water for a few minutes before hitting the underwater stage.
“You had to go under the water and come back up through a hole in the obstacle for air then do this four more times.
“I gave myself a bit of a talking-to before going under for the fourth and final time then scrambled out of the water to be met by burning bales of hay to jump over.”
Other obstacles included a torture chamber, which is a pitch-black crawling obstacle filled with electrical wires waiting to blast everyone with 7,000 volts.
There were also barbed wire crawls, 40ft high cargo net climbs and a 20ft drop off a plank into a river.
Tony was one of 2,850 runners who completed the course out of an estimated 5,000 participants.
He finished in three hours and 49 minutes and raised just over £400 for CLAPA.
Tony added: “I ran past lots of people who were really suffering from the conditions.
“Some had noticeable injuries, some were bleeding, crying and shaking uncontrollably from the cold.
“When I crossed the finish line I felt like a broken shadow of the man that started the race.
“But it was all worth it - I wanted to get a medal for finishing and give it to Ashton.”
FACTFILE... on the Tough Guy Challenge
First staged in 1987, the Tough Guy Challenge is held near Worcester and is organised by Billy Wilson under the pseudonym of “Mr Mouse”.
It has been widely described as “the toughest race in the world”, with up to one-third of the starters failing to finish in a typical year.
Before taking part, entrants must sign a “death warrant”, which acknowledges the risks and dangers and which the organisers claim absolves them of any legal liability in the case of injury.
The race, and its summer equivalent, has suffered two fatalities during its history, in 2000 and 2007.
Among the competitors in the 2009 event, one suffered a broken neck, another broken pelvis, another a broken pubic bone while there were a dozen broken or dislocated bones. Six hundred runners - including the winner for that year - suffered hypothermia.
Entry fees start at £39 and increase by £35 every time that 300 people sign up.
Entrants have to be 16 or older. The event regularly attracts fields of up to 5,000 competitors from around the world.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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