Not for the faint-hearted: Thousands take part in annual 'Tough Guy' challenge

If your idea of exercise is a brisk walk round the park or the occasional run for a bus then this probably isn't the event for you.

Glutton for punishment: A competitor wades through water obstacle during this year's Tough Guy Challenge endurance race in Perton, Staffordshire

But if being burnt, bruised, scratched, slashed, electrocuted and caked in mud from head to toe seems like an acceptable way to spend a Sunday afternoon, then the Tough Guy challenge could be just what you've been waiting for.
Billed as the toughest race in the world, the eight-mile assault course in Perton, Staffordshire, features a dizzying array of obstacles with names like the Killing Fields, Battle of the Somme, the Vietcong Torture Chamber and the Behemoth.

Mind your step: Competitors struggle across a net obstacle during the gruelling annual event which attracts thousand of competitors from over 20 different countries

Dressed for the occasion: A competitor sports a bow tie as he emerges from a water obstacle 

 

 

 

Head honcho: The event was started by former Grenadier Guardsman Billy Wilson (right) who goes by the nickname 'Mr Mouse'

Pain barrier: Exhausted competitors push themselves on through yet another obstacle

A cross to bear: Smiling - and clean - competitors begin the gruelling challenge

Competitors are required to haul themselves over huge wooden barricades, crawl through thick mud under yards of barbed wire, hurdle over walls of fire and plunge into a freezing lake.
To make things even more interesting, marshals dressed as commandos fire blank artillery shells and throw thunder flashes and smoke bombs over their heads as they struggle through the gruelling course.

And if all that wasn't enough some runners even complete the course hauling enormous wooden crucifixes around.

Extreme: The Stalag Escape obstacle involves crawling through thick mud under 50 yards of barbed wire 

Gutsy: Around 6000 competitors take on the challenge every year but up to a third of those never make the finishing line

Hot pants: A competitor gets fired up as he hurdles over a wall of flames

Into the drink: After edging their way along slippery wooden beams the runners must take the plunge into a freezing lake

The event, first held in 1986, was started by former Grenadier Guardsman Billy Wilson and claims to be the world's most demanding one-day survival ordeal.
Sunday's race - the 25th in the event's history - attracted runners from more than 20 countries with many of the keenest competitors coming from the U.S.A.

Each competitor is required to sign a 'death warrant', clearing the organisers of any legal responsibilities in the event of injury or death.

Around 6000 runners start but up to a third of those fail to complete the course.

A bridge too far: The rope bridge provides yet another tough obstacle on the eight-mile assault course

Bum deal: Caked in mud, exhausted competitors clamber over yet another challenge 

Not tough enough: One competitor needs to be rescued by a crane as the endurance proves all too much for them

Coming up for air: A competitor emerges from muddy water as spectators stand and watch from above