Obstacle course run.
Guest post by : Rhian Westbury
Find her blog and follow @rswstbry
Obstacle course runs have become increasingly popular over the last few years, and prior to that you would just find a bunch of guys trying to tough parading around in camouflage. But now obstacle course runs are all the rage, and just as popular with us girls too. Obstacle course runs are so popular as it allows people the chance to push themselves a bit further, plus apart from being a kid when else is it appropriate or possible to climb monkey bars, crawl through mud or clamber up a climbing wall?
Gauntlet Games
If other obstacle courses seem a bit intense for you then maybe Gauntlet Games is one for you. The fun obstacle course will let you run 5 or 10km passing through zones manned by Gladiators (remember the TV show? Yes like that!). You’ll need to dodge paint guns, run across muddy bogs, balance on beams and escape down a giant slippery slide. The races take place in Cardiff, Brighton, Central London and Hertfordshire and are sure to leave you laughing at the end as you and your friends tackle the challenges.
Tough Mudder 
Tough Mudder is one of the daddies of obstacle courses and is said to defeat 22% of all competitors. The race takes place across a few locations in the UK and is set over 20km so it’s a long one and said to be one of the hardest. Some of the obstacles include a four metre drop from a slippery plank into freezing cold water, ‘electroshock therapy’ where live electrical wires dangle above you and the ‘arctic enema’ which is a dumpster full of ice water which you have to swim across, duck under wodden planks and climb out before you freeze.
Spartan Race Spartan are becoming super popular with over 60 races held last year, and more being added all the time. The best thing about Spartan is that there are three levels depending one extreme you’re feeling.
The sprint is 5-8 km and covers 20-23 obstacles. the super is 13-16km and covers 24-29 obstacles while the beast covers 19-22km and 30-35 obstacles. Unlike a lot of other courses you can’t skip an obstacle without having to pay a stiff penalty which is usually in form of 10-30 burpees.
Plus if you’re really competitive then there is a UK leader board where athletes are ranked by the number of points you’ve earned. The sprint is a great one to begin your obstacle course runs! Nuclear Rush Nuclear offers both 6km and 12km races and harder ‘onslaught’ and ‘nutters’ races for more elite entrance. During this obstacle court run you can look forward to plenty of surprises including zip wires, monkey bars, water slides and an ice pit. Sound like fun? Course it does!
