Here’s a tiny selection from the 1200 plus photos that I took at the London North Tough Mudder event at Boughton House near Kettering in the UK on 4th May 2013.
A mouthful of dirty pond water is not good at all…
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013
Unlike last year, this time my good friend Janet and I were attempting to follow two particular groups of runners, one from the 8:40am start group, and one from the 9:00am start. I must confess, I totally missed Joe and his team at our first obstacle, the aptly titled “Kiss of Mud” despite being in position on time. We both managed to catch Matt and most of his team twenty minutes later though.
Then, a mad dash to the “Island Hopping” before a short trip to the “Underwater Tunnels” at which point we lost contact with our teams as they ventured away from the spectator areas.
We then waited to “ambush” them at “Mud Mile” #2, where I finally caught site of Joe and the team, and then rushed back to catch them as they approached the final few obstacles, including the “Hero Walls”, “Everest” and finally “Electroshock Therapy”.
It was an excellent event to photograph, as it was last year. I could easily have stayed at Mud Mile all day it was so entertaining. The occasional heavy shower with hail stones thrown in just added to the fun.
***Update – December 2019*** for any runners still looking for photos from the London North 2013 event at Boughton House, I have now tagged all my photos from the day with your running numbers (wherever they were visible). Use the search box at the top of the Gallery Page below to check if I managed to tag your number (Saturday 4th May 2013 only):
If crawling through mud under barbed wire wearing only a kilt is your thing, this event is for you…!
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013If crawling through mud is too slow for you, try swimming…!
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013A mouthful of dirty pond water is not good at all…
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013The great thing about Tough Mudder, there’s always someone to give a helping hand, or two…
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Getting cramp sitting atop of a Hero Wall is not funny. Luckily, help is never far away when taking part in this event.
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Taking a splash at the Mud Mile, the water was deeper than it looked in some places.
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Mud Mile – Where did you say that deep water was…? Tough Mudder UK London North 2013OK I found it! Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Even the rain and hail stones didn’t stop these guys helping other runners to climb Everest
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013If ever an obstacle called for team effort, Everest is the one.
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Sometimes it takes more than one attempt to climb Everest…
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013Finally, a little electroshock therapy to speed you to the finishing line…
Tough Mudder UK London North 2013
Yet another event is cancelled due to the terrible wet summer we are having here in the UK. The Festival of History at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire, the flagship event in the English Heritage calendar, has suffered the same fate as so many other outdoor events this year.
“Wounded” Soldier, Festival of History, Kelmarsh Hall 2008
It all started in March with the announcement that there were to be hosepipe bans in many parts of the country due to water shortages and the reservoirs being at record lows. I know myself from visits to Rutland Water reservoir that water levels were indeed very low at that time. Little did anyone realise that almost from the moment the hosepipe ban was announced, it would rain almost daily for the next three months. June 2012 was the wettest June since records began in 1908 and July has carried on in much the same way.
Chariot Racing, Festival of History, Kelmarsh Hall 2009
It was ironic that last Sunday, the day I was planning to go to the Festival of History, turned out to be one of the best days so far in July with plenty of sunshine. Sadly the field where the festival was to take place was already under water by then and the event had reluctantly been cancelled after the downpours of Thursday and Friday nights added to the already wet conditions under foot.
Part of the WWII battle re-enactment, Festival of History, Kelmarsh Hall 2009
It’s a real shame, not just for me, but especially for the organisers and the re-enactment groups and living history groups who have no doubt been planning this event for many weeks and months in advance. I know of at least two other events that were cancelled on the same weekend. Only the Burton Latimer Annual Duck Race survived, it would appear that the current weather is absolutely perfect for ducks, even the yellow plastic variety!
One of Prince Malik’s Lancers, Festival of History, Kelmarsh Hall 2011
Oh well, I hope to have some new photos to share very soon, August is looking very busy with the Battle of Bosworth anniversary re-enactment and the Crich 1940s weekend already in my calendar. In the mean time, here is a link to my photos from some of the recent Festivals of History:
Finally, a new blog post – my first since January. I’m going to start with a confession: Up until the week before this event, I had never heard of Tough Mudder and didn’t know anything about this type of event.
Tough Mudder – Leaving the Fire Walker – Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK
It was my friend Janet who introduced me to the world that is Tough Mudder. A friend and colleague of hers, Marianne, was taking part in the event and Janet wanted to go along to offer support and hopefully take some photos at the same time. After doing some research on the event website, Janet thought that it would appeal to me as a photographic opportunity, and duly sent me the link.
Delight at seeing a familiar face – Tough Mudder “Fire Walker”, Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK
As it happened, I also knew someone taking part in event, though I didn’t know it beforehand. A colleague from work, Joe, spotted me on the approach to the Hay Bale Pyramid, one of the early obstacles. I also managed to photograph him jumping a ditch a little later, but then all but missed him running through the Firewalker. With hindsight, I would love to have caught him at the mud mile as I would have got a lot more photos at that location. Maybe next time…
My work colleague Joe at the base of the Hay Bale Pyramid – Tough Mudder, Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK
It turned out that this particular event, held at Boughton House, near Kettering in Northamptonshire was the very first Tough Mudder event to take place in the UK, following enormous success in the USA and other countries worldwide. So what is Tough Mudder all about? In essence, the event consists of a twelve-mile run across country with an obstacle to overcome roughly every half mile or so.
The Funkey Monkey – Tough Mudder, Boughton House
The obstacles varied in their difficulty and their level of sadism. Some, like the Berlin Walls and Hay Bale Pyramid, provided a physical barrier to scale and overcome. Others, like the Mud Mile and Log Bog Jog were designed to sap the energy out of the competitors and test their stamina…
The “Mud Mile” – Tough Mudder, Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK
Other obstacles such the Funkey Monkey and Walk the Plank tested the physical capabilities of the runners in respect of their strength, balance and agility. As for the Electro-Shock Therapy, well you can make your own mind up about that one…
Many of the obstacles are designed with teamwork in mind, none more so than the Everest Wall, the last but one obstacle consisting of a quarter-pipe roughly 12 feet high which proved to be almost impossible to scale single-handed but turned into an object lesson in using team-work and camaraderie to overcome the seemingly insurmountable.
It’s all about working together to reach the top of Everest – Tough Mudder, Boughton House
It is this sense of teamwork that sets Tough Mudder apart from many similar types of event such as Tough Guy. Tough Mudder is not a race as such, it is a challenge above all else, both a personal challenge and a team challenge. Add to this mix lots of mud and the fact that most of the entrants were also raising large amounts of money for good causes at the same time and you have the reasons why this has become such a successful format.
Happy as Mudders in Mud! – Tough Mudder , Boughton House, Northamptonshire UK
As a photographic opportunity, this was a great event for me and just what I needed after a long lay-off suffering from back muscle spasms. With hindsight, I probably missed some of the very best obstacles in terms of facial expressions, the Arctic Enema and the Spiders Web for instance. However, this was the first time I had tried to photograph an event like this and I think I did ok for a first attempt.
The Boa Constrictor – Tough Mudder, Boughton House
In truth, I did not know what to expect in terms of spectator access to the obstacles, which was actually much better than I imagined. Because of this uncertainty, I decided to take my old but trusty Canon EF55-200mm F4-5.6 zoom. This is a great lens for the money but doesn’t quite give that 3D effect that my regular EF80-200mm F2.8 would have given. All shots were taken with my EOS 5D (or 5D Classic as it is referred to now). One equipment decision I was pleased with was footwear. Janet and I both chose to wear our wellies and we were both very glad that we did!
Walk The Plank – Tough Mudder, Boughton House, Kettering
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the sheer number of competitors taking part. 8,000 runners took part on the Saturday when we attended, and another 5,000 on the Sunday. Any attempt to photograph all those taking part was clearly futile. Even the official event photographers who had cameras located at various locations around the course struggled to get shots of everyone taking part.
Waiting to tackle the big one – Everest! Tough Mudder, Boughton House, Kettering
Janet and I had a great day out photographing this event. Not just because it was a beautiful day weather wise but because it was such a great event both to witness and to photograph. There were times, especially at the “Everest” wall when I had to stop taking photos just to enjoy and appreciate the unbelievable effort that the competitors were making in order to complete the challenge.
A desperate lunge for a pair of grasping hands, Everest, Tough Mudder, Boughton House, Kettering, Northamptonshire, UK
We both left Boughton House full of respect and admiration for everyone who takes part in these events. The levels of commitment, dedication and teamwork were clear for all to see. Now that my eyes have been opened to this type of event, I very much hope to be able to cover more of them later in the year, hopefully in Scotland on the 14th and 15th July, and at Cholmondeley Castle in the North West on the 17th and 18th November.
Tough Mudder 73848 in the “Mud Mile”, Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK – May 2012Tough Mudder 71478 demonstrating one way to get noticed, Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK, May 2012
***Update – December 2019*** for any runners still looking for photos from the South-East/Midlands event at Boughton House, I have now tagged all my photos from the day with your running numbers (wherever they were visible). Use the search box at the top of the Gallery Page below to check if I managed to tag your number (Saturday 12th May 2012 only):
Photographer Geoff Oliver 