What isn't in the videos Tough Mudder release.

As much as I love Tough Mudder events and if you're new to my blog posts, I really love Tough Mudder as explained by my 12 events completed and the two tattoos relating to Tough Mudder that I have inked on me. One of the things you won't find in the videos is the damage that a course can and given the chance will inflict on your body. Aside from the sheer mental and physical strength you'll need to get through, you'll also need to be prepared for the damage you can sustain.

I've never had any serious injuries whilst taking part but I have ended up with some hellish scratches and gouges on my arms and legs.

• That muddy water is quite nasty indeed, you and few thousand other people tracking their muddy shoes and selves into bodies of water, will make it a stew you really don't want in your eyes or mouth. I ended up with a sinus infection from one event, which isn't pleasant in the slightest as it stinks every time you breathe in.
• Island hopping had me knocking myself out when I landed badly and ended up taking a header into the water with a smash to the knee which gave me an issue running, the final few hundred yards, up an incline.
• Some of the crawl obstacles are nice and muddy, some times they are like crawling across a car park, which is where you will get most of your cool as scratches from, nothing says you've done Tough Mudder like arms and legs that look like someone took a cheese grater to them.
• Everest is a large apparently greased quarter pipe that you need to run at a steady but reasonably quick speed to get up and if you slip and fall back and land on the surface you will feel it in your upper and possibly lower back, I had to skip this one after I landed heavily for a forth time and knocked myself out of sorts and ended up feeling dizzy and spaced out.
• The killer of any running event, cramp, I've had this several times, when taking part and it isn't pleasant, as anyone who has had it in their calf or other part of their leg, it will if you're really unlucky put you out of the event, or even just stop you being able to run any further, either way the cold water or the deep mud can set this off and being in either of those places can leave you in pain for longer than is bearable, I even managed to get it trying to clear hangover walls at one event last year.
• I spotted someone crossing the finish line with blood streaming down their forehead.

I have also seen some images of serious injuries sustained whilst taking part like shattered bones and a huge split in the palm of a hand that they had no idea how they'd done it.

So that's a few of the somewhat unpleasant things aside from cold water, mud and shocks you will find at an event, don't let them put you off, I've only been hurt occasionally and nothing that was permanent.