FROM ONE TOUGH MUDDER TO SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER
This was never supposed to become quite this ambitious.
The original goal was simply to get fitter, keep pushing myself and see what I was capable of.
Then I entered a Tough Mudder.
In July 2026 I stood on the start line at Tough Mudder Yorkshire having never completed an obstacle course race, never run 15K and with absolutely no idea how my body would respond to more than two hours of running, walking, climbing, crawling and being repeatedly introduced to mud.
I finished it.
More importantly, I wanted to do another one.
That was the point when the journey changed.
What started as a fitness challenge has become a much bigger endurance project, building towards Tough Mudder Infinity, repeated-event weekends, the Tough Mudder Trifecta and ultimately World’s Toughest Mudder in June 2027.
But something else has changed too.
I no longer want the months between the big events simply to be gaps in the calendar.
Where practical, the aim is now to have at least one event every month.
That does not mean every month needs to involve a two-day Tough Mudder or another enormous endurance challenge. Sometimes it might be an obstacle race. Sometimes a run, trail event, walking challenge or something completely different that looks interesting and slightly questionable.
The important thing is to keep turning up, keep testing myself and keep building experience.
The calendar is going to keep changing.
That is intentional.
This page is the story of where the journey is heading. The live timeline and event information will show exactly how I get there.
WHERE IT STARTED
A few years ago, none of this would have seemed remotely realistic.
I had been more than 23 stone. Exercise was hardly at the centre of my life and the idea that I would one day be planning 24-hour obstacle course races would have sounded ridiculous.
The change did not happen overnight.
Weight came off.
Fitness improved.
The Peloton became part of everyday life.
One challenge became another.
Eventually I wanted to find out whether all that work could translate into something outside the comfort of home training.
That question took me to Tough Mudder Yorkshire.
TOUGH MUDDER YORKSHIRE
THE FIRST REAL TEST
Yorkshire was my first Tough Mudder, my first obstacle course race and my first 15K.
The objective was fairly simple:
Finish.
I did.
But Yorkshire taught me considerably more than whether I could get around the course.
It exposed weaknesses in grip and upper-body strength.
It showed me how different sustained running, walking and obstacles felt compared with cycling.
And the days afterwards taught me another lesson.
My legs were incredibly stiff.
I had done very little stretching in the build-up to the event and my body made its opinion of that decision very clear.
Yorkshire proved that I could complete a Tough Mudder.
It also gave me a list of things to improve before the next one.
That was exactly what I needed.
TOUGH MUDDER SOUTH WEST
15K + 5K. ONE DAY. THE FIRST DOUBLE HEADER.
South West was the first opportunity to find out whether I had actually learned anything.
This time I was not just completing another 15K.
I had entered the 15K in the morning and the 5K afterwards.
Two start lines.
Twenty kilometres of Tough Mudder courses.
And, importantly, the challenge of going again after already completing the main event.
Preparation changed.
Stretching became part of the daily routine.
Training immediately before the event was adjusted.
I paid more attention to how the legs felt and what I could do to arrive at the start line ready rather than simply trained.
The difference afterwards was obvious.
The widespread muscle stiffness I had experienced following Yorkshire simply was not there.
My legs had coped far better.
Unfortunately, one particular part of my right leg had not.
A less-than-perfect encounter with the Hero Walls left me with a painful reminder that endurance and fitness are only part of obstacle course racing.
Technique matters too.
South West therefore delivered exactly what these events need to deliver at this stage of the journey.
Another finish.
Another step up in workload.
And another set of lessons.
I had now completed three Tough Mudder courses across two event weekends:
- Yorkshire 15K
- South West 15K
- South West 5K
The numbers were starting to grow.
More importantly, so was the experience.
WHAT THE FIRST EVENTS CHANGED
Yorkshire was about proving I could do it.
South West started answering a different question:
Can I learn, adapt and come back better?
The early answer appears to be yes.
Changing the preparation made a noticeable difference to recovery.
That matters because the challenges ahead increasingly depend on my ability not simply to complete one effort, but to recover, refuel and continue.
At the same time, the early events highlighted other areas that need work.
Obstacle technique.
Grip strength.
Upper-body strength.
Running durability.
Recovery.
There is little point building the endurance to keep moving for hours if poor technique, poor preparation or one avoidable mistake brings everything to a halt.
So the training evolves.
And then it evolves again.
That has become one of the basic rules of Tough Smudge:
Do something.
Learn from it.
Change something.
Go again.
THE NEXT START LINE
The box above should keep changing.
That is now part of the plan.
I am no longer building the journey around a small number of major events booked months in advance. New races, runs and challenges are going to be added whenever they make sense, whenever something interesting appears or occasionally whenever I have another idea that seemed considerably more sensible before I clicked the entry button.
Some will be major milestones.
Some will simply be another useful day on my feet.
Both matter.
A START LINE EVERY MONTH
The aim is now to have an event on the calendar every month where practical.
Not twelve enormous weekends.
That would probably be stupid even by Tough Smudge standards.
Instead, the idea is consistency.
A month might contain one straightforward race or challenge.
Another might contain a full Tough Mudder weekend.
Some events will test speed. Others distance, hills, mud, obstacles, recovery, cold, nutrition or simply the ability to keep moving when the novelty has worn off.
They do not all need to be headline events to contribute to the bigger objective.
Regular start lines create regular opportunities to test the training, learn something under real conditions and find another weakness before World’s Toughest Mudder finds it for me.
THE BIG WEEKENDS
Alongside the monthly events will be the bigger tests.
Multiple runs in the same weekend, Tough Mudder Infinity, longer distances and other endurance challenges allow me to practise something that a normal single event cannot:
Going again.
Finishing one event is useful.
Finishing one, recovering, eating, sorting the kit out and returning to another start line is much closer to the problem I ultimately need to solve.
Those weekends will test pacing, recovery, fuelling, equipment, sleep, decision-making and how well I operate when the legs are no longer particularly interested in my plans.
They are not something I need to do every month.
But when they appear on the calendar, they have a very specific purpose.
2027: THE ENDURANCE YEAR
The events in 2026 are building experience.
In 2027 the endurance challenge increases significantly.
The programme includes Tough Mudder Infinity, Tough Mudder Trifecta weekends and a growing calendar of other events around them.
The exact calendar is deliberately not finished.
If there is a useful challenge, an interesting event or another opportunity to get some meaningful miles into the legs, there is every chance it will find its way onto the list.
Infinity is particularly important.
That is where Tough Mudder stops being simply a course to complete and becomes a sustained endurance problem.
How many kilometres can I manage?
How well can I refuel?
What happens as fatigue accumulates?
Which equipment works?
What does not?
How quickly can I get through a pit stop?
Can I make sensible decisions when I am tired?
What happens when something inevitably goes wrong?
Every answer matters because all roads eventually lead to one event.
THE ULTIMATE TARGET
WORLD’S TOUGHEST MUDDER 2027
Twenty-four hours.
Running. Walking. Obstacles. Mud. Cold. Darkness. Fatigue. Repeated laps.
And the challenge of continuing long after every sensible part of my brain has probably suggested stopping.
World’s Toughest Mudder is the ultimate target of this phase of Tough Smudge.
The aim is not simply to arrive at the start line.
It is to arrive prepared.
That means building endurance gradually. Improving obstacle technique. Learning about nutrition and hydration. Testing clothing and equipment. Developing a pit strategy that works. Understanding recovery. Finding out how my body responds when the hours and miles start accumulating. And building the mental resilience to keep moving when things become uncomfortable.
There is no single training session that prepares somebody for that.
There probably is not one single event either.
The preparation is the accumulation of everything that happens between now and then.
Every training session.
Every mistake.
Every muddy start line.
Every time I choose to go again.
MORE THAN THE FINISH LINES
Tough Smudge is not just about recording medals and distances.
The interesting part is what happens between them.
- The training that works.
- The training that does not.
- The obstacles I conquer.
- The ones that continue to defeat me.
- The equipment that earns a permanent place in the kit bag.
- The equipment that absolutely does not.
- The mistakes.
- The injuries and niggles.
- The recovery.
- The changes of plan.
- The events that were not even on the calendar a month earlier.
- The occasional moment when I wonder exactly why I thought any of this was a good idea.
I want to document all of it.
Because by the time I reach World’s Toughest Mudder, the result will only tell part of the story.
The real journey is everything required to get there.
MAKING IT COUNT
There is also a purpose beyond finding out how far I can push myself.
Throughout the journey I am raising money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK in memory of my Dad, who died from metastatic prostate cancer in 2024.
That gives every training session, every event and every ridiculous new challenge a little more meaning.
The bigger Tough Smudge becomes, and the more often I can get onto a start line, the greater the opportunity to raise awareness and encourage people to support the charity.
So yes, I want to find my limits.
But I also want all those miles, obstacles and muddy weekends to count for something.
THE ROAD SO FAR AND THE ROAD AHEAD
The timeline below is the live record of the journey.
It follows the completed events, the next start lines and the bigger challenges waiting further down the road.
Unlike the original plan, it is not supposed to remain unchanged.
New events will appear.
Plans will develop.
Some ideas will probably become considerably bigger than they were when they started.
That already seems to be a recurring problem.
Journey timeline
Events and challenges
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25 Jul 2026Event
Tough Mudder: Yorkshire 2026
Saturday, 25th July 2026, Broughton Hall Skipton
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15 Aug 2026Event
Tough Mudder: South West 2026
Saturday, 15th August | Badminton | 15k & 5k
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12 Sep 2026Event
Born Survivor: Lancashire 2026
A military-style obstacle course through the rugged Ribble Valley, combining 12K of hills, mud, water and 30+ obstacles. Born Survivor…
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19 Sep 2026Event
Tough Mudder: London South 2026
The Tough Smudge journey heads to Holmbush Estate for Tough Mudder London South 2026. Another 15K, another 20+ obstacles and…
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10 Oct 2026Event
Tough Mudder: Manchester 2026 – Saturday
Two days and two Tough Mudder start lines. Tough Smudge heads to the new Manchester venue at Cheshire County Showground…
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11 Oct 2026Event
Tough Mudder: Manchester 2026 – Sunday
Two days and two Tough Mudder start lines. Tough Smudge heads to the new Manchester venue at Cheshire County Showground…
- Today
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1 Nov 2026Challenge
Tough Smudge Movember 800
800 miles. 30 days. One very deliberate challenge. This November, I’m taking on my own Tough Smudge Movember challenge: 800…
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7 Nov 2026Event
Nuclear Essex: Fallout Oblivion Maxx
November brings a different kind of obstacle race. Tough Smudge heads to Nuclear Essex for Fallout, combining cold, mud, water,…
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16 Jan 2027Event
Winter Canal Canter
There might not be any mud walls, ice baths or obstacles involved in this one, but that doesn’t mean it…
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30 Jan 2027Event
Slawit Snowstorm Shuffle
Thirteen miles, a lot of locks and whatever a West Yorkshire January decides to throw at me. The Slawit Snowstorm…
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20 Mar 2027Event
Grasmere Wild Trail Runs
Another trip to the Lake District, but this time the running shoes are coming with me. The Grasmere Wild Trail…
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4 Apr 2027Event
Adrenalin Shock 2027 — The Krypton Factor Awaits!
The 2027 OCR season is starting early! 🦔💛 On 4 April, I'm heading to Adrenalin Shock at Richmond, North Yorkshire,…
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8 May 2027Challenge
Four Tough Mudder Trifectas in 2027
One 5K, one 15K and one Infinity makes a Tough Mudder Trifecta. In 2027, I’m attempting to do it four…
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8 May 2027Challenge
Tough Mudder Trifecta
Three formats. Two days. One Trifecta. Eight hours of Infinity on Saturday, targeting 40 km with 50 km as a…
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8 May 2027Event
Tough Mudder: London West 2027
The first major endurance rehearsal. Tough Smudge heads to London West for an eight-hour Infinity on Saturday, before returning on…
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5 Jun 2027Event
Tough Mudder: Scotland
Infinity number two, and this time there is a target. Tough Smudge heads to Hopetoun Estate for eight hours of…
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6 Jun 2027Event
2027 Scotland Spartan Event Weekend
My first Spartan event and the second half of a huge Scotland OCR weekend. The morning after Tough Mudder Infinity,…
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6 Jun 2027Challenge
Spartan Trifecta 2027
Three Spartan races, two weekends and one goal. In 2027 I’m taking on the Sprint and Super at Spartan Scotland…
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12 Jun 2027Event
Wolf Run – Leicestershire
Summer Wolf Run 12–13 June 2027Stanford Hall, Lutterworth, Leicestershire10k / 5k Obstacle Course Race The Summer Wolf Run takes obstacle…
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26 Jun 2027Challenge
World’s Toughest Mudder 2027
The ultimate Tough Smudge challenge. Twenty-four hours of obstacles, mud, darkness and repeated five-mile laps at World's Toughest Mudder 2027.…
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3 Jul 2027Event
Tough Mudder: Midlands
One week after World’s Toughest Mudder, the sensible option would probably be recovery. Instead, I’ll be heading straight into another…
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24 Jul 2027Event
Tough Mudder: Yorkshire 2027
Back where the Tough Mudder journey began, but with a very different target. Tough Smudge returns to Yorkshire chasing 50K…
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14 Aug 2027Event
Tough Mudder South West 2027
Back to Badminton for Tough Mudder South West, this time for the 15K and 5K on Saturday. If the season…
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15 Aug 2027Event
2027 South West Spartan Event Weekend
The final piece of my 2027 Spartan Trifecta. The day after Tough Mudder South West, I'll return to Badminton Estate…
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28 Aug 2027Event
Tough Mudder: Berlin 2027
Tough Smudge goes international! 🇩🇪🦔💛 Heading to Germany for Tough Mudder Berlin–Brandenburg, with both the 15K and 5K planned. A…
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4 Sep 2027Event
Tough Mudder: Manchester 2027
Returning to Tough Mudder Manchester for four runs across two days! This time, the focus is on bringing people together,…
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11 Sep 2027Event
Wolf Run – Warwickshire
Autumn Wolf Run 11–12 September 2027The Offchurch Bury, Offchurch, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire10k / 5k Obstacle Course Race Autumn means changing…
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18 Sep 2027Event
Tough Mudder: London South 2027
Returning to Tough Mudder London South for four runs and 40 km across two days! After completing 45 km here…
WHERE I AM NOW
The first question has already been answered.
Can I complete a Tough Mudder?
Yes.
So has the next one.
Can I come back, increase the workload and go again?
Yes.
The questions now get progressively harder.
Can I keep doing this consistently month after month?
How far can I go?
How long can I keep moving?
How effectively can I recover and go again?
How much can I improve before June 2027?
And ultimately:
What happens when I have 24 hours to find out?
There is a long way to go.
There are also quite a lot more start lines between here and there than I originally expected.
That is rather the point.