FOLLOW THE MUD, MILES AND MADNESS.
Tough Smudge is about considerably more than race day.
It is the training before the start line, the mud, the obstacles, the bad weather, the early mornings, the equipment experiments, the mistakes, the small wins, the difficult miles and the occasional moment where everything seems to come together.
The website remains the home of the complete Tough Smudge story.
Social media is where much of the journey happens as it unfolds.
You can follow Tough Smudge across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X for event weekends, training, videos, photographs, fundraising updates, equipment, behind-the-scenes moments and the increasingly busy road towards World’s Toughest Mudder.
With the aim now to keep something on the event calendar most months, there should rarely be too long before the next questionable idea needs documenting.
LATEST FROM TOUGH SMUDGE
The latest updates from across the Tough Smudge social channels appear here automatically.
Event weekends, training, new videos, kit, photographs, quick updates and whatever has happened since the last sensible plan will all find their way into the feed.
Next test: Adrenalin Shock 2027 — The Krypton Factor Awaits!. 4 April 2027 – 159 days to go. https://tough-smudge.uk/events/adrenalin-shock-2027-the-krypton-factor-awaits/
Locked in for @toughmuddereurope Manchester next weekend. 💪 Last Tough Mudder of the year 🥲
3 runs, 35k on Saturday…..2 runs, 20k Sunday….tempted to book an additional 5k on Sunday…but will wait to see what legs are doing Saturday night.
Keep getting muddy. 🦔💛
#toughmudder #worldstoughestmudder #OCR #ToughSmudge
Branding Baby! 😍
Keep getting muddy 🦔💛
New from Tough Smudge: The Non-Official Tough Mudder Trifecta Weekend – Take 1. https://tough-smudge.uk/the-non-official-tough-mudder-trifecta-weekend-take-1/
NEW ON YOUTUBE
Walking Ingleborough | Training for the Yorkshire Three Peaks
The Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge has officially begun. Before I try to run the Yorkshire Three Peaks in 2027, there is one fairly obvious thing I need to…
Watch on YouTube: Tough Smudge
#ToughSmudge #YouTube #RoadToWTM
YOUTUBE
THE LONGER STORY
YouTube is where the Tough Smudge journey gets more room to breathe.
The channel follows the events, training, walks, equipment, preparation and the continuing build towards World’s Toughest Mudder.
That includes event films, challenge preparation, kit and equipment videos, training updates and the developing Road to World’s Toughest Mudder series.
The aim is not polished perfection.
It is to show what actually happens.
Sometimes that will be a good training session, a great event or something finally working.
Sometimes it will be the complete opposite.
Both belong in the story.
UPDATES, COMMUNITY AND FUNDRAISING
Facebook is where many of the fuller day-to-day Tough Smudge updates appear.
Expect upcoming events, weekend updates, photographs, new videos, challenge announcements, fundraising news and the occasional explanation of why another event has somehow appeared on the calendar.
It is also one of the main places for the community side of Tough Smudge.
The project is ultimately about taking on difficult challenges, seeing what is possible and trying to make all those miles, obstacles and muddy weekends count for something beyond simply collecting another medal.
A major part of that is continuing to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.
THE VISUAL DIARY
Instagram is the visual diary of Tough Smudge.
Expect mud, medals, trails, race photographs, training sessions, kit, Reels, event-day moments and the occasional picture where I look considerably more comfortable than I actually felt.
It is also where many of the smaller moments appear.
A new piece of kit.
A training milestone.
A muddy finish line.
Or whatever happens between the bigger events that never quite becomes a full article or video.
The miles between the milestones matter too.
X
THE RUNNING COMMENTARY
X is where the shorter stuff goes.
- Training completed.
- Race morning.
- A particularly unpleasant hill.
- A surprisingly good run.
- A new event booked.
- Something I have learned.
- Something that went wrong.
- Or occasionally just confirmation that another long session has been completed and I still appear to be functioning.
It is the quickest-running commentary on the Tough Smudge journey.
Not everything needs an article.
Sometimes one sentence about a terrible hill is quite sufficient.
SAME JOURNEY. DIFFERENT WINDOWS.
There will inevitably be some crossover between the platforms.
If I finish a Tough Mudder, discover something useful or somehow enter another ridiculous challenge, there is a reasonable chance I will mention it in more than one place.
But each platform has a slightly different job.
- YouTube tells the longer story.
- Facebook carries the fuller updates, community and fundraising.
- Instagram shows the visual journey.
- X provides the running commentary.
Follow one.
Follow all four.
Or simply keep coming back to the website.
MORE THAN SOCIAL MEDIA
Tough Smudge is not intended to become a project that exists only on social platforms.
The website remains the permanent home of the journey.
This is where you will find the complete record of challenges, events, results, training, equipment, videos, fundraising and the longer story behind what I am trying to achieve.
Social media captures what is happening now.
The website records what it all adds up to.
Social media provides the snapshots. Tough Smudge tells the whole story.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
The calendar is getting busier.
More Tough Mudders.
More races and challenges.
Longer distances.
More training.
More equipment to test.
More mistakes to learn from.
More stories to tell.
And ultimately the attempt to take everything learned along the way into World’s Toughest Mudder.
If you would like to see how that turns out, choose whichever platform works best for you.
MAKING IT COUNT
Following, watching and sharing Tough Smudge also helps with the part of the journey that matters most.
I am using Tough Smudge to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK in memory of my Dad.
The bigger the audience becomes, the more opportunities there are for somebody new to discover the fundraising, make a donation or simply become more aware of prostate cancer.
Charity fundraising remains completely separate from the costs of running Tough Smudge.
Donations made through the fundraising page go to Prostate Cancer UK and are not used to fund event entries, travel, equipment or the website.
STAY MUDDY
However you choose to follow, thank you for being part of the journey.
There is still a very long way to go.
There are also quite a few more start lines appearing along the way.
Which is rather the point.