Shropshire Star

Pictures and video: Hundreds brave cold weather for Buildwas Mud Challenge

Hundreds of people braved the cold weather to get down and dirty for the annual Buildwas Mud Challenge.

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People of all ages came from across the country to take part in the gruelling 10k run today.

With 350 people taking part, it took around four hours until people reached the finish line after they tackled a number of obstacles and shifted terrain.

Two groups took part with the first setting off at 10.15am followed by the second group at 10.30am.

Some of the obstacles they faced were crawling under nets, climbing over fences and ever wadding their way through muddy water at the end of the course.

They flung themselves into numerous man made and natural obstacles in a feat of strength, stamina, determination and teamwork organised by Kick Ass Endurance.

With family and friends cheering on the participants, spirits were high.

Before the groups set off, they took part in a warm up aerobics class before setting off on the challenge.

When everyone crosses the finish line the competitors were greeted with a KickAss Endurance T-shirt, medal and a well earned bottle of water.

This is the fourth year the endurance challenge has taken place in Telford and organisers say it just gets bigger each year.

Ryan Talbot, one of the four main organisers said this year's run has been a success, with it being even popular than last year.

He said: "We get people from all over the country coming here to take part in the event – some are from Scotland and some are from Portsmouth, so it's not just for people in the Shropshire area.

"It's a harder course this year and the weather is quite cold, so I don't envy them taking part, it was very tough.

"The ages of people are also really varied as there is no age limits, yesterday we had someone in their 80s taking place and even someone as young as 16.

"It is also a pretty event 50/50 split for men and women taking part as so many people come and take part."

"Many people also take part as teams, so it really is different for everyone taking part."

This is the first event of the year for the Mr Talbot and the other organisers as they also hold another mud run at Weston Park, on the Shropshire border.

However, that race attracts around 1,000 people, which will take place on October 30.

Mr Talbot added: "My father and I have taken part in these types of runs along with the rest of the family and we just wanted to make bigger in Shropshire.

"He is a firefighter and I am ex army so we knew how to make it tough, and we know how tough these challenged can be.

"We have been running this for four years now and we also have our other event at Weston Park.

"It really is just good fun for everyone involved, even if it is a bit cold."

This year's course took Mr Talbot and the team around one week to set up ahead of the race and he says it will take another week to pack everything away.

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