Tough Guy 2014: Inside the world's most gruelling race

ONE DEATH. Countless broken bones. And several hundred cases of hypothermia a year. Some call it the world's toughest race ... others say it's a survival ordeal.

DANGLING electric wires, a knee-deep mud crossing with a vacuum in the middle, and a system of underground tunnels meant to recreate the Vietcong Saigon Horror. This ain't no fun run.

Welcome to Tough Guy 2014, the annual obstacle course that bills itself as the world's most physically demanding race.

Well, some call it a race. Others describe it as a hellish one-day survival ordeal.

The 28th annual run was held at the weekend and photographers were on hand to capture a truly hellish experience.

The race gets under way.

The obstacle course is also known as the 'killing fields'. This is a 14m high cargo net.

The course was first staged by a former British Army soldier called Billy Wilson in 1987, and has run every January since in the freezing winter of Staffordshire, England.

Before embarking on the 12km cross-country run and obstacle course, entrants have to sign a 'death warrant', acknowledging the high danger and risk.

Held at the end of January each year, the English winter causes several hundred cases of hypothermia among entrants.

With subzero temps all around, you'd think the flames would be a welcome reprieve.

Fireworks and smoke bombs are thrown as competitors wait to start.

In 2000, a Tough Guy competitor died during the race from a massive heart attack brought on by extreme hypothermia.

And in 2009, when the local paper counted the casualties of the Tough Guy Race, they tallied: one broken neck, a dozen other broken or dislocated bones and 600 cases of hypothermia (including the winner).

It's little wonder only a third of the entrants cross the finish line.

Enjoy these pictures from a safe and cosy distance.

Oddly, fancy dress is popular. This is not a real baby, but a grown man.

And this shivering specimen is not really Thor.

This, however, is a real dog.

The just-emerged-from-the-surf hair flick loses its sexiness in a huge puddle of mud, right?

New profile pic for this dude.

The cross-country run is the easiest bit. Competitors haven't even been exposed to electrical wires or barbed wire at this point.

Superheroes indeed.

It ends with a steep muddy hill slide, called Viagra Falls.

Mind the gap.

Nobody could fault his commitment to the role.

Gratuitous shirtless hottie. Is this the knight without his armour? Discuss.

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