7 of the World's Most Extreme Fitness Challenges
The Suck
The first candidate is The Suck; so named because the most commonly heard groan during the event is ‘This sucks!’ There is also a nod to the marine training cry, as in ‘Suck it up Marine!’ A pre-set number of tasks are set, to run immediately one after the other, non-stop for 24 to 48 hours. The tasks include carrying heavy items over inordinately long distances, trail-blazing to get to specific locations, hiking for hours with heavily laden rucksacks, swimming fully clothed and a variety of other endurance tasks designed to challenge the best of the best. Be prepared to be cold, wet and drop-dead exhausted for much of the challenge which is designed to challenge participants physically and mentally.The Quad
The Quad is held in beautiful mountainous Scotland and incorporates kayaking, cycling, swimming and hiking; an endurance test designed to put your stamina to the test. The course runs over Loch Tay and is set in the wonderful Ben Lawers and Tarmachan mountains, the gradient adding an exciting edge to the challenges! If all four disciplines are too much for you it is possible to enter as a team. The weekend-long event culminates in a fireworks display and traditional ceilidh dance.The Goruck Challenge
The Goruck challenge is another almost military event; where you are encouraged to sign up with a buddy, although this is not mandatory; what the organisers do promise is that you will leave with 30 new life-long friends. The Goruck will train you, temper you and mould the whole group into a cohesive team, all while you enjoy the toughest workout of your life! To encourage a dual sign-up, one person signs up and pays and is awarded a free spot to hand to a friend. The leader of each group sets ‘missions’ for the team to undertake and once each mission is complete another one is allocated.The Spartan Death Race
The Spartan Death Race is definitely not for anyone lacking in stamina and endurance. Their website is a hint: ‘youmaydie.com’! Trail racing, obstacle courses, mud runs and all manner of physical and mental challenges lie before you, and the organisers seem almost proud of the fact that a massive 90% of entrants fall by the wayside.The Furnace Creek
The Furnace Creek 508 sounds deceptively simple – a bicycle race. However, the Furnace Creek 508 is 508 miles long – hence the name; and it runs through some of the most unforgiving desert territory in America. Less than 200 people sign up for it each year and only 60% of individual entrants make it to the finishing line – the odds are better for relay teams, who nearly all complete the course. In order to be considered to have officially finished the race it is necessary to complete the course in 48 hours; no small feat considering that it is the equivalent of 4 back-to-back Tour de France Mountain stages.Ultramarathons
If you are nearly the peak of a training program and beginning to wonder how much further you can push yourself; maybe consider signing up for one of these testing but worthwhile challenge events.
Featured images:
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
Brad Chambers works at SealSkinz.com, one of the UK's biggest and best retailers of waterproof, thermal sports socks. Brad blogs about extreme sports, travel and can be found here on twitter.
Tags: Exercise, fitness, gym, Gym Guide, health, training
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