Tough Guy Nettle Warrior © 2006 

And you lot claim to be tough...

Over the last few weeks we have been blessed at Tough Guy HQ with our own mini heat wave which saw temperatures rise above the heat normally reserved for the inside of a suffering Wet Neck's running shorts on the second lap of the Killing Fields.

In previous years the Summer Tough Guy event was seen as the "Warm Up" for the real deal...the dreaded Winter Tough Guy. In Winter, the killer is hypothermia, so it seemed only natural to run a summer event which played to the evils of dehydration, heat stroke and heat exhaustion....hurrah we hear ya scream! 

Over the years we have steadily turned the screws to increase the pressure. After this year's event Summer Tough Guy AKA Nettle Warrior 2006 we think that we are on the right track to delivering a truly evil event worthy of the Tough Guy stamp!

The start was a masterpiece of control by all those involved, but due to the vast number of runners we could not accommodate ya all on the start hill so we had to stagger ya into waves of Tough Guys. Of course there were a few who saw this as an opportunity to try and sneak forward, but eagle eyed marshals were on hand to apprehend these villains and cage them in the stocks! At this point the heat of the day had not got its claws into the snaking stream of Tough Guys - but that was to change. 

Many of you really appreciated the extra slaloms courtesy of Mr. Pink (famous for being seen on Richard & Judi) and the gasps and cheers of "thanks" - well that's what it sounded like - were noted by all.

It was also a joy to listen to ya as you approached the old Berlin Wall which has been made twice as high and re-named the "Brandenburg Gate" . For those who were "enquiring" most of us know who our parents are! Also we shared in your joy as we encouraged some of you over the beast your cries were deeply felt by all who worked on the creation of this monster :-) 

In this photo of the Brandenburg Gate even this mighty creation is temporarily obscured by the raging fires of the Firey Holes which for about 20 minutes truly lived up to their name! Apologies to all who were nearly impaled on the tractors flaming toasting forks....MMMmm this gives us an idea for next year!

The sun once again showed its menacing self and started to slowly fry Tough Guys. The water levels in the lakes and ponds of the Killing Fields had taken a severe beating with record levels of low water being recorded. In the build up to Nettle Warrior Mousa foresaw this and many thanks to his diligent efforts of gathering the 80 horses and donkeys daily on site to communally pee into the lake....don't mention it all part of the service! 
The heady mixture of  horse pee and natural spring water positively charged Tough Guys onto even greater feats of daring do. 

Front Squad members fighting over who could carry the largest Bull Logs. In the photo above a classic example of a Front Squad member carrying an appropriately weighted Tough Bull Log.

 
In this photo Wet Necks can be seen sacrificing technique for distance - jumping as far off the Big Dipper as possible.

The yearly competition to see how many Wet Neck Tough Guys you can fit on a raft was in full swing - either that or they hit a very potent patch of horse pee! 

Amongst the Tough there are some who are well...just Tougher! 
Hats off to all who entered the Tough Guy Extreme Bootlacing Event. An endurance event tagged onto the end of the regular Nettle Warrior! Well done to the intrepid 'Bootlacers' who went through all the tortures we threw at them. After final adjudication the judges have award the following placings:

1st Steve Backshall
2nd Stuart Logan
3rd Nick Hollis
4th Andy Jones
5th Alan Charlesworth
6th Dafydd Hollis

An honourable mention goes out to Rebecca Hampton (the only female to attempt the challenge) and Daniel Phillips who completed the electric cable bite and the first 'Blarney Stone' and to Alan "Built Like A Brick Shithouse" Charlsworth who made the high ropes look like child's play, bit the electric wire twice and only lost out in the end "lake bunny hop" due to a shortage of legs. Thanks to Inov8 for donating a pair of mud rocks to the winner!

Nettle Warrior IX 2006 also saw a new Range of Clothing
This year we stepped up the ladder and used the finest quality shirts that money could buy.We spent a great deal on creating new explosive eye catching logos.We created dozens of stitch on patches for each of the assault obstacles which you encountered. Wear them with pride – everyone will ask who, why, where?

Would you do it again?.....MMmmmm...Yohimbe!....OF COURSE YA WOULD!

See ya all next year in January 2007!