TOP 5 TOUGHEST RACES IN THE WORLD

This competition is not as tough as the other four but is a really disgusting one. It is held every August at the Waen Rhydd peat bog near Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales since 1985. The task is pretty simple: you must swim through 55-meter-long bog as fast as possible. You have snorkel and flippers but you are not allowed to use your hands for swimming. So good luck and enjoy the mud!

Only those who think they are really tough should take part in this competition. The contest was designed by Billy Wilson, a former Grenadier Guardsman, and the race is now considered to be the hardest one day of endurance competition. It takes place in Perton, near Wolverhampton, England. The competitors must first complete a cross country run and after that comes the hardest part, an extreme assault course. The competitors have to climb obstacles, crawl through mud and get through a barbed wire, electric charges and smoke bombs. All participants must sign a paper saying that they acknowledge all the risks of the competition. Is the paper a death warrant? Go there and find out for yourself!

Do you like running? Is Marathon too short for you? Then you should register for the Barkley 100 Mile Run! The race is held in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, every year and consists of 20-mile-long loop which the runners must complete five times. And imagine: no aid stations and of course a time limit! Each loop has to be completed within 12 hours or less and since 1986 only 8 people were able to finish the race within a 60 hours limit. The Barkley 100 Mile Run also includes 16,500 meters of accumulated vertical climb and climbers must find at least 9 out of 11 hidden books along the course and remove a page from each book as a proof. Are you though? So go for it!

The most difficult foot race in the world is also the most expensive one. It is held in southern Morocco every year and it requires running 254 km through the Sahara desert while carrying all the necessary equipment in backpacks. Water is supplied only at specific check points. Registration fee is $5000. The organizers provide only sleeping tents and water, so it is rather expensive. Since 1986 two people lost their lives during the race.

The race starts in Badwater Basin, 85 meters below the sea level, and ends at an elevation of 2,548 meters at Whitney Portal (USA). The contestants are required to run 135 miles in July when the temperature is as high as 49 degrees Celsius. The most difficult part is in the Death Valley, part of the Mojave Desert, which is considered to be the hottest place in the world. The runners must be careful to keep their shoes from melting on the road.

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