In the film “Get Hard”, millionaire hedge fund manager James (Will Ferrell) is nailed for fraud and sentenced to a stretch in jail. Desperate, he turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart) to prep him for a life behind bars. But despite James’ one-percenter assumptions, Darnell is a hard-working small business owner who has never received a parking ticket, let alone been to prison, leading to a multitude of humorous situations as the two discover the truth about each other.
Keeping in line with the theme of the film, I made my own attempt to “get hard” by taking on the Tough Guy obstacle course. Renowned as one of the most arduous courses in Britain, it probably wasn’t a good idea to take it on after a six week injury layoff. However, excuses would amount to nothing with our lead trainer Alex, a Physical Education teacher who spent 21 years working in prisons. His Scottish accent was a throwback to the Gladiators TV show of old, although this course would be a lot wetter, muddier, and painful.
First established in 1987, Tough Guy was originally a modified cross country run with added natural and man made obstacles. Now it has evolved into a gruelling test of physical strength and mental capacity, with over 250 obstacles spread over a full marathon distance of Wolverhampton countryside. With the assumption that journalists were all city bred pansies, I set off with a few other brave souls as the Tough Guy team tried to break us.
The run started with a simple downhill run followed by a few rope climbs over small 10ft wooden towers, and a truck or two. At this moment I was coasting smoothly, until I encountered the four storey wooden tower, where the top has some impressive views of the countryside. The descent was the scariest part – a massive rope structure where you could take the risk of rolling down, or take half an hour inching your way down. I choose the roll, and the first cuts and bruises of the day were the result.
The swimming sections were made easier by the almost warm temperatures of the English summer – ducking under log bridges or running dives into the pools were almost a relief, as the water was cool enough to be pleasing, but not cold enough to cause hypothermia, a common problem in the winter events. The balmy weather was also a help through the numerous runs up and down through massive ditches filled with mud – the mud is said to be almost chest high in rainy conditions.
Nevertheless, wading through kilometres of mud takes it’s toll. Apart from the ditches, there’s sections where competitors run through 6ft clumps of nettles, although after a few of them I barely noticed the pain, probably because I was so used to it. If this wasn’t enough, there’s also runs through electric wires, powered by car batteries that deal out shocks at regular intervals.
Perhaps the more terrifying part of the course is what’s known as the “Killing fields”, an underground obstacle where you have to crawl through concrete tunnels and under wooden floors. The claustrophobia started to seep in as I was crawling through the last tunnel, an uphill struggle which is probably around 20 metres, but felt like over 100m, as I inched my way up on my back, with a circle of light and hope as my guide.
After that, the fire jump was a mere distraction before the final obstacle, another hill climb on tarpaulin, this time with the dreaded electric wires. The regular shocks felt like hard punches to the back as forcing us down and almost derailing us on the climb. We were told afterwards that very few people make it through first time. Fuelled by adrenaline and with the finish line in sight, I somehow made it up in one try and crossed the finish line in the blaze of glory.
Photos by Adam Sorenson/Zero Degrees West
Despite my words, I have to say that it was a lot of fun. If you’re someone who is reasonably fit and loves to challenge yourself, or you want a fitness goal to aim for, then Tough Guy will push you to the absolute limits, but it also inspires a feeling of camaraderie with your follow participants, and the sense of achievement on the other side makes it entirely worth it.
The next Tough Guy event is “Mud Battles” in October. Why not challenge yourself to Get Hard?
GET HARD is out now on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, and DVD.
