Tough Guy Competition

In 2000, one competitor, Michael Green, from Leicestershire, collapsed midway through the race and later died in hospital, reportedly of a massive heart attack brought on by extreme hypothermia. Green was 44 years old. According to Wilson, this was the first fatality in 15 years. Other injuries suffered in the event are common. Local newspaper reports suggested that among the competitors in the 2009 event, one suffered a broken neck, another broken pelvis, yet another broken pubic bone while there were a dozen broken or dislocated bones and 600 runners - including the winner - suffered hypothermia. ==Nettle Warrior==

Nettle Warrior is the summer version of Tough Guy, first staged in 1998, and is normally run at the end of July. Though the course is essentially the same as Tough Guy, there are notable differences. Nettle Warrior involves two laps of an area the organizers have called "The Killing Fields", a log carry and some rafting as part of "The Lake" obstacle. ==Billy Wilson==

Before he began staging the Tough Guy, Billy Wilson was already known as a high-profile organizer of road running races and a sometimes eccentric participant, most notably for taking part in the first London Marathon in 1981 dressed as a pantomime horse to raise funds for his Tettenhall Horse Sanctuary, which is the principal beneficiary of the Tough Guy event. A former Grenadier Guards trained soldier in the British Army, Wilson's earliest sporting exploits were as a cyclist, a career that was curtailed after an accident on the Aldersley track. Wilson was among the pioneers of the running boom in Britain in the 1980s, helping to found the Wolverhampton Road Runners club, of which he became chairman, and from 1982 to 1987 he organized the annual Wolverhampton Marathon and half-marathon.Road-related leg injuries and increasing traffic saw Wilson shift his focus to his off-road events, staged on his own land, which have been extremely successful, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604164533/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article4412977.ece raising £170,000 at a typical event. ==The course==

Tough Guy / Nettle Warrior The race consists of a cross country run, followed by an obstacle course, also referred to as the "Killing Fields". Last Man Standing There is a smaller course for participants of that day's event. It consists of; • 15-metre underwater swim • Scottish Thistle Hill roll • Lassoed Legs Lake Lope • Highwire Brandenburg Bootlace Struggle • Highwire TG bootlace Blaney Kiss • Bite electric wire Media In January 2010 CBBC aired the series "My life". On the first episode "Tough Kids" boys aged 11–12 take part in the assault course. Three of the boys are especially determined to tackle the course and they tell their individual story. The film was first aired on BBC1 on 20 February 2010 as part of the "My Life" series and was produced by Indus Films, in conjunction with Film Tank On 13 October 2010 Bam's World Domination showcased Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, and skateboarder Tim O’Connor doing the Competition. During the hiatus of 2017–2018, the Mr Mouse Events "Mudathon" was filmed and broadcast on BBC Two as part of the corporation's Sports Relief scheduling. Four celebrities - Les Dennis, Tameka Empson, Susannah Constantine and Miles Jupp - were followed across a ten-week period in which they attempted to train themselves "back to fitness", culminating in an attempt to complete the "Tough Guy" obstacle course in February 2018. ==Sources and references==

• Episode of Beste Belg ('Best Belgian') program on VTM (Flemish commercial TV), 2005, entering presenter Staff Coppens's brother Matthias • An article from Jim Caple of ESPN, recounting his attempt at Tough Guy 2007 - http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=toughguy2007&redirected=true • 2010 Results can be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20100208170429/http://www.tdl.ltd.uk/ ==See also==