Born Survivor is back for 2026 at Capesthorne Hall! After last year’s epic run it was time to take on the full obstacle course once again. From the many, many mud trenches to the infamous Para Plunge and Dunker Drill, this course pushed everyone to their limits.

We ran in the final wave at 1pm – and it was still a very busy wave! But this meant the course was SO churned up (you just need to look at the first image and you will see what I mean!)

Great milatry style warm up and a ton of obstacles that tests everyones limits – whether thats strength, balance, agility or just heights!

A massive shoutout to the amazing OCR community out there—as you can see, nobody gets left behind in the mud! 

I ran both in the 361 Futura 2

Welcome back to the mud! This weekend I tackled the first race of the UK Tough Mudder series at Culden Faw, Henley. If you’ve seen my Strava, you know this course is NO JOKE—it is seriously hilly!

The season opener is always a fun event and great to see my muddy friends that I hadn’t seen since September. Great to see the return of Augustus Gloop after missing for a few years – I hope it appears across the season and the appearance of Shawshanked which rarely appears on course.

The ground is very flinty (kiss of mud is no fun) and for those that expect mud, will be sorely disappointed. It is the only event without the iconic “Mud mile” just due to the water seeeping in so quickly. For me, I love the trails and the forests without the mud, but I know some people are here to get dirty!

After running the Infinity wave on Saturday, I was back on Sunday to run the 15km and 6km laps and capture all the obstacles on video below. 

Watch the video, look at the gallery and book your place! (I have a discount code available if its your first Tough Mudder – see further down for details)

I ran both the Infinity race on Saturday and 15km & 5km races on Sunday in the 361 Futura 2

Deka Fit is a relatively new “Fitness Race” from the Spartan Family. Similar to other fitness races such as Hyrox and Deadly Dozen, its a mix of functional and cardio fitness.

I have taken on the Deka Mile which was a test event at CW-One (local gym), but Deka Fit Derby Arena was the first Deka event in a stadium setting.

Each 500m run was 3 laps of the arena and it was up to you to keep count. Each of the 10 zones was in the middle, whilst spectators could view from areas above the event floor (Derby Arena is a velodrome) and some parts by the side.

Well organised for the first event, and in 2026 they return to Derby as well as a new event in Manchester.

I personally think the area was less “pressure” than any Hyrox venue and of course, as of right now, as it grows, tickets can be purchased (unlike the ballot of Hyrox). 

For any fitness racing enthusiasts, this is an easy recommendation.

I ran in the 361 Europe Ventus

If you know me at all, you know that London South is my favourite race. Many many factors go into this, but mostly as the venue and course is just perfect – undulating, forests, trails, mud (can be VERY muddy) all whilst being very close to civilisation- just a few miles from Crawley.

It is the biggest event of the season (because its London) and you can certainly celeb spot here – KSI and Tom Hardy have been known to turn up incognito to run the course.

Watch the video, look at the gallery and book your place!

I ran both Saturday and Sunday in the 361 Futura 2

Tough Mudder South West is a joint weekend with Spartan (Beast and Sprint) running on the Sunday. This course is flat and fast and usually, only “Mud Mile” is the muddy part. Each Tough Mudder venue has their own characteristics and this one is just described as “flat and fast” no elevation to speak of and as Badminton is home to the world famous hore trials, the running is really good. 

This year was changed up a little bit with the route, but there are defintiely parts that the Spartan race takes on, which could be incorporated into Tough Mudder.

All the fun obstacles are here including “Dong Dangler” which doesn’t appear very often at TM.

I really like this course, but if you’re looking for “muddy” this isn’t it!

I ran in the 361 Futura 2

The Badminton estate (near Bristol) hosts the joint South West weekend of Tough Mudder and Spartan. Spartan runs on the Sunday with the Beast and Sprint races. 

I took the Beast after Tough Mudder South West the day before. 

The whole estate is pretty flat – you could be kind and say “undulating” which makes it very different from any other venue in the UK. Whether you enjoy this type of terrain will then tell you if you would enjoy the race – “Flat and Fast” 

The course takes on some different parts of the estate compared to Tough Mudder, so at least if you do take on both at the weekend, it isnt quite “de ja vu” but there are still some points where you are doubling back on your self.

The weather absolutely made this race this weekend – really nice and sunny meant that we could enjoy taking on the course without worrying about getting cold and wet.

There was quite gauntlet of obstacles towards the end – which means that at some points of the course, there is a lot of running – again, depending on your point of view, this is a good or bad thing. But as an example – the last 8 obstacles took in around the final 2km of the course.

I ran the race in the 361 Futura 2

I booked this weekend of racing back in 2020, but unfortunately the races were cancelled (it was in Covid times!) on the friday of that weekend!

Have been really looking forward to returning to take on the trifecta weekend in Puerto De La Cruz, Tenerife.

I ran the beast on the Saturday and then the Super and Sprint on the Sunday.

Beast was my favourite – took on all of the obstacles (including Spear throw, rope climb, monky bars, ape hanger) as well as a separate route up hill which doesn’t appear on the sprint or super. This is very different to any UK race, where usually across all the races, you still take parts of the beast course and just take “short cuts”. Whilst the sprint and the super were relatively flat due to being along the sea, the Beast took around 400m of total elevation with the stand out feature (for me) being the “rain run off” up hill trail. 

The Super was pretty much just along the sea front with a minor uphill route (just for fun) and the Sprint was a shorter version of the super missing out most of the run obstacles! I wouldnt recommend “just” doing the Sprint if you were there for the weekend. If the Beast is too much, defintiely choose the Super over the Sprint.

Note the races were in the last weekend of November and the Christmas lights were just being put up – in 2026 the races seem to be the week later (first weekend of December) in which you may get a bit of a Christmassy feel!

Tough Mudder Yorkshire is new, but not new – Same Broughton Hall estate, but a brand new part – over the road and into unknown territory.

TMY was known for its “big hill” – whilst this new course route does take you up a large hill (3 times) its short and steep – its just that the rest of the course is also very lumpy!

To me, feels very “spartan-esque” as unlike other TM venues, this course doesnt follow any known trails – its all new, so a lot of the route needs “treading down” by the first few waves – Those thistles! However, I do believe this keeps things more interesting when running some of the long runs between obstacles.

The main positive out of the new venue is the pure spectator friendliness – its very much a “clover leaf” design, with runners returning back to the village at parts. Spectators can see a large number of obstacles from a short walk from the village – allowing them to meet up with mudders on a number of occasions for those “in the moment” photos and encouragement.

Well Swung made a epic return, however Funky Monkey was missing and Arctic Enemea remains missing from 2025 so far.

First year at this course and I would give it a C+. Definitely room for improvement, but this could be a “classic” tough mudder course.

I ran both the Infinity race on Saturday and 15km on Sunday in the 361 Futura 2

So a little confession – I was at the Midlands venue for Worlds Toughest Mudder and returned for Tough Mudder Midlands – but because I concentrated on infinitiy on the Saturday, I didnt film. I was looking to film on Sunday, but I didnt actually run, so no video – however, the consequence is that I have posted the Worlds Toughest Mudder video below many of the obstacles were the same (minus some of the WTM tweaks)

However, I feel TMHQ did a great job of mixing up the course enough from the first week to the next (and also for Spartan) so that the regulars didn’t get too bored.

Midlands is a great venue, lots of places to dig, lots of trail and hills – TMHQ can virtually mix it up each time to bring a different twist.

Already looking forward to next year with a return to Worlds Toughest Mudder and the usual Midlands race.

I ran the Infinity race in the 361 lynx