Gallery: Thousands get muddy for Rat Race Dirty Weekend
People braved huge walls, muddy trenches and a freezing lake to take part in this year’s Rat Race Dirty Weekend assault course at Burghley House.
More than 8,000 people took on either the 13-mile or 20-mile course, which winds through the grounds of the stately home near Stamford.
Participants overcame over 200 obstacles and faced world record-breaking challenges along the way, including the world’s longest set of monkey bars and the world’s longest “cat crawl.” Other obstacles included energy sapping inflatables, mud runs, vertical walls and the infamous “water wipe out” zone.
In addition, and for the first time, the 2015 event saw the launch of the “dirty double ultra”, where those who were brave enough tackled two laps of the course, covering 40 miles and a whopping 400 obstacles. And
And 250 youngsters aged between eight and 15 years old also took on a fun sized serving of the world’s biggest obstacle run for the first time.
Those who could still move afterwards were treated to an afterparty featuring indie rockers Ash and funk and soul DJ Craig Charles.
Rat Race managing director and Dirty Weekend creator Jim Mee said: “This year’s Dirty Weekend was our biggest ever. The event is one of the toughest on our event roster as competitors not only have to deal with running almost a marathon distance, they also have to take on 200 obstacles along the way.
“And this year, for those individuals brave and mad enough, we put on the dirty double ultra. With 40 miles and 400 obstacles, that really is the toughest obstacle event course on the planet, so hats off to the 32 who completed it.
“We also added the young muckers race to the event weekend for the first time. Every year we see more children coming to support their families and so we wanted to give them an opportunity to tackle an obstacle event themselves. It was really great to see so many youngsters taking part, and we look forward to welcoming them back again next year.
“To top off the weekend, it was great to see almost all of our participants camp in the grounds of Burghley to make a weekend out of it. Our Dirty Weekend after party is as infamous as the obstacle course itself, and is a very fitting way for all runners to celebrate after conquering the course”.
