Insane Photography

Good god is this what they call a tough man competition? These people are sure they accidentally didn't sign up for a hell-on-earth/post-apocalyptic scenario competition, right?... Cause if I didn't know better I'd I'd say the world just came to a catastrophic end about an hour before these shots were taken ...

Fortunately the situation is 'slightly' more innocuous than it appears. These amazing photographs were taken at the February 1st Tough Guy Competition hosted in Wolverhampton, England...

...And despite the hilarity of one competitor choosing to run the race in in that horrendous Borat mankini/unikini thong (whatever you call it ), this race is no laughing matter. Mud, freezing water, ropes and burning terrain are just a few of the 21 obstacles that awaited 1000s of challengers (both men and women) as they made their way through what's considered one of the most unforgiving races on the planet.

By day's end, 600 cases of hypothermia had been reported... notwithstanding numerous cases of broken bones, dislocations and flat out exhaustion...

If you're a photography fan (like me), you'll definitely want to can check out more of these phenomenal shots over at The Big Picture photoblog. Truly amazing amazing captures... yet, I could imagine equally horrific for those leaving the field with shattered bones .