Overcoming the Barriers
Team A-SAFE completes the world’s
toughest assault course – and breaks
charity fundraising record
woken up by ‘Arctic Enema’ – a slide from
height into an ice bath, followed by another icy
plunge under tyres in order to resurface on the
other side.
‘Birth Canal’ and ‘Cry Baby’ involved
commando-like crawling. The former along
a tight tunnel, beneath a sheet of plastic
with water moving on the top. As the water
passed over your back the downward pressure
prohibited movement and made for an
extremely claustrophobic experience. ‘Cry
Baby’ simply had employees crawling through
another tunnel as tear gas was pumped inside.
By the four-mile marker, the ground, already
heavy underfoot from a week of unseasonal
rain, was cutting up and only those in suitable
footwear were able to stay upright for any
length of time.
leven miles of mud, moorland
and clay. Twenty-six fiendish
obstacles. Thirty-four employees of
various ages and athletic abilities
from Halifax-based safety barrier
specialists A-SAFE.
E
Just one aim: to complete the grueling Tough
Mudder assault course in aid of the company’s
chosen charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Billed not as a race, but an exercise in
teamwork, camaraderie and personal
determination, the Tough Mudder course
wound its way around the North Yorkshire
countryside; through rivers, across bogs and
into dense woodland. At regular intervals along
the course were Tough Mudder’s trademark
obstacles, which have helped make the brand
the most engaged extreme sport in the world,
with over two-million past participants.
A-SAFE employees gathered in the warm-up
zone at 8:40am, some of them fully prepared
for the trials and tribulations ahead following
months of disciplined and extensive training
– and others who had taken an alternative
approach to their preparation and had, maybe,
just started to feel a little bit apprehensive.
Yorkshire’s Triathlon World Champion and
Olympic medal winner Jonathan Brownlee was
on hand to offer encouragement, and soon the
event was underway.
Any A-SAFE employees
still secretly enjoying
an extended
Saturday
morning
sleepwalk
were
soon
It is still possible to
donate to A-SAFE’s
fundraising efforts
for Yorkshire Cancer
Research via JustGiving: please visit justgiving.com/A-Safe-UK
Not that this mattered on ‘Mud Mile’ – a series
of slippery clay mounds with water either
side. The only way this obstacle was passable
was through concerted teamwork. A-SAFE
employees helped haul each other over the
mounds one by one – but those wanting to
keep hair and make-up in check were clearly in
for a bad day.
Other obstacles, like ‘Funky Monkey’, involved
traversing monkey bars (or, more likely, falling
from a great height into some muddy water)
and ‘King of the Swingers’, which meant
jumping for a trapeze and attempting to ring a
bell (or, more likely, falling from a great height
into some muddy water).
As the miles piled up, it was inevitable that
some employees suffered the odd strain, the
onset of cramp, or the revenge of some past
ailment and dropped off the pace. Despite this,
it was important that those that did fall behind
took on a different mind-set and battled
forward without the encouragement of their
workmates.
Back with the main pack, as the event wore
on, so the obstacles became tougher, ending
with a devilish triptych designed to push even
the most hardened Tough Mudder to their limit
– especially as the rain began to pour.
‘Everest 2.0’ involved a sprint up a
mountainous ramp followed by a leap to reach
either a rope or the grabbing hands of team
mates on top of the obstacle. As a test for tired
limbs, it was borderline cruel!
‘Dead Ringer’ followed, testing the arms like
‘Everest’ tested the legs, as A-SAFE employees
used metal hoops to traverse a wooden torture
chamber – sorry, climbing apparatus.
Then, finally, there was ‘Electroshock Therapy’
– in front of a large crowd, Tough Mudders
needed to pass through a cage with innocuous
looking strings hanging from the top. Except
they weren’t strings. They were live wires
packing 10,000 Volts of electricity. But the
shock to aching bodies didn’t stop A-SAFE
employees from finally crossing the finishing
line beyond.
Completion of the course was a great
achievement for every employee, whatever
their time – and the knowledge that each
individual had contributed towards a company
charity fundraising record of over £3,700
enhanced the feeling of satisfaction.
Michelle Foulks, Regional Fundraising Officer
at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “I’d like to
say a huge congratulations and thank you to
the whole A-SAFE team for not only completing
such a grueling challenge but also managing
to smash their fundraising target. An amazing
effort by all! The money raised will go towards
funding vital research projects to help people
in Yorkshire avoid, survive and cope with
cancer.”