Running
Ireland's maddest and muddiest obstacle races in 2023
An obstacle race combines the best bits of childhood: stuck-in-the-mud and jungle gyms. Relive those precious moments with Ireland's top mud-filled events this year.
Fun? Fitness? Fiendish difficultly. There are thousands of reasons to train for an obstacle race this year, but first you need to find the right one for you.
Muddy combatant at Hard as OAK
© Hard as OAK
No matter your level, these races are all guaranteed to leave you and your friends as exhausted as you are mucky.
And so with the return of Red Bull Conquer the Castle, which this year takes place not once but twice at Tipperary’s Golden Vale on May 6 and June 10, we thought it apt to run down a few of the best and biggest obstacle runs around.
Red Bull Conquer the Cashel
1 min
Red Bull Conquer The Cashel 2022
2x events: Castle Irvine in Co. Fermanagh, 6 May; Co. Tipperary's imposing Rock of Cashel on 10 June
Channel your inner knight and prepare for battle: the newest and most unique fixture on Ireland's obstacle race calendar is coming back in 2023 with a vengeance.
Contestants will now have two opportunities to test themselves against a limb-sapping series of twenty-plus obstacles. Firstly, at Castle Irvine in Co. Fermanagh on 6 May (a new edition of the event), and then at Co. Tipperary's imposing Rock of Cashel on 10 June, when it returns to the scene of last year's smash debut.
Backdropped by imposing fortresses and spread out over rolling countryside, contestants will have to overcome all manner of devilish challenges at both races. Cashel's newly designed sprint course will be 2.5km long with 20 obstacles, while Castle Irvine's will treat/punish entrants to 25 special obstacles over 3.5km.
We'll see you at the start line.
Runamuck Challenge
Coolcarrigan Estate, Naas, North Co Kildare, 4 March 2023
The clue's in the name really, but you're going to need more than a towel after this brutal course, which asks competitors to tackle 50 obstacles per 5k lap. Expect more mud than a music festival and plenty of surprises. You can enter as a solo, pair or even a team should you want to persuade some mates or work colleagues to get involved (organisers are also giving a €1,000 charity donation to any team which set a new team size record). Once you've dragged yourself across the line head to the Last Lap cafe for some much needed grub.
Hell and Back
It's a slippery slope from glory to failure at Hell and Back
© Alive Outside/Hell and Back
Killruddery Estate, Bray, Co Wicklow, 13 May 2023
Dubbed Ireland’s toughest mental and physical endurance challenge, Hell and Back is the country’s largest and most popular obstacle course run. It sees the Killruddery Estate converted into an adventure playground, where participants must complete an 8-16KM trail. The route must be completed by crossing rivers and lakes, climbing hills and mountains and crawling through bogs and swamps. The only way to survive is to conquer all the elements thrown at you, from temperamental weather condition to gruelling natural environment and torturous man-made obstacles. Hellish by name, hellish by nature.
Hard as OAK
Competitors at Hard as Oak
© Hard as Oak
The Oaks' Demesne, Glenshane Road, Derry, 24-25 June 2023
This claims to be Ireland’s hardest 10km challenge, and they have (muddy) grounds to say this. Now into its sixth event — the first since 2019 — around 2,500 competitors are primed to take the field on the outskirts of Derry City (just off the new A6). This includes 50 obstacles, including cliff jump, slip’n’slide, gorge climb, swamp, tunnels, tyre walls, cargo netting, monkey ladders, walled gardens, marsh, lanes, gullies, paths, streams, rivers, trenches and swings, so once you hit your stride be ready for another challenge to get in your way. There’s also a 5km for the teens and a 2km course for the kids.
Turf Warrior
Leenane, Co Galway, 11 November 2023
At Turf Warrior, they’ve made the most out of the beautiful natural landscape they find themselves in, sending you through gorgeous gorges, hilly Connemara terrain and the Killary Fjord, where you'll find all kinds of mischievous - and yes, muddy - challenges to overcome. If an 8K run "packed full of mud & bog, climbing & swinging, leaping into the Atlantic and all kinds of other mayhem and madness" doesn't get you pumping with excitement, nothing will. Not only is this is one of the most scenic courses going, it's previously provided the best tasting soup and bread you will ever have waiting for you at the finish line.