I’m going to be repeatedly electrocuted over 24 hours whilst running consecutive marathons. Can you donate anything to charity to help ease the pain?

On the weekend of 28 – 29 June, I’ll be taking on the World’s Toughest Mudder at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire – a brutal 24-hour obstacle course consisting of continuous 5-mile laps. Yes, I’ll be ‘running’ for 24 hours straight. Yes, through the night. Non-stop and eating on the move. Yes, it involves lots of mud. Also, a shipping container packed with ice and water, monkey bars, cargo nets, 8 foot walls and, yes, even an obstacle that delivers 10,000 volts of electricity. I particularly dislike that one.

It’s a bit mad.

I’ve been doing similar endurance events for over a decade. I’ve been frozen, gassed, burnt and electrocuted. I’ve fallen 30 feet into a reservoir. I’ve dislocated a thumb, been knocked unconscious, and pushed through claustrophobia, hypothermia and heatstroke. But I keep coming back to Obstacle Course Racing because it pushes me to the edge physically and mentally and the camaraderie on the course is next level. Plus, it’s just so nice when you stop.

This event will be the toughest I’ve ever attempted by some margin. While I’ve done 10-hour races and covered over 40 miles before, this 24-hour challenge will require a whole new sort of endurance. I don’t really know how many laps I’ll complete, and a lot can happen on the course, but I’m hoping to get into the early stages of the tiered awards which are set at 50/75/100/125 miles.

To keep me going, I’m raising funds for two brilliant charities that I work closely with:

• The Slynn Foundation, which supports the rule of law by sending retired judges and lawyers abroad to help build better justice systems and also brings promising young judges to London for valuable educational fellowships.

• The International Law Book Facility, which sends donated legal texts to lawyers and judges around the world. In places where internet access is unreliable and books are prohibitively expensive, these resources are invaluable.

Both charities have tiny resources but make a big impact by improving access to justice across the globe.

If you sponsor me, I’ll carry your generosity with me. This will be especially important at 3am when I’m crawling hands and knees over gravel and really need to find that vital bit of resilience. If you dig deep, then I will too.

Every donation helps, no matter the size. And please do get in touch if you know of someone or somewhere that might benefit from the work of these great charities.

You can learn more about the charities here:

https://www.slynn-foundation.org/

https://ilbf.org.uk/

And if you want to marvel at the stupidity of the obstacles:

https://toughmudder.co.uk/obstacles

With many thanks,

Ben