What's the toughest race you've ever done?

So time to boast about your achievements, so what's was the toughest race you've ever done?

The first one - swore absolutely never again!

I once cycled a marathon. SOunds easy, but.........I was in my local pub very, very, very drunk after having played a league deicider 1st team rugby match that afternoon (and scored the winning try), I didn't own a bike and the race was at 08.30 the next morning. A friend of mine pulled out injured....Oh, and I had to raise £100 for charity and all my nice mates penalised me by forcing me to stop at every pub en-route and have a pint??????.......We had a free barby at the end and I can honestly say I have never enjoyed baconburgers as much in my life!....~~

Probably my first half marathon - Reading in 2005. The race finishes at the Madejski Stadium, where Reading FC play, and as the course was at the time, you actually reached the stadium at about 11 miles, but then had a loop all round a business park before you actually went into the stadium. My training for that race hadn't been all that good, so by this time I was trying to run but my legs just wouldn't let me - those last two miles took AGES. The course has changed a bit now, you get to the stadium round about 12 miles now and the loop is up one of the roads into the business park and back again (still a bit soul destroying when you can see the end but theres still some way to go!)

Physically harder have been Windsor and Run To The Beat, both of which involved steep hills.

i did a 20 k once. it feels amazing to achieve it and cross the line.

My first and only ever marathon was the tough but I would consider that the first half marathon I did at Silverstone when underprepared was the toughest. I learned my lesson after that and have never ran an event for which I did not feel prepared for.

I think mine was the Gosport Half one year.  I was under prepared for it and it is a flat, boring race which I don't enjoy at the best of times (I enter it as it is part of a series of races and I enjoy the other ones).

My calves and achilles were hurting from the start and as it progressed my glutes and soles of my feet decided to join in.

The weather was cold, very wet and windy.  The route is mainly around an airfied so it is very exposed.  It had rained hard the previous day and part of the route was flooded so we had to run through almost knee deep, ice cold water... twice.

I remember at one point shouting out 'Sh!t, sh!t, Sh!t' with every step that I took.  I hurt so much afterwards that I was in tears on the way back to the car.

I hated it so much that I ran faster to get it over with, and got a PB, lol.

I ran the Prague half marathon without training for it.  Got round in just under 2hrs but the last 3KM were the most painful running I can remember just from fatigue rather than from an injury

I feel ashamed as my toughest race is only a 5K! But you've got to start somewhere...

The race to the bus! Not a great moment. I am doing a 10k this month though.

Toughest race I've ever done is the Beachy Head Marathon. I was completely unprepared for the relentless inclines and ran out of energy after about 15 miles. I thought the worst of it was over but the hilliest part of the race is the last 6 miles. By the finish line I was tempted to crawl over but decided to get in a whole-hearted sprint and then crawl home. 

That's better than me, I haven't done anything yet! I really should start...

I tend to do a 3-5K jog a few times a week- nothing strenuous but it all adds up, and I prefer shorter bursts of exercise anyway.

Haha - brilliant! Where are you doing your 10K? I've got my first 5K on Sunday (pretty much telling everyone)!

Good luck! You'll have to tell us how it goes, hopefully it'll inspire me to try a race

It went well - really glad I did it. It's definitely inspired me to do another 5k and try and get a better time on it, not sure I'd cope with much more though.

Well done on the 5k! What was your time, and do you have a time you're aiming for in your next 5k?

Thanks ladylovelylocks. I did the 5K in 38 mins, but I'd like to do the next one in under 35mins - a gradual work in progress!

Probably the Harewood 10k. It was mainly off-road, with a longish, really steep hill at 8k. The Humber half marathon in 2011 should have been a killer - in 32 degree heat and on quite a hilly route, but I enjoyed it. I think I'm one of the lucky/freaky ones who enjoy running in heat.

Well done!  Glad it went well for you