THIS is the brutal Russian assault course which promises to push brave runners to their limits - and beyond.
The Race of Heroes is held at the Koltsovo training ground in the western half of Russia, and it promises to be the toughest test imaginable for the unlucky competitors running the gruelling gauntlet.
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The gruelling Russian assault course is run by many cadets and young soldiers desperate to prove themselvesCredit: Getty Images
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Mud, sweat and tears... the course promises to push unlucky competitors to their limitsCredit: Getty Images
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Runners are forced to leap over muddy water, with cold limbs likely to give out under the pressureCredit: Getty Images
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Wade to go... competitors have to traverse muddy pools if they want to make it to the finish lineCredit: Getty Images
The obstacle course features more mud than you can imagine, which bogs competitors down as they try to climb, crawl and clamber their way through the course.
The military-inspired event is also a chance for the Russian army to showcase their wares, with tanks and guns on display around the course, which also features a shooting section.
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Muddy walls pose challenges to tired and slippery runners, who rely on their upper body strength to scale themCredit: Getty Images
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Some runners were photographed helping each other through the course, whilst others decided to go it aloneCredit: Getty Images
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Tanks for the memories... the Russian army used the event to showcase their waresCredit: Getty Images
Soldiers waved guns and posed with Russian flags on-site at the patriotic challengeCredit: Getty Images
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Cadets were pictured firing off weapons as part of the event, which took place in the western half of the countryCredit: Getty Images
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One amazing photo saw a cadet struck with a sledgehammer as part of the event's openingCredit: Getty Images
Photos from the event show muddy Russians firing off rifles as part of a target-shooting section of the course.
And cadets from the Novosibirsk Military Command Academy were also pictured riding heavy tanks around the muddy training ground.
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Heavy tanks meandered around the muddy course, which attracted seriously tough men and women from all over the countryCredit: Getty Images
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Runners faced long sprints before throwing themselves into muddy assault sections of the courseCredit: Getty Images
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Unpleasant challenges force runners to clamber their way over cold, muddy pools of waterCredit: Getty Images
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Filthy runners had to use slippery ropes to scale ever-higher walls on the way to finish lineCredit: Getty Images
One particularly brutal photo from the course's opening ceremony shows a topless cadet lying on his back as an instructor brings a sledgehammer down onto his chest.
Meanwhile, the course itself sees filthy competitors slipping and sliding their way through muddy craters before scaling enormous walls.
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One section forces challengers to crawl through tightly-wedged racks of car tiresCredit: Getty Images
Muddy hell... as if swimming through a lake of mud isn't enough, runners have to climb slippery walls afterwards as wellCredit: Getty Images
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Barbed wire lines sections of the course where competitors are forced to crawl through the dirtCredit: Getty Images
Runners are also forced to climb muddy ropes, with exhausted limbs often giving out in the cold, wet conditions.
Another section sees competitors crawling through a line of tires with their legs held by instructors following behind them, before participants take to pools of mud to crawl under low-hanging nets.
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A muddy crater presents a challenge for exhausted runners, who desperately try to clamber out onto dry landCredit: Getty Images
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Feeling tired... knackered runners crawled through some sections of the horrific courseCredit: Getty Images
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Weight for it... challengers are burdened with extra weights to make things harderCredit: Getty Images
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Life is what you lake it... runners had to wade through waist-high water in one sectionCredit: Getty Images
One particularly unpleasant part of the course sees crushed competitors force their way through a rack of tires, pushing their muddy and exhausted bodies through the tight gaps.
Fire, barbed wire and wait high-water defines the rest of the course, which also sees runner sprint for sections of the way carrying extra weights above their heads.
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Some competitors flashed smiles as they neared the end, whilst others grimaced in painCredit: Getty Images
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Runners had to show off their strength and agility to make it anywhere near the endCredit: Getty Images
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Triumphant competitors cheered and beamed as they finally dragged themselves across the finish lineCredit: Getty Images
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This man was all smiles after completing the uniquely-unpleasant assault courseCredit: Getty Images
If the exhaustion doesn't get to you, the cold probably will, making this military-grade challenge the toughest assault course in the world.
But it's not all bad, as the triumphant challengers who managed to conquer the course were also snapped smiling as they eventually barrelled over the finish line.
