Into the freezing water...

There will be no medal and no trophy but 10 Maltese athletes have been training for months to make it through one of the toughest challenges that is held every year in aid of charity.

On Saturday, they will run up hills, navigate dark, wooded trails and crawl through thick mud for about 20 kilometres.

Aged 22 to 36, the I and J Malta Mudders team members have been training for the Tough Mudder Challenge in Scotland since December.

Coach Iman Galea (right).

Apart from their personal training regime, all 10 meet every Monday for specialised training, kicking off with a 16-kilometre run at 6.30pm. They then have a two- to three-hour session under the watchful eye of their coaches, Iman Galea and Karl Cortis, who took part in two previous editions. They take it in turns to cycle, kick, punch, jump, climb and lift weights to cheers of encouragement from their trainers.

The circuit training allows them to build stamina and strength and they then have to complete a particular challenge, like being submerged in freezing water or crawl through mud.

Tough... Lynn Fenech

“The challenge is very interesting. You have to be physically prepared, train to hold your breath and be in good shape… but, most importantly, you have to be mentally trained,” Mr Galea told this newspaper in between calls of “come on, troops” to the athletes behind him as they jumped out of a tub filled with freezing water.

Tough Mudder is not a race but an endurance feat in which participants attempt military-style obstacle courses. Designed and created by British special forces to test mental as well as physical strength, obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights.

Of the two million participants to date, 30 per cent of them were female. Four out of the 10 in Mr Galea’s team are women.

Lynn Fenech, 25, joked that the initial fear was that the female participants could be “a bit less tough” but every single participant had different strengths that made one strong team.

Down and dirty...

Since its first event in 2010, Tough Mudders has raised over £2 million in aid of Help for Heroes, a charity that supports wounded soldiers and their families.

The I and J Malta Mudders is raising funds for ALS Malta.

*More information on their Facebook page I&J Malta Mudders.