Hawke's Bay's annual Tough Guy and Gal Challenge was the muddiest and dirtiest it has ever been.
The race, which is run by Event Promotions, was held at Clifton Station, Hastings, with 600 participants yesterday.
Event Promotions general manager Murray Fleming said the sunny weather which followed two months of rain made for excellent conditions.
"It's the muddiest, dirtiest course we've had in the four years we've been at Clifton Station.
"The whole event was well received by everybody."
There were also no accidents, other than a few twisted ankles, due to people being a bit more careful going through so much mud, he said.
Numbers were up from about 450 last year and on par with the first year in Hawke's Bay when they had 600, he said.
For the last couple of years, Clifton Station's owner had made mud pits to ensure plenty of mud on the day which had helped boost numbers, Mr Fleming said.
People came from as far south as Wellington and as far north as Hamilton.
Today there will be 1250 primary school children using the course which is a great way of safely getting students out of their comfort zone, Mr Fleming said.
The event is held in six locations around the country every year and has been in Hawke's Bay for the last four years.
The national event started 15 years ago with one location and 400 competitions and now has about 25,000 participants around the country.
The courses include swamp crossings, a spider's web net climb, crawling under barb wire, native bush trails, tunnels, hurdles, a climbing frame and plenty of mud.
Landscape architect Brittany Smith took out the senior title.