PICS: A former Para created this hardcore obstacle course race workout to test your fitness

Plain old running is so last year.

Now it's all about scaling obstacles, powering through freezing water and getting covered in sh*t. It might sound absolutely crackers - and it definitely is - but getting taking on an obstacle race is damn good fun. It's a massive mental and physical challenge compared to running your average 10k road race. It tests your fitness, your strength, your endurance and your sheer will power to cross that finish line at all costs. But how the hell do you train to take on an obstacle race? We asked ex-Para and co-owner of Judgement Day Dean Haviland to create a workout to get us in shape. He wasn't messing about either. This OCR programme mixes 1km running intervals and exercises to simulate the obstacles you'll face in the race - and you can do it at the gym or down at the park. The running totals 6km (which is the minimum obstacle course race distance) - but as you get fitter and improve your time, you can add longer running intervals, speed them up for a more intense workout or add in some hills. If you're planning on doing an obstacle race then this will show you how (un)fit you really are.

The OCR workout

Judgement Day is bringing obstacle races to Bordon and Hampshire on February 27 - with a 6km and 12km race which is says has a strict "no gimmicks" approach (meaning no tear gas or electric shocks, just pure tests of strength). There is also half marathon event on May 21 and then a 6km, a 12km and full-blooded 18km Judgement Day event at East Sussex's Pippingford Park on October 22 and 23. For extreme endurance there's The Unknown, held in a secret location in Wales between September 9 and 11, which Judgement Day says will 'take you to the brink physically, mentally and emotionally'. It lasts 36 hours and in 2015 it involved 44 miles of running (with 9,000ft elevation), heavy carries, sensory deprivation, memory challenges (learning to count to 10 in Welsh was a compulsory pre-event task) and much more. We better get some serious training in then.