THEY crawled through mud, scaled huge walls and even leapt over fire — but still came out smiling at the end.

More than 1,000 athletes took part in a gruelling assault course at Heaton Park on Saturday in an event called the Spartan Run.

Competitors were challenged to run either 5km or 13km, negotiating a series of obstacles along the way, with prizes handed out by professional MMA wrestlers Arnold Allen, Darren Till and Ian Entwistle.

Race director Richard Pringle said: “We had a great race and it was fantastic to see Arnold, Darren and Ian getting involved.

“To be such great athletes requires a certain mental attitude and this is something we encourage, ensuring people can tackle any of our obstacles on race day and also leaves them inspired to overcome challenges in life off the course.”

One of those to take on the 13km course was Matt Richardson, aged 26, of Altrincham.

He said: “It’s the first time I’ve taken part in an obstacle race and I absolutely loved it.

“The camaraderie was great and it was very well organised.”

Mr Richardson, who runs with the Manchester Roadrunners club, added: “I was quite nervous about the obstacles at first but now I’ve finished, I want to do it again next year.”

The fastest 5km-course man was Conor Hancock, who finished in 27 minutes and the fastest woman was Joda Quigley, who finished in 38 minutes.

The13km-course male winner was Ross Phelan, who finished in 49 minutes and the fastest woman was Gemma Bloomfield in 64 minutes.

The event is set to return to the park next July.