A COTTAGE company boss pushed himself through the pain barrier on a 10-mile obstacle course in atrocious conditions.

Ben Price, 37, of Elterwater, was one of 5,000 people who signed up to the Tough Guy event held in Staffordshire recently.

Only 2,777 finished the race and Mr Price placed 1,514th. He hopes to raise more than £1,000 for The Stroke Association.

The dad-of-four has competed in four demanding events in the past, including the Total Warrior event at Shap Abbey.

But he said the huge obstacles made previous events look like ‘children’s playgrounds’.

“It was cold, it was wet and it was windy,” said Mr Price, now warm and dry at home where he runs the Good Life Cottage Company in Elterwater. “I wanted to do a Tough Guy event because all the rest of the events originally spring from it.”

Mr Price, who has practised Tae Kwon Do, boxing and Thai Boxing, has raised money in the past for Epilepsy and Cancer UK.

He said: “Tough guy has been unlike any event I’ve done before with the real challenge being the cold winter temperatures rather than the huge obstacles and miles of mud. But living in the Lake District offers me the perfect terrain to practise for these events and, while I’ll never be a great athlete, I'll continue to do them and raise money for a variety of good causes.”

Anyone who would like to contribute to his fundraising can visit http://www.justgiving.com/Ben-Price-Tough-Guy