"CONTENDERS ready? 3, 2, 1." And we were off.

There may have been no Jet, Lightning or Wolf in sight at the Rough Runner start line but you would be forgiven for starting to believe you were lining up for a trial for 90s series Gladiator.

The TV-inspired obstacle course merges nods to game shows Takeshi’s Castle, Wipeout, The Krypton Factor and most importantly of all Gladiators with distance running ranging from 5 or 10k to 10 miles.

Described as a unique challenge of skill, endurance, mud and nostalgia, the course had competitors or 'Roughians' cross farmers' fields in Tatton’s 50 acre Ashley Hall Showground before we waded through streams, scrabbled between the surrounding trees and dodged volunteers in 6ft pigeon costumes.

And while the wide variety of numerous fun obstacles during the race was the most obvious highlight of the day, the number of volunteers willing to reach out a helping hand came a close second.

They were everywhere and seemed to be forever hauling me out of pools of water after I had failed to swing my way across the 'Hang Tough' rings, cling on during the zipwire or balance my way past the punchbags.

After successfully avoiding being swept off my feet by a Wipeout-inspired yellow baton, I was feeling slightly more confident for the final obstacle of the day; The Travelator.

And I'm proud to say I did it...although it did require one or two helping hands from those lovely volunteers I keep banging on about.

So while Gladiators producers may not be calling me anytime soon to take part in a revival, Rough Runner was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and should prove to be a quirky challenge for any nostalgic fitness fans.