Hypothermia and injury could not halt a group of Oxford runners who tackled the “world’s toughest one-day endurance event” in memory of a friend.

Team Ivan took on Tough Guy 2009, an eight-mile obstacle course littered with underwater tunnels, freezing mud, electric fences and flaming hay bales in Staffordshire on Sunday — a year after 22-year-old Ivan Lissin died in a climbing accident.

Mr Lissin, of Hugh Allen Crescent, Marston, died from head injuries after falling from a cliff at Anvil Point, near Swanage in Dorset, on January 27, 2008.

The former Cherwell School pupil had completed Tough Guy 2007 with the same group of runners who bore his name this year.

As well as raising £10,000 for the new Oxford Cancer Centre, 12-strong Team Ivan invited 16-year-olds Tom Lygo and Liam Keys from Barton Neighbourhood Centre to experience “extreme running”.

Team organiser John Chelsom, 47, from Oxford, said: “The conditions were atrocious. With wind chill, it was -8C at the start.

“The mud and water were icy and it started to snow heavily later on. I’ve done the event twice before and this year was the toughest.

“We got 10 people round, the fastest was Simon Machin, aged 33, in an hour and 54 minutes and the last was me in three hours and 25 minutes.

“The course had been extended this year, making it longer and tougher than ever, with more obstacles.

“That, combined with the extreme weather conditions, meant so many people got pulled out by the medics that they ran out of ambulances to get them to hospital.

“People were being treated all around the course, even at the top of 40ft obstacles. It was like a war zone.

“We had three runners from the Barton Neighbourhood Centre — manager Anthony Armitage, plus Liam and Tom.

“They both did brilliantly, but in the end were defeated by the cold.

“Tom injured his back and had to pull out after about three hours.

“Liam lasted about three hours and 15 minutes and managed to get through the infamous underwater tunnels but was pulled out by the medics suffering from hypothermia with only about 300m to go.

“If they’d let him go on for another five minutes he would have finished.

“Both recovered okay afterwards once they’d got warmed up and are keen to give it another go next year.”

Liam said: “It was a great experience. At first I thought I wasn’t going to do it, but with John and everyone’s help it made me feel good about myself.

“Out of 10 I’d say it was 10 for how tough it was. You can’t put a temperature on how cold it was. I couldn’t stop shaking.”

Mr Chelsom added: “Our next event is the Swiss Alpine Marathon in July.

“Our aim is to share the incredible sense of achievement that comes from completing an extreme running event with people from around Oxford who wouldn’t normally get the opportunity.

“Most people think they can’t do it but, with some training and a lot of determination, most can.”

For details visit www.teamivan.org tairs@oxfordmail.co.uk