"About 25 per cent of entrants don’t finish the course” – words from Tough Mudder vice-president Sarah Harvey that didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

Several months after signing up for what is described as “probably the toughest event on the planet,” I’m still undecided as to how I’m going to get on.

I’ll be taking part in the north-west Tough Mudder event in Malpas, Cheshire, on October 5 – a track of between ten and 12 miles with 180 military-style obstacles along the way.

The terrain consists of woodlands, fields, ponds, lakes, and bogs. It is likely to take between three and four hours to complete.

Back in February, I was pretty much rail-roaded into taking part after my girlfriend Natalie and her sister Maddy announced they were doing it and asked me if I wanted to give it a go.

If I’d said no, I would have never heard the end of it. And anyway, I thought that any man worth his salt wouldn’t back out of a challenge like Tough Mudder, especially when that challenge is laid down by two girls.

So, here we are, little more than a month away from the day of reckoning. I’m approaching it with about 70 per cent excitement and 30 per cent trepidation – although I can already feel the pint of beer you get at the finish passing my lips.

Sarah said: “It is both intimidating and fun. About 75 per cent finish it, but the great thing is you do it with friends, and that means you have someone motivating you along the way.

“The important thing is finishing and having a pint.”

A quiz on the Tough Mudder website says I’m more than ready for it – in fact I’m a ‘Tough Mudder Certified Lunatic’ thanks to the fact I can do between 11 and 20 pull-ups in a row, 31 to 45 press-ups in a row, comfortably run three miles, and can lift a barrel of beer. I even fall comfortably into the average age of Mudders, which is between 25 and 35.

Sarah said: “You need overall physical fitness. It’s about doing a whole mixture of exercises to ensure you complete it.”

While my exercise programme hasn’t exactly been consistent since I signed up for Tough Mudder, I do play a lot of football, cycle and run quite regularly, lift the odd weight and do press-ups and pull-ups when I can. I swear I can even see a six-pack developing when I tense my stomach and press down on it with my hands.

But still, I have a nagging feeling something will go wrong. Some people say I’m mad for doing it, others claim it’s not as hard as it sounds.

I tell myself it’s just a bigger version of the famous obstacle course on the former TV show Krypton Factor – and I always wanted to do that.

Except the Krypton Factor didn’t have obstacles called Arctic Enema, Electric Eel, Electroshock Therapy, Fire Walker, Underwater Tunnels, Trench Warfare and Mud Mule.

However, funnily enough, the obstacle that has actually created the most chatter with my Tough Mudder teammates – which also includes Maddy’s boyfriend Danny – is the 12ft- high Berlin Walls and how to get over them without leaving anyone behind.

Natalie, a very keen runner, admitted she is terrified of the tunnels, but added: “I think it will be good fun doing it as a team. I’m nervous about it, but excited at the same time.”

Perhaps I should stop worrying. Sarah, who is also tackling the north-west event, tells me a 79-year-old man completed a Tough Mudder in the USA.

“At the start line, the nerves will get to people,” she said. “But they just have to overcome them.”

Yorkshire’s course – in Skipton – is roughly 11 miles long and makes for one of Tough Mudder’s more scenic settings.

“We have been able to use lots of natural scenery,” said Sarah. “And we didn’t want to do it with going onto the moors.

“It makes for a brilliant course – with open water and forests.”

Tough Mudder courses are designed by British Special Forces. The endurance phenomenon which swept America and Australia came to the UK last year with three events in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, and following an overwhelming reception and huge demand, 2013 sees the amount of events in the UK double to six.

The brainchild of Englishmen Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, Tough Mudder was founded in America in 2010 with three events, and since has gone on to establish itself in Canada, Australia, the UK and Germany with 53 events scheduled in 2013. More than 750,000 people are expected to take part this year alone.

But organisers are keen to point out it’s not a race, but a challenge of mental toughness and physical endurance while emphasising teamwork and camaraderie.

If you fancy taking part in either the Yorkshire or north-west Tough Mudders, visit toughmudder.co.uk.