“You’ll Never Be Clean Again” - Turf Warrior 2025 in the Heart of Connemara
The first step into the bog is always the worst.
It’s cold, it’s wet, and it immediately tries to eat your shoes. The more you try to avoid the mud and stay clean, the worse it gets, and suddenly you’re laughing instead of swearing. That’s when you realise: this is Turf Warrior.
The Madness
Held in Leenane, Co. Galway, Turf Warrior is 7km of mud, water, hills, gorges, and the icy punch of Ireland’s only fjord, all stitched together with obstacles that are as clever as they are cruel. Organised by Gaelforce Events, it has been turning everyday people into bog-splattered legends since 2013.
The obstacle names say it all: the slippery Skid Mark, the claustrophobic Rude Tubes, the swirling Pasta Masta, and the infamous Leap of Faith straight into the fjord.
This year's Turf Warrior took place on August 9th under sunny skies and a light Atlantic breeze. Many wore the official Turf Warrior 2025 T-shirt, while others customised their own or arrived in team costumes, adding colour to the Connemara bog. A group from Belfast returned for their fifth consecutive year, calling it “tradition now.”
The course delivered its usual mix of challenges, from the Lily Pads testing agility, the Backward Walls demanding teamwork, to the Mole Holes, where getting dirty was unavoidable. Mud was everywhere, pulling at shoes and testing balance, while shouts, laughs, and the occasional gasp from cold water echoed across the route.
You don’t need to be an elite athlete to finish Turf Warrior, but you do need determination, and maybe a sense of humour about falling face-first into a bog. Teamwork was everywhere: strangers hauling each other up banks, human chains wading waist-deep through brown water, volunteers cheering from every corner of the course.
The final obstacles were tackled with equal parts exhaustion and joy. At the finish line, runners hugged, high-fived, and compared battle scars. At Killary Adventure Centre, hot food, drinks, and war stories flowed.
Hannah, still covered in mud, smiled and said, “Tougher than I expected, but absolutely worth it, had an amazing time!”
What’s Next
Turf Warrior will be back in August 2026 with a new twist on its Connemara course, because the route changes every year, even veterans never know what’s coming. Registration will open soon on the Gaelforce Events website.
So start training. Or don’t. Just bring your friends, your sense of humour, and a pair of shoes you’re willing to lose.
