We may be evil, but we laughed at the Roadblock, which required a racer to partake in the Netherlands sport of ditch vaulting. Basically, it is pole vaulting but instead of going over a high bar, you must vault across a wide, muddy ditch. Much to our amusement, racer after racer, in unpredictably acrobatic ways, went down into the mud over and over again.

Can’t find the video, though…okay, back to work!

Yes, there are such places, the fierljepcentrum, where you can take cursus in how to do it. An example is at http://www.fierljepcentrum.nl.

An american colleague wanted to try it, so the research group took him up to a center north of Arnhem. They gave him some instruction (Run as fast as you can, like you are running through the pole. Grab it as you go past, and as soon as you have a firm grip, start climbing as fast as you can, hand over hand, and let your legs swing to the other bank) and tuned him loose. He never made it across, getting roughly upright each time, then falling off the pole into the water / mud below.

I do have pictures.

Good fun, nobody hurt, do it on a hot day.