By . Harriet Arkell . PUBLISHED: . 05:30 EST, 3 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:15 EST, 3 May 2013 . It is designed to turn the merely tough into the super-tough. The Royal Marines' much-feared Mud Run is the toughest part of the 32-week training course said to turn 'civilians into commandos', and looking at these astonishing photographs, you can see why even the strongest recruits dread it. Exhausted, demoralised, and covered in foul-smelling sludge from head to toe, these Royal Marine recruits hope one day to wear the coveted Green Beret marking them out as the elite of Britain's fighting forces. Scroll down for video . Crawling through the mire of the Exe estuary in Devon, these recruits are taking part in the notorious Mud Run - the most feared part of the Royal Marines' training course . Drenched in mud from head to toe, the recruits' boiler suits offer little protection from the foul-smelling mud left by the retreating tide in the Exe estuary . The Commandos-in-waiting have to call upon reserves of strength they didn't know they had, both mental and physical, to survive the notorious exercise . As these pictures, taken on Wednesday, show, the men need to call upon reserves - both mental and physical - that they didn't know they had simply to get through the gruelling ordeal. Captain Ben Chappell, who oversees physical training at the Royal Marines Commmando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, said: 'The Mud Run is about instilling a Royal Marines state of mind. 'The recruits spend up to 45 minutes in the mud that is so thick they can barely run, doing exercises and games, and it is so difficult that getting through it really builds team spirit. 'We are not just looking for physical strength but mental resilience as well, and the team cohesion that comes from getting through the hardship together - this strength and cohesion forms part of the Royal Marines' DNA.' He said the recruits would not necessarily know when the run was coming up, saying: 'It's all about dislocation of expectation.' Their boilersuits offer little protection from the stinking slime as their superiors bawl at them to do press ups, and crawl on hands and knees through the mire left by the receding tide in the Exe estuary beside their training base in Lympstone, Devon. The agony and determination etched on the recruit's face shows the tenacity needed to earn the Green Beret worn by those who pass the commando training course . Gruelling: The Mud Runs are the most feared part of the 32-week training course at the Lympstone military base on the mouth of the Exe estuary . The beautiful setting of the Exe estuary in Devon belies the horror of what the future Royal Marines have to go through - sometimes more than once . Nowhere else in Britain is there a military base right at the gaping mouth of a river: The Exe estuary offers the perfect ground for obedience training . Bawled at by their superiors, the recruits haul themselves along on their stomach, soaked from head to toe in stinking tidal mud . This exhausted Royal Marine recruit resembles something out of a science fiction film as he lugs a traffic cone through the foul-smelling mud . Nowhere else in Britain is there a . military base right at the gaping mouth of a river, and the officers . take full advantage of the noxious mire left by the River Exe for some . hardcore obedience training. A . dreaded rite of passage, the infamous Mud Runs aren't a regular . fixture, but occur as and when officers deem them necessary.  Generally . they are held towards the end of the training course, just before the . young recruits are awarded their coveted Green Berets. Sometimes they take place sooner than that, and sometimes more than once. And . as one of the toughest part of the Marines' training course, they are designed . to weed out those unable to cope, and create a bond amongst those . strong enough to survive. With barely an inch not covered by wet mud, the recruits are forced to crawl on hands and knees through the slime as they are barked at by their superiors . The Mud Runs take place as and when officers deem them necessary - generally towards the end of the training course but sometimes near the start, and sometimes more than once . Officers use the Mud Run to improve recruits' discipline, obedience and teamwork - vital once they are deployed as Royal Marines . 'There are two key aims we're trying . to achieve', explained Corporal Tom Limb, Troop Commander for 164 . Recruit Troop who are in their fourth week of training. 'Firstly, . instilling the ethos of team work and the commando qualities of . courage, determination and cheerfulness.  The troop are still early on . in their training and they've not yet started to gel as a single unit . which is important. 'The . second is discipline - they understand what is expected of them but . their discipline levels aren't where they're supposed to be at this . stage. 'Eventually, after training and passing out they will be deployed with a Commando unit elsewhere, ready to go out on operational duties - so any discipline issues, to do with basic things like shaving and cleaning weapons that they are constantly forgetting to do, need to be ironed out early on so they don't manifest later when they're deployed. 'Hopefully the run will have achieved its aim.' Becoming a Royal Marine involves passing what many believe to be the most rigorous and relentless training course there is - as these images show . Not so much running as crawling: Exhausted recruits pull themselves through the mud, some so tired they let their heads sink into it, face-down . Looking more like the Anthony Gormley statues on Crosby beach than elite fighting troops, the men summon all the strength they have to get through the ordeal .
Notorious run is part of gruelling 32-week Royal Marine training course that 'turns civilians into commandos'
It's held 'when necessary' in the foul-smelling mud of the Exe estuary near their Lympstone training base in Devon .
Run designed to improve recruits' stamina, strength, and team-spirit - and to weed out those who aren't up to it .
By . Harriet Arkell . PUBLISHED: . 05:30 EST, 3 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:15 EST, 3 May 2013 . It is designed to turn the merely tough into the super-tough. The Royal Marines' much-feared Mud Run is the toughest part of the 32-week training course said to turn 'civilians into commandos', and looking at these astonishing photographs, you can see why even the strongest recruits dread it. Exhausted, demoralised, and covered in foul-smelling sludge from head to toe, these Royal Marine recruits hope one day to wear the coveted Green Beret marking them out as the elite of Britain's fighting forces. Scroll down for video . Crawling through the mire of the Exe estuary in Devon, these recruits are taking part in the notorious Mud Run - the most feared part of the Royal Marines' training course . Drenched in mud from head to toe, the recruits' boiler suits offer little protection from the foul-smelling mud left by the retreating tide in the Exe estuary . The Commandos-in-waiting have to call upon reserves of strength they didn't know they had, both mental and physical, to survive the notorious exercise . As these pictures, taken on Wednesday, show, the men need to call upon reserves - both mental and physical - that they didn't know they had simply to get through the gruelling ordeal. Captain Ben Chappell, who oversees physical training at the Royal Marines Commmando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, said: 'The Mud Run is about instilling a Royal Marines state of mind. 'The recruits spend up to 45 minutes in the mud that is so thick they can barely run, doing exercises and games, and it is so difficult that getting through it really builds team spirit. 'We are not just looking for physical strength but mental resilience as well, and the team cohesion that comes from getting through the hardship together - this strength and cohesion forms part of the Royal Marines' DNA.' He said the recruits would not necessarily know when the run was coming up, saying: 'It's all about dislocation of expectation.' Their boilersuits offer little protection from the stinking slime as their superiors bawl at them to do press ups, and crawl on hands and knees through the mire left by the receding tide in the Exe estuary beside their training base in Lympstone, Devon. The agony and determination etched on the recruit's face shows the tenacity needed to earn the Green Beret worn by those who pass the commando training course . Gruelling: The Mud Runs are the most feared part of the 32-week training course at the Lympstone military base on the mouth of the Exe estuary . The beautiful setting of the Exe estuary in Devon belies the horror of what the future Royal Marines have to go through - sometimes more than once . Nowhere else in Britain is there a military base right at the gaping mouth of a river: The Exe estuary offers the perfect ground for obedience training . Bawled at by their superiors, the recruits haul themselves along on their stomach, soaked from head to toe in stinking tidal mud . This exhausted Royal Marine recruit resembles something out of a science fiction film as he lugs a traffic cone through the foul-smelling mud . Nowhere else in Britain is there a . military base right at the gaping mouth of a river, and the officers . take full advantage of the noxious mire left by the River Exe for some . hardcore obedience training. A . dreaded rite of passage, the infamous Mud Runs aren't a regular . fixture, but occur as and when officers deem them necessary.  Generally . they are held towards the end of the training course, just before the . young recruits are awarded their coveted Green Berets. Sometimes they take place sooner than that, and sometimes more than once. And . as one of the toughest part of the Marines' training course, they are designed . to weed out those unable to cope, and create a bond amongst those . strong enough to survive. With barely an inch not covered by wet mud, the recruits are forced to crawl on hands and knees through the slime as they are barked at by their superiors . The Mud Runs take place as and when officers deem them necessary - generally towards the end of the training course but sometimes near the start, and sometimes more than once . Officers use the Mud Run to improve recruits' discipline, obedience and teamwork - vital once they are deployed as Royal Marines . 'There are two key aims we're trying . to achieve', explained Corporal Tom Limb, Troop Commander for 164 . Recruit Troop who are in their fourth week of training. 'Firstly, . instilling the ethos of team work and the commando qualities of . courage, determination and cheerfulness.  The troop are still early on . in their training and they've not yet started to gel as a single unit . which is important. 'The . second is discipline - they understand what is expected of them but . their discipline levels aren't where they're supposed to be at this . stage. 'Eventually, after training and passing out they will be deployed with a Commando unit elsewhere, ready to go out on operational duties - so any discipline issues, to do with basic things like shaving and cleaning weapons that they are constantly forgetting to do, need to be ironed out early on so they don't manifest later when they're deployed. 'Hopefully the run will have achieved its aim.' Becoming a Royal Marine involves passing what many believe to be the most rigorous and relentless training course there is - as these images show . Not so much running as crawling: Exhausted recruits pull themselves through the mud, some so tired they let their heads sink into it, face-down . Looking more like the Anthony Gormley statues on Crosby beach than elite fighting troops, the men summon all the strength they have to get through the ordeal .
Run is the toughest part of the 32-week training course said to turn 'civilians into commandos', recruits spend up to 45 minutes in the mud that training base in Lympstone, Devon. The agony and The beautiful setting of the Exe estuary in Devon the foul-smelling mud . Nowhere else in Britain Marines' training course, they are designed . to weed out those unable to cope, and create a bond Officers use the Mud Run to improve recruits'