Race Review - Queens Head 5km - 27th December 2013

Result: 35/121 - 21m03s

I love it when I can run from my front door to the start line in less than 10 minutes. I was up, fed and watered and in the pub by 11:30am, registering for a local 5km race. I have ran this race 2 or 3 times before, I know the course and know that it attracts some very good runners. Once I was registered i headed outside to warm up and see if I could see any Team Derby Runners or familiar faces. Always seems odd leaving a pub without having a beer.

Seeing as 2013 is the year of the selfie and I needed a photo for the blog, I killed some time and nerves with a manly pose, and then spotted a mate from TDR and we had a chat, and then my Sister turned up too which was a great surprise. As we mustered for the start the air horn went and we were off and running. I had started a few rows back and spent the first couple of minutes threading through runners before settling to a comfortable pace and rhythm. As we started the first downhill section at roughly 1km, the neighboring field of shaggy haired ponies gathering into a group and ran alongside the runners around me. It was an amazing sound and sight as they galloped alongside us and easily sped past. The euphoria of running with horses soon ended as the field ended along with the downhill section, it was now back to running uphill. As I hit the mid point I felt I was running well and keeping pace with those around me, until a guy dressed as robin came past me. I pushed hard to keep up but he slowly pulled away. There were a few more mini battles for position on the final uphill, and as we reached the top of the hill i knew it was downhill all the way and picked up the pace, with Robin firmly in my sights. I tried to encourage a couple of runners to join my mission to overtake batman's right hand man, but they were sticking to their pace. I pushed and breathed hard opening up my legs and arms, taking bigger and longer strides. I wasn't quite the caped crusader and crossed the line a second behind the man in tights.

I great race and a great way to burn off some of the Christmas excess

http://runningwithdavid.com/

Race Review - Jingle Jog - 8th December 2013

With the other half currently board out of her skull in hospital awaiting our first baby together, we have both used been impressed with the quality of the facilities and the staff. This has all been free of charge due to the NHS system, but they can always with more help. And when I saw a poster for the Jingle Jog in the lift, it combines Fancy Dress, Running and raising money for a great hospital. So I signed up as soon as I got home.

On the morning of the race I got ready and headed out with the dog and the step kids, and once on site I got myself ticked off the list and was handed my Santa suit. For a free Santa suit it was pretty good and the boys thought I looked suitably daft. I didn't bother with the fake beard that was included with the costumer but just added face paint to my own beard to whiten it up. I watched the warm up, as I can be a grumpy bugger, especially when it comes to mass participation and aerobics. But it was amazing to see a vast sea of red and white Santas high kicking and arm waving. We then watched the Kids' half mile race which was great fun.

It was soon time to start mustering at the starting line, I was a bit slow off the mark and ended up right in the middle of the gathering Santas. The countdown started and when the air horn went off it was a fairly slow start. I know this was only a fun run but my competitiveness kicked in and I started to go wide to get round people and sprinted past large groups to get clear of the cornucopia of red felt and white fun fur. I was then out in the open with only half a dozen or so running Santas ahead of me. The leading lady and man were setting a cracking pace, and I knew they were leagues above me so I settled in and tried to work on the runners that were slight nearer. I picked off one or two, on the first lap and when we came round to the start finish area for the second lap I was told I was sitting in seventh place.

About half way into the 2nd lap i caught up with the walkers, buggies, wheelchairs and prams who were amazing and cheered on every runner that past them and waved at every passing car persuading them to beep their horns. This was an amazing festival of Christmas cheer that just happened to be disguised as a 5 km run. I also passed the inspiring team that were carried their team mate in an emergency rescue stretcher. Nutters! I hope the raise a whole bucket of cash for that effort!

I was now in the final 200 meters I couldn't catch the guy in front, and I had been over taken by another guy who I recognised as a fellow father to be from Ward 314 but I was having great fun weaving through the walkers and gentle joggers. At the finish I picked up my medal and water and a biscuit and shook hands with the guys I had been trying to race against and then me and boys headed off to get cleaned up.




A great little run, for an amazing charity.

Please do what you can to support them!
 http://www.justgiving.com/dhft/donate

Race Review - Nottingham Mo Run - 23rd Nov 2013

It's not often my pre race preparation starts the night before a race.
It's not often I prepare for a race.
It's not often that my preparation involve curlers, hair straighteners and a hair drier the night before a race.
It is quite often I use curlers, straighteners and hair dryers.
I woke up an hour early on the day to prepare using straighter, curlers, hair dryer, wax, and hairspray.
I hate getting up early.
I had to my Edwardian bathing costume to get ready as I wouldn't be able to get it over my head once i had finished my race preparation.
I'm proud to own a custom made Edwardian bathing costume.

Right so once I had waxed and hair sprayed my beard and moustache into place I was off to pick up my sister and head to Wollaton park for the mo runner race. we rocked up parked up and grabbed our race numbers, headbands and timing chips and then joy the very long queue for the loo.

Once the 5km runners had shot off my sister and I pottered about and joined the back of the pack. I was much further back then I would have liked to have been, but this was more of a fun run than a race, and the uphill start should help thin things out pretty quick. From the gun we shuffled off, and when i reached the line I went as wide as possible and pushed hard up the hill to pass the big swell of runners and try and get a decent pace going. Pah, so much for taking this as a fun run, I was weaving, diving and going off piste to get round people, interval training and fartleks are certainly proving their worth in the first kilometre as I final start to see the pack thinning and passing people is getting harder and harder.

This has to rate as one of my top races of the year.
1. It combines 3 of my hobbies, running, fancy dress and competitive facial hair.
2. I'm running round the grounds of BATMAN'S HOUSE! BATMAN'S! (Wollaton Hall was used in The Dark Knight Rises as Wayne Manor)
3. The marshalls are all super excited and encouraging with High 5's and shouts of encouragement
4. A Moustachedal when you finish (That's my new world for a moustache medal)

The first lap was done and had been spent getting though the crowds of runners and walkers, the second lap was more competitive, exchanging places with other runners of a similar speed, trying to pull away with a fast climb or crazy descent. I was loving this element too, took my mind off my legs and lungs. The kilometres just fell away and we were soon in the final kilometre. There was a big brute of a climb at the end but i had to empty the tank and press as hard as i could as I knew the reward was the final 150 metre descent to the finish line. It was exhausting at the top but the hilarious photographers and marshals gave me the extra couple of beans for a sprint finish down the hill and across the line for my beautiful MOUSTACHEDAL

http://nottingham.mo-running.com/

The only thing this race needs is unicycles, Star Wars, and free tattoo vouchers and it would be PERFECT

Race Review - The Skeleton Run - 25th October 2013

Apparently I look like Tolstoy

I rocked up nice and early, due to a day of driving around a lot and having lots of time to kill. I parked up and grabbed my race number, then headed back to the car to get ready. This meant changing out of my suit into standard running gear then putting a cheap jester costumer over the top. Then came the fun part of making up my face and beard with white and grey face paints. This took a good 10 minutes, and I also discovered thick face paint makes a great beard and moustache wax!

Once I was made up and dressed up I wondered out to warm up and see if I could find anyone I knew, I couldn't recognise anyone so I just pottered around looking at the costumes and a few warm up jogs. It must have been about 90% fancy dress and 10% serious looking runners. The effort in the fancy dress costumes was incredible I recommend everyone to check out their Facebook site to see the photos. It wasn't long before we mustered at the start line and were given the safety briefing.

From the gun I didn't go out at my usual break neck sprint, and held back and tried to show some restraint. I was still towards the front of the pack and just taking it steady. I felt good and was running well, only losing a few places to whippets in vests and short shorts. As the course turned and started the first up hill the course was littered with HUGE highland cattle, with incredible horns and thick shaggy hair. I gave them a pretty wide birth, even though they were very docile I didn't fancy being stabbed by one of those horns! 

This first hill was hard work and once at the top it was a half mile downhill sprint. This is a great run when it's light and the path isn't covered with leaves and windfall sticks. As good as my head torch was it still only lit the path a few meters ahead so I was holding back a little in case of surprise branches, potholes or nocturnal animals. As we reached the half way point I developed a bit of a stitch and just couldn't shake it. On the second massive 1 mile climb I was starting to struggle, and lots a few more places, at one point I slowed to walk but was encouraged to run by a fellow runner which spurred me on again. Having ran this course quite a few times, I knew the exact point of "DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY". At this point I was determined not to loose any more places, and in fact I managed to pick off half a dozen other runners in this fast finale mile. I overtook a runner on the penultimate bend with 150 meters to go, this meant I really had to fight to keep ahead of him. But I was very happy to keep the lead. I didn't hang around after picking up my t-shirt and medal and just tootled off home.

A great night race, with a great atmosphere and the greatest closing mile of any trail race!

www.theskeletonrun.co.uk

Race Review - Derby Runner Cross Country League - Foremark - 20th October 2013

Having ran my first cross country race yesterday at Markeaton park, I knew what to expect when I arrived and spent the pre-race time pottering around, which a few stretchers and watching the other runners. Again I ran into a few fellow Team Derby Runner members and stood around chatting. As the runners began to muster at the start line people naturally found their correct starting position. As the health and safety I found my self standing behind a tree. Maybe not the best tactical move. When the 'Go' was shouted I found a nice clear path through the low hanging branches of the tree which my fellow runners were running around. I ended up about mid way in the pack and being dragged along at a pace which felt quite quick. My hamstrings were still very sore and tight from yesterday but I was moving so I hoped they would loosen up soon enough.

The first part of the course was pretty flat and open, but it didn't thin out a lot, we were still running at least 2 a breast after the first 10 minutes. Once into the wooded area the route became hillier and when we left the cover of the trees it became very steep and slippery, luckily the descent wasn't too slippery but i still took a very wide route at the bottom of the hill to avoid landing on my ass. After a another few minor ups and downs there was a long hard slog uphill. This slowed me to walk, but i managed to pick up the pace on the long flat drag back towards the start/finish area. Just before the finish line there was a great swooping downhill section that allowed you to carry heaps of speed through the finish line and the start pf the second lap.

The runners, were equally friendly here as they were yesterday at Markeaton, and I chatted with a few guys as they passed me or I passed them. The slippy hills killed me once again on the second lap and I lost a lot of places here. but on the long drag to the finishing swoop I managed to hold off all but one other runners and picked up the pace. I got into a decent rhythm along this path and the last female runner I overtook decided she wasn't going to make my life easy and stuck on my shoulder, I tried to push harder and shake her off, but I couldn't. As we left the flat long path and reached the final downhill swoop she received huge cheers from the crowd and overtook me on the descent. Turns out I'm not the charming, chivalrous man, that my mum thinks I am. I dropped the hammer with about 70 or 80 meters to go and retook the lead and kept it all the way to the line. I was decent enough to turn and thank the lady for pushing me hard in the last 300 meters.

Another great race, great atmosphere, and stunning course. The hardest thing was limping back to the car with incredibly sore legs.

http://www.derbyrunnerleague.co.uk/

Thanks to
http://www.derbyrunner.com/
http://www.nottinghamrunner.com/
for the photos and great support.

Race Review - North Midlands Cross Country League - Markeaton Park - 19th October 2013

This was my very first cross country race, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I didn't expect was the huge number of people racing, especially all the children. When I arrived on site  there was about a dozen marquees and tents with club banners flying and large pockets of runners all wearing matching vests. Everyone was very friendly and cheering on the children's races and the female races too. The wh
ole feel to the event was very family orientated, and a real festival of running.

Team Derby Runner

I soon spotted Team Derby Runner's marquee, as it was the biggest marquee and the only one selling shoes, spikes and everything else a runner could want. I registered with our team captain, and then went for a wonder round to watch the runners and do a little stretching. Before I start the review, i'm going to get some excuses in. My friend had organised a night out in Derby, for a ghost walk, darts and beers for the Friday night so I was feeling a little delicate after a few beers, kebab (I did go for chicken to be healthy) and a late (2:30am) bedtime. I was very happy today was a very civilized 1:55pm start!

I put my self at the back of pack and chatted with my fellow Team Derby Runner member, when the gun went I shuffled off and weaved through a few of the back markers, the running was steady but I was in no state to push hard from the 'go'. It didn't take long for the pack to thin into a single file and I was happyish trudging along. When the first hill hit it was bloody tough, and very slippery, maybe I should invest in some new cross country shoes and spikes? It was too late to be thinking of new shoes and the first lap was dealt with and I wasn't doing too bad. I did spot some guys from Parkrun ahead of me, that I know I've been faster than, at Parkrun, so I knew my pace wasn't great.

The second lap was all about mucus and snot. My second excuse of the day is have a crappy head cold which didn't help my breathing or focus. Running with a big beard, snotty nose, and phlegm filled throat leads to some absolutely disgusting coughs, gobs and farmer's handkerchief action. Running whilst de-glooping the face fuzz must have added to my overall time. The hill on the second lap seem higher steeper and even slippery. Pretty sure the guys from The Derby Runner where spraying the hills with water to make them slippier so that i will decide to definitely buy a pair of spikes.

Just at the base of the ever growing hill

I was still unsure if it was 2 or 3 laps as reached the finish point. But the man holding the tape indicated a 3rd lap was needed to finished the race. If lap one was 'steady', and lap two 'snotty', lap three was 'nauseous'. Last nights range of bottled largers, real ales, and nasty wee dram of cheap whisky was now mixing with the muesli breakfast and my crumpet lunch. I'm now just running stready and hoping I don't loose my lunch the hills are still getting steeper and greasier.

On the final climb with about a 1km to go a man in a bright yellow Harborough running vest passes me. At this point my race brain finally kicked in and I told myself 'No. Not today. You, my yellow chested friend, are not going to beat me.' So i picked up my knees and kept close to his shoulder, we started catching 2 other runners as we started the final descent. One of the two targets were being enthusiastically encouraged by teams mates who had finished and wondered back along the course to speed them on. I pulled up next to Mr Yellow and encouraged him that we should make sure we beat the two guys who were 50 meters out in front. he replied with a very Jolly 'Pick your knees and go get em' That's all I needed to put a decent bounce in my stride I pushed as hard I could and quickly caught the targets. But as I passed them we were about 300 meters away from the line and the crowds started to cheer which picked up their pace too. I'm normally pushing hard to overtake someone plodding to the line, this time I was in the lead of a group of four and HAD to hold them off. This was new to me, not having someone to focus on a beat was very hard. So it was 'hammer' time, 'empty the tank' time, 'throw-up on timing marshall's shoes if you need to' time. I passed the finish line ahead of the trio of targets, kept my stomach contents and felt like I had at least ran the last 1 km and the previous 9 km were just a warm up.

I had such a great day and XC Leagues are a really raw challenge, simply run off road, as fast as you can.

http://www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk/

Thanks to
http://www.derbyrunner.com/
http://www.nottinghamrunner.com/
for the photos and great support.

Race Review - Survival of the Fittest - Nottingham - 12th October 2013

My official review was written for Mudstacle.com
You can read the review here:
http://www.mudstacle.com/2013/10/survival-fittest-nottingham-review-surprisingly-rural-urban-adventure.html

Here are a couple of pics of me from the day:

Race Review - Tissington Half Marathon - 6th October 2013

My legs felt surprisingly okay after yesterdays Endurer Dash race, and after a breakfast of porridge and bananas, and a quick play on the foam roller, my sister picked me up and we were off to Ashbourne. It was pretty chilly and misty at 8am in Belper, so I put a tech t-shirt on, beneath my running vest, but when we arrived in Ashbourne it was a little warmer so I removed the t-shirt and went for Team Derby Runner vest and running shorts. It was a bit chilly but better to be a little too cold than too hot. Once in the sports hall i put my timing chip on and pinned my number to my vest. It was great catching up with fellow TDR members and chatting about races and running in general.

The coach trip from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay was great fun, it was like going on a school trip, everyone chatted and excited (and nervous) I was very happy to be sat next to Richard who just chatted away and and made the journey fly by, and didn't give me anytime to worry about my first half marathon. Even though i have ran a longer race, and ran over 13 miles in training, I was still intimidated by a half marathon, so it was great that my sister wanted me to run with her as she was equally apprehensive, and likes to chat while she runs.

From the start we set off at a very steady pace, and let streams of other runners pass us by. This was agonizing. My competitiveness hates it when anyone overtakes me but I soon settled and let them wash past without wishing the shoe eating fairies would strike them down. I was also distracted from fantasizing about the downfall of my fellow runners by the stunning scenery. Green fields and pockets of trees, alongside miles of Derbyshire's famous dry stone walls. The mile markers seemed to come an go pretty quickly and it wasn't too long before we had reached the 3 mile mark and the first of the water stations. A couple glasses of water while we walked through the drinking stations and it was back up to pace.

The second quarter of the course and we had hit a nice pace and the runners had thinned out and we swapped places with other runners at a similar pace. It was a little frustrating running at a slower pace than usual so I occasionally stopped to pickup litter or take a photo, and then would sprint to catch up up with Sheena. At the 6 mile (ish) water station I took advantage of a the fig rolls and washed them down with water. We're pretty much half way and the legs, lungs and spirit are still doing well. If was hard to get back into a run after walking through the water station but it only took 30 seconds to get back up to rhythm. The third quarter of the course was a bit of a slog but we managed to pass a few runners who had slowed to a walking pace.

At the 9 mile (ish) water station it was more about jelly babies. With only 4 miles to go we pressed on, safe in the knowledge we would finish and we would complete a half marathon. This felt great. with a couple of miles to go we had an energy gel each, and mine was really kicking in after about 5 minutes. My knee was starting to get sore, and I warned my sister I was going to leave her at mile 12 and stretch my legs out and go for a fast finish. A combination of jelly babies, energy gel, and a 12 mile warm up, made the giant vibrant yellow board with a simple "12 Mile" a very welcome sign. "See you at the fiiiiinnnnniiiisshhhhhhhh...."

I was off. Running as fast as I could, I even caught up with a couple on bikes and managed to pass them as they slowed to get round a barrier. This was great fun, the runners I passed gave me great encouragement, and support which just made me try and run harder, as I reached the 500 meter mark I saw a large crowd gathered and thought that was the finish line but they cheered and shouted, "not far to go". As i turned the final bend, I could see the finish. There was a lady in orange about 20 meters from the line, and I was about 80 meters away. Pah. I'll never overtake her. Fuck It. I'll give it a go. I broke into a full sprint which took even me by surprise. I managed to sneak past the lady in orange just before the timing mats. I suddenly realized that half marathon finish lines are a little short for sprint finishes and only just stopped in front of the marshals handing out medals and collecting timing chips. Tired and buzzing from the sprint I wondered back up the course to cheer my sister on and the runners who had spurred me on over the last 13.1 miles.

http://www.nice-work.org.uk/

Time 2:15:14

Race Review - Endurer Dash - 5th October 2013

Me and the big man from Mudstacle

Having had an incredibly bizarre evening in the company with Pete from Mudstacle in my local pub which involved; a sneaky beer, pork pie, watching an old man try, and make a spectacular fail of a one handed handstand in the pub and beating my posh mate at Chess. This wasn't your usual pre-race preparation. but Endurer isn't your usual 8km race either.

Pete and I rocked up, registered, chatted with a few other racers which I recognized from other races, and a those that recognized the beard, and came over to say hello. It was a very friendly start to the day and ran it to a great guy who I hadn't seen for a couple of years and was a great surprise to see him here. I missed the warm up as I was chatting too much and when the air horn went I was still milling about right at the back of the wave. I both love and hate the start of this race, the opening 500 meters is all up the steepest hill on the course, it is a real lung buster and leg burner, but such a great challenge.

Running hard at Endurer

This must be my 4th or 5th time running the Endurer Dash, and this year I was determined to RUN every step and not let the hills force me to walk, the first wasn't too much of an issue, and it thinned out the wave pretty well. After hills my 2nd biggest nemesis is log / sandbag carries. I can't do anymore than walk when carrying a sandbag (next time I'll RUN the sandbag carry). Once i had handed over the sandbag, it was the best part of the course, the ravine run, running through ferns and brambles down to a small stream and running through the stream before quick clamber out and over a series of horse fences.

It was then back in the bracken carpeted woods for stunning trail running and a rope assisted descent and ascent into and out of a steep valley, once out of the valley came the number 1 nemesis, a killer, steep hill which I have never had the legs or lungs to run up, but today was the day, I plodded on and chugged past a few walkers who cheered me on, and a couple of guys who advised to save my energy and walk. Those guys were probably right, but this was my goal, my mission and I was going to 'endure'. Towards the top of this cardiac hill the course is over slick wet grass but I knew the end was insight, and when I get to the tree line, we have a downhill trail run. When I made it to the trees, I was stoked, I pumped my fist and had conquered my nemesis. I was shattered and had only ran about 3km with another grueling 5km to go.

Clearing the tires at Endurer

The middle section of Endurer is an epic trail run through hilly marshland, hilly farmland, and hilly woodland, broken up with swamps a tunnel crawl, and some steep scrambles. The tire climb over wall marks the start of the final section where obstacles start to come thick and fast. I love the climbing wall a-frame, this is such a great twist on the classic a-frame obstacle. the wall is great too. The new position of the monkey bars was a killer. Climbing up giant steps to be presented with long ladder to monkey across was absolutely draining, i couldn't run when I landed, I could barely walk, it took 20 or 30 secs before I mustered, enough energy back to carry on running, before being hit with the pond.

Looking like Jesus, but still can't walk on water

The water dip was bloody freezing but as always, I took a running leap, safe in the knowledge the water is deep enough to be over enthusiastic. I quick swim and it was plodding up hills time again. I just couldn't run this hill, I just didn't have the energy or power for this one, I was slightly comforted by the fact that no one else was running this hill either. once at the top it was a the final half km of hay bales, one of the greatest water slides, steep, fast and covered in fairy liquid. I took a running leap and landed heavy on my hip but it was too much fun t worry about an extra bruise. once back on my feet it was a hard sprint to finish line.

An incredible race, I was slightly disappointing with my time. Forcing my self to run up the entire cardiac hill, was a pretty bad tactic, but I'm super stoked I managed to run it, and I know that next year, I can CHOOSE to walk or run it!

www.endurerevents.co.uk

Race Review - Born Survivor - 21st September 2013

Photos only.

My official race review was written for obstacle race magazine, buy the subscription and read it on lovely glossy paper :)

http://www.obstacleracemagazine.com/

Race Review - The Summer Beast - 15th Sept 2013

I love this race, I can rock up, run a 10 mile obstacle course and then quietly disappear afterwards. The simple, raw feel of the race is great, no "HooRa's", "Hell Yeah's" or "Ar Roo's". Its a hilly trail run through a magnificent horse trials course with an added water obstacle. Having the option to complete one or two, 5 mile loops was never a real option for me. Of course I'll be pushing myself for 10 miles. I have done this race 3 or 4 times now and always enjoyed the tough terrain and the fast pace of the race.

I somehow ended up on the front row of the starting line, and from the countdown I took the lead for the first half mile. I then made a pretty dumb decision at the water wade. I took a wider route and chose to swim rather than wade. This cost me lots more time and energy, and by the time I was out of the water the the lead had been taken by a dude in black and he was pulling away with ease.

After the water the course becomes pretty hilly and and just don't have the legs to pound up these bad boys, I was starting to loose the odd place but after the first lap I was pretty confident I was in the top 10. The second lap was hard going every horse jump seemed higher, slippier, and harder to leap. I made a better decision to wade rather than swim on the second lap which made life much easier. My male chauvinism came into play half way round the 2nd lap with the fastest lady on the course gaining on my and hanging on to my heels. I was determined not to be beaten by a lady, and pushed hard to try and loose my skirt wearing shadow (she was wearing shorts not a skirt, but it doesn't alliterate as nicely as skirt) but I just couldn't shake her. In the final mile she pulled away and took a good 10 seconds from me, I was happy with my efforts, and my legs were screaming and lungs gasping, I couldn't have run any harder.

When finishing I caught up with the lady and congratulated her and a few other male runners I had been trading places with all morning. I quickly grabbed my keys from the key drop and headed home. I usualy stop for one of the stunning burgers from the local butchers stall. But today I was rushing back as i was on taxi duties in the afternoon, and have DIY jobs to deal with.

A great race, an incredible challenge and for the first time I ran every step (apart from stopping at a water station) including the uphills.

http://thebeastrun.co.uk/

Race Review - Wild Thing - 8th Sept 2013

I want this one. I really want this one. This is my backyard. I've ran this course 5 maybe 6 times now, and each time I have posted higher up the standings. I am faster now than I was before. The obstacles have never been an issue, just the running between. But now I am a runner! Once on site, I did all the signing in and registration things for myself, family and friends, I had time for a little stretching and pre-race toilet visits.

The safety brief and warm up was great fun, and i got spotted by the the warm up guy who I've seen at enough events now to be quite pally with. The warm up was fantastic, and Anthony from nrgize was on great form. From the warm up I nudged up to the front line and waited for the countdown. From the gun i sprinted hard with my pal, and arch nemesis, JP, and we cleared the first two obstacles with a clear lead on the pelaton. It is usual at this point in a race to start loosing places to the faster runners, but we managed to keep ahead of the game.

About half way round the first lap I had pulled nicely away from JP but I had picked up a shadow in a white t-shirt. Mr White kept me pushing hard, as I couldn't loose him no matted how fast I vaulted hay bales or trudged through mud, but I was managing to pull away on the running as I entered the final 500 meters on the first lap and a cargo net climb I heard an "Alright Paz" at JP streaked over the cargo net and skidded down the other side "You F***er" was my eloquent reply, swiftly followed by a cargo net fall, scramble, and sprint to catch up with JP. We had a bit of chat and tried to push hard to make it round before the next wave started their 1st lap. We didn't quite make it in time and had to join the melee of runners starting their 1st lap. JP and Mr White chose better lines and made it through the back markers much faster.

It took me 2.5 km to regain my lead, but I was feeling strong and started pulling away nicely. I was pushing hard to increase the gap I had rebuilt, the obstacles were not slowing me down too much and I was picking up the pace on the running elements too. But then disaster struck I leaped across a thick muddy trench and I as I climbed out, my running shoe stayed firmly were it was. I grabbed and pulled my shoe free and threw it too the end of the obstacle and chased it down. I tried to get my foot back in the show but it just wasn't happening. so I picked it up and ran with it, like I was Jonah Lomu. The course was far too stone strewn and hurt my feet too much so I stopped, undid the laces, put the shoe back on, and retied. This took a good couple of minutes, enough time for Mr white to cruise past me. My un-gentlemanly outburst of rather colourful language would have made a sailor blush, and earned a tongue lashing from my mother if she had heard. (the outburst was clearly directed at my shoe and not fellow competitors)

I then added to my stupidity and frustration by sprinted at full pace to try and make up some of the lost time. This sprint ended abruptly in tunnel vision, vertigo, burning lungs and an over whelming desire to vomit. I took this as a sign to bring it down a couple of gears, took it easy once I was in the next water obstacle. It was a super hard slog over the next 2km. JP caught up with me and we worked together in the last 1km to try and catch Mr White, but his lead was too great. JP took a slight lead over the final obstacles but generously slowed so we could cross the line at the same time.

I was incredibly proud of my run, and devastated by the shoe incident, but I managed to come joint 2nd in my wave and 23rd overall. I now have the tortures and nightmares of 'if only' and 'what if' to contend with when I look back at the race.

But hey ho. I had a great run, my step son did his first obstacle race, and I was very proud of him. All in all, no injuries, finished in the top 2% and felt fasted and fitter. Can't wait for my next race now!

 www.xrunner.co.uk

Race Review - Total Warrior 10mile - 4th August 2013

Total Warrior 10 miles - Clean at the start of the race

I reviewed and took you through the course yesterday on the 10km race, and today is the same course but with an added 3.8 mile trail run which I'll come to later on.

Again the morning started with a very pleasant walk through Shap village to the event village, and the super slickness continued with registration and bag dropping. Even the pre gun motivation and briefing seem that little bit slicker today, and the gun music today was the rousing fire starter from prodigy. I wasn't planning on running with Pete from Mudstacle but from the gun I took a nice wide route to avoid the crush, on the first downhill Pete's long legs came in to their own bounding down the hill in about three giant steps. I caught up with him on the uphill, and so the day went for the next hour and 45 mins, with Pete and myself running together, overtaking on obstacles or runs. It was great to pushed to catch up after the obstacles I struggled on, and felt good to pull away on the obstacles and runs I felt more at ease on.

Total Warrior 10 miles - In full hippy mode

On the 3.8 run it was 2 miles of uphill slog through wet soaked marshland, the hills were not too step but the constant drag force the group of runners we were in to take breaks for walking. Anyone who ran the entire way to the top is a legend and deserves huge respect and a free massage. The run back to the main course was incredible. Stunning views, soft ground underfoot, extra speed from the downhill nature. This was trail running at its best. Always on the edge of falling over. Needing to watch every step, but at the same time running like a kid, if i hadn't have been running with Pete at this point, I may have just thrown my hands in air and shouted 'weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' all the way down the hill.

It was now back on the obstacle course from Saturday's 10km, the course was much muddier after last nights down pour and being churned up by 4500 runners. This added so much to the course, all obstacles covered in a coating of slime, mad every vault, drag, pull, crawl and step, that little bit more challenging. The water dunks seems colder, smellier, and even managed to drain more energy today. Amazingly the integrity and quality of the obstacles was impeccable, no splinters, no breakages, no failures. This is a true testament to the skill and engineering of the course builders. Brave Sirs, BRA-bloody-VO!

Total Warrior 10 miles - Running through fire

The rest of the course remained unchanged, although the the water slide was longer due to wetter slicker grass at the base, causing another out of control slide. The final hill was a killer and went into Sunday plodder mode, and managed to run (slow jog / plod) all the way to the final wall. Pete was right on my heel and we were side by side on the final monkey bars. With my short arms and legs my feet couldn't touch the water, but with Pete's added lank he has lift his legs to keep his knees out the water. 2 days on the trot I've nailed the monkey bars, but Pete only managed to get half way.


What a privileged to run that course with the added trail run. I struggle to find anything wrong with the entire weekend but if the Total Warrior guys want a couple of  areas to improve on.

1. Water station on the 10 km was a little too close to an obstacle.
2. Add a bottle bar with plastic bottles to the beer tent.
3. Add a 'quite camping' area for those, like me, who are too old and grumpy to party all night after a race :)

That's it, that's all I can think of after being on site for 2 days, racing hard, and using the facilities. So close to perfection, its scary! Oh and there may have been a quite camping area, I just never asked.

Race Review - Total Warrior 10km - 3rd August 2013

This is the second weekend in a row with my alarm clock set for 5am. Urgh. I was pretty much ready to wake up put clothes on a get in the camper. I had the genius plan of packing the van the night before. So it was wake, dress, drive, drive, drive, drive, stop for wee, drive drive. I got to the camp site for about 0815, picked up my camp pass and set up the camper.

It was a 20 minute walk to the event village so I got ready in to race gear and headed over. The village of Shap is beautiful and it felt like the whole village was behind the event, with local pubs putting out signs welcoming Total Warriors, even the local cafe had a 'Total Warrior special'. Once at the event village, the scale of this event started to become clear. Huge fields for cars to park in, lots of marshals giving directions and help. Once in the main barn, large impressive banners take your through the 4 step registration process. I went from standing in running kit with valuables and a bag, to a headband wearing, race numbered, temporary tattoo'd, bag stashed warrior in a total of 5 minutes. Total Warrior isn't just a well oiled machine, its a well oiled slick machine made of Teflon, lithium grease and baby oil.

Well I had given my self an hour to get through registration and now had 55 minutes to potter around the stalls check out the views and the parts of the course you could see from the event village. The views from here are stunning, and the obstacles looks very impressive too. I start doing a few stretches and warms up to keep my self busy. chatted to a few people around the start area too, which was great fun. With 20 minutes to go we were called into the starting pen for safety briefings and motivation.

3...2...1... GO! we all run off to the sounds of Blur's 'Song 2' which pumps out adrenalin and energy with every beat. I take a wide line so get around as many people as possible, and get up towards the front of the wave. The first km was brutal, running down a steep hill, then back up, then back down, up again with a clamber at the very top. This sapped the energy very quickly, and very quickly thinned the pack down, ready for the fire leap and 'human BBQ'. The heat was pretty impressive and a fun obstacle. The heat was pretty short lived as we were soon running through a shallow stream. and up another hill. Oh and then another hill with massive tree trunks to climb over.

Mud hills and water filled dips followed by, 3 foot, 4 foot and 5 foot walls to vault and climb over break up any running you tried to break into. A short run through the moorland and it was time for the first log carry of the day a short trip up a hill and back again. It was now time to stretch the legs and get in 1 maybe 2 kilometres of running through wet, marshy moorland, the running was energy sapping with hidden sink holes and the old boulder thrown in for good measure. After a quick water stop it was back on e our hands and knees crawling through thick mud underneath a web of barbed wire. I managed to snag my running vest hear, but luckily didn't snag any skin. the crawl was quickly followed by a great set of hurdles in 50 cm of thick muddy water, next up are uphill tunnels, balance beams, hay bales in water to climb over, and plunge pools.

Now came one of the best obstacles I've encountered in a long time, a boxed in spiders web of bailing string. pitch black once you entered the web. It was brutal and frustrating slow to navigate, a real way to mix it up and increase the fun factor. Once back into the day light it was the 7 foot walls that dominated the horizon, luckily their were a couple of foot holds near the base so I could take a step up and reach the top and drag myself over. This course is very tough and the spacing of the obstacles means there is never much of a run before another obstacle pops up. The next obstacle was a horrible tyre tunnel crawl, tight spaced and very uncomfortable, even though its only 5 or 6 meters long you come out battered and bruised. a few more semi submerged hurdles and a horrifying steep hill to climb aided with a cargo net carpet.

Once out into the open after the cargo climb we were inside the final mile and the obstacles become bigger and defiantly come under the category 'one for the crowds'. A long archway with dangling electric wires was next, my views on electric shock obstacles is always one of 'why bother' and they are just a gimmick. But. They are crowd pleasers, although this was was turned down pretty low so the crowd probably didn't get screams and induced epilepsy they came to see. It was then a hard hill climb to the top of the water slide. This was a pretty epic water slide with lots of water, washing up liquid. A healthy run up and leap suddenly seemed like a very stupid when I was gathering a scary amount of speed and had one leg stuck under the other. i lost control and ended up going head first on my back. Even when the tarpaulin ended I carried on at some speed on the soaked grass. It was only when the ground dried up and the extra drag factor caused by my shorts filling with grass and soil did I final stop. Is was an amazing rush and filled my body with adrenalin ready for the run and climb up the steep wooden wall.

Another log carry up, down,. back up and down another big hill was murder on the legs, but it was then a down hill run to the river. I nearly lost it on the uneven ground, locking out my leg when I should have been keeping them bent and ready for the rock and roll. I desperate leap stopped me from snapping my leg or taking a real bad tumble. This only happened over a couple of seconds but scared the crap out of me and the guy behind me who swore even louder than I did. It was soon forgotten with a swim across the river and rope climb to back back up to the bridge to cross the river the easy way. It was killer run up the final hill to the event village. The final wall climb at the end wasn't too tricky, but the monkey bars at the end were a nightmare. With huge crowds gathering to cheer the successful and jeer those that dropped into the water below. The pressure was enough to strengthen my shoulders and forearms to make it across drop down the final hay bail and cross the line.

What a great race, after I finished I say in the sun on the grass,  relaxed, with the free beer, cliff bar, water and Kendal mint cake. I chatted with other finishers, and proudly got changed into my finishers t-shirt. I didn't hand around too much, but collected my kit and headed back to the camp site feeling super proud of myself. I chatted to those walking up to the event, about the course and they quizzed me tactics and details of the course. I got back, showered, changed and had a half hour snooze in the sun, before having some food, followed by another snooze. Read my book for a while then had another little snooze before heading back up to the site to check out the post race party.

Back up at the event village I ran into Peter from mudstacle and had a beer and good old chat. The party was great fun, but I could barely walk let alone dance, so I pottered about chatted to a few guys I recognised from the day's race including a local fell runner with some incredible tattoos and attitude. I stopped in at the Shap chippy for some more food. My God they server the greatest curry sauce I've ever had in a chippy! decent sized portion and cheeky battered sausage filled me up before heading back to get an early night ready for tomorrow.

Race Review - The Norse Challenge 10km - 28th July 2013

I was very happy and excited to be asked by mudstacle.com to race and review at the Norse Challenge race in Northumberland. From their website and Facebook page it was looking like a great event. So I agreed and wryly smiled at the thought of the 6 hour round trip to Drudridge and back.

I arrived at the park entrance about 50 minutes before my wave start time which should give me time to pick up my race number and go through my pre race routines. Although I was soon confronted with a long row of cars with brake lights on. It took a good 5 minutes to get to the head of the queue were 2 blokes were collecting 2 pounds for parking. This wasn't a good sign. Why didn't the organisors add the 2 pounds to the entry price and make parking easier and much quicker? Especially as the line of cars was now getting even longer behind me.

Once parked up I saw the queue for registration had started, so I decided to join the queue and get changed once I had my race number, rather than letting the queue get bigger. The queue barely seemed to be moving, but the rain was moving at quite a rate. I was lucky to be in trackies, hoody and waterproof jacket, others around me were in race kit and already starting to shiver. After 30 minutes of queuing and only moving a few meters I got chatting with people around me in the queue. It turns out they had all sorts of problems sending out race numbers in the post, so all the registrants were picking up numbers from the desk. But we never saw anyone coming out the registration tent with a number.

It was now 0920. I was meant to be starting in 10 mins. I thought sod it, I can register after the race, and by the look of the ever growing queue, they would never notice. So I ran to my car and quickly got changed, gulped down an energy gel and ibuprofen and headed off to a large gathering of runners.
"is this the start?"
"No idea spuggy"
"Alright cheers"

I then spotted a large group of runners from an athletics club, jogging off trough the car park, I picked up my knees and followed them, as do 30 or 40 other runners.
"Is this the start then?"
"No idea, we's just warmin oop 'n' waitin"
"balls, I followed you guys as it looked like you knew what you were doing"
"sorry pal, the organisation isn't too canny is it?" - I'm adding quite a bit of 'northern' speak as i couldn't understand half of what they were actually saying.
I then run over to the registration tent to ask were the start line is.
"Over there" he pointed in the rough direction I've just came from
"I've just come from over there, and couldn't see a start line"
"no idea then"
"......"
speechless, absolutely speechless that race organizers or marshals haven't been told were the start line is. It's a fairly important part of a race.

I re-join the rabble of damp, wave 1, runners who are doing their best to keep cheerful. Suddenly like wildfire through dry grass field, a message spreads that wave 1 is delayed by 45 minutes. The wet wondering would-be runners head en-mass to the cafe and visitors center to try and get a little warmth and shelter away from the northern persistent precipitation. Suddenly after some milling around, a cheer goes up and we all dash outside.
"Are we starting?"
"Dunno pet, I'm jus' followin' the crowd like"
"Cheers me duck" I throw in some Derbyshire dialect to make sure I'm mistaken from a Northerner
No officials to be seen, we just stand around and try our best to keep warm. I even have time to pose for a photo and even do an interview for SKY Tyne and Wear about the race and the conditions. It was quite funny as he bloke interviewing me ask what did I think of the conditions, and I replied "Perfect, Perfect for running in mud"

This photo sums up my mood on the day

Another report of 10 minutes until the start went round and we all took shelter in and around the visitors center. One member of staff at the visitors center, saw the miserable state people were starting to get into, shivering and wet through and through. He opened up an extra area which was under construction, but was dry and big enough to house most of the runners. He also handed out bin liners to keep the rain off and the warmth close. After the 10 minute wait we all wondered to the start area. Still nothing to mark the start area or line, but we had be told it was near a green Land Rover in a car park. Maybe this is a orienteering / puzzle / obstacle course? Guess the start time, and your next challenge is finding the start line.

Then one of the organisers came over and was mobbed in anticipation. "Sorry the race has been cancelled due to worsening conditions" after lots of head shaking and frowns, I decided it was best to get my keys from the key drop and get off site, before the car park was churned up and everyone else had the same idea. At the key drop off, people were still being registered and dropping off keys.
"are you dropping or picking up keys pet?"
"picking up, the race as just been cancelled. hasn't it?"
"I think just the water obstacles have been cancelled"
"I'll grab my keys anyway"

Stepping out of the tent the Exodus was under-way. To be honest. If the organisation is this piss poor, and the race is on, less the water obstacles, I don't think I would want to run a race were the organisation is so bad. What happens if I get injured? Are the medical staff sticking around? I'm I going to get lost because they haven't marked the course out? Are the obstacles safe? I may be an obstacle course racer, and love the thrill and challenge of the obstacles. But am I stupid and and reckless enough to put myself in unnecessary danger, when I'm 168 miles from home? Nope.

I Jump in the car soaking wet and start the fight to get out the car park. I stop later on  a few miles down the road to get changed. What a wasted day.

Race Review - Water Wipeout 29th June 2013

Rocked up on site an hour before the gun for our wave, and went through the usual signing of waivers, toilet stop and checking out the course. We then started the briefing and warm up. I must have done too many X-Runner races as the warm up guy now recognizes me and gives me grief! Maybe its time to shave the beard and resume anonymity. The warm up was fantastic, and was both motivating and great for getting prepared for the race.

From the gun JP and I pushed to get into the top 10 to ensure a clear run at the hay bail pyramid, which was a nice warm up to the obstacles. The next obstacle is the open water swim. Swimming has never been my thing, I can't do breast stroke at all and my front crawl is 'un-orthodox' at best. once I had waded out of my depth I put my shoulders and arms to work. To my great surprise my swimming was strong enough to maintain my spot in the top 10, and because my lack of co-ordination means it was all upper body, my legs felt rested after the 150 meter swim, and I could push up into the top 5. After a few minor obstacles we were in the woods on a great trail run, I managed to lose an energy gel I had stuffed in my shorts which was a pain but easily forgotten about.

Through the trails I managed to push up to the lead of our wave and was feeling comfortable. A bit water slide and short swim broke up the trail run and was great fun. A few cargo nets, balance beams and duck and vault obstacles and yet another dunking. As I approached the final km of the first lap there was a cargo net climb, this was the first bottle neck I had hit i was force to wait and queue, this was frustrating and allowed runners to catch up and over take as i was stuck behind a runner struggling getting over the top.

It was now a race to cross more water and get onto the 2nd lap in under 2 minutes to avoid being behind the wave due to start shortly. But the gun went whilst I was in the water meaning the start of the 2nd lap would be littered with runners. I was 2 minutes behind the wave and the hay bales were clear as I reached them, but the open water swim looked more like beach on a hot sunny day with free money floating in the water. After my lap 1 success in the water I took a wide path and swam hard. I must have overtaken 50 to a 100 people in the water, mainly due to lots of people in buoyancy aids doggy paddling.

There was still a lot of back markers to run through once out of the water, my mate JP was wearing bright orange and an easy target to spot and try and chase down. at the next water obstacle, which was a 6 meter pond to wade through. I knew it was waist deep after a meter or so, so i took a huge running leap, making it half way across before getting wet. this worked a treat and managed to pass a dozen people as I flew through the air. I couldn't gain any time on JP and he was always 100 to 200 meters ahead. He kept this lead all the way to the finish and over it. I finished about 45 seconds after my rival and mate.

After a quick home made shower and dry off, I caught up with an old friend and then went to watch Steve Cram start his race.

with the preliminary results in I was 37th and Steve Cram 281st

So for the only time I will ever get to beat Steve Cram in race, I am absolutely stoked!

http://www.x-runner.co.uk

Summary: A great race, with lots of swimming, and a very slick organisation team.

Race Review - The Pain and Suffering - 23rd June 2013

I arrived an hour early and joined the queue for toilets, if I've learnt nothing else from events, its to go tot loo as early as possible, to avoid the queues and the rapid degradation of the toilet's condition. With that out the way its off to join the back of the queue for my race pack. I pin my number on and attach my timing chip and  start my pre race prep. I wonder over with about 20 minutes to go, drop off my key and get ready for some stretching and warm ups. "10, 9, 8...". What? the first wave is starting? I thought I had 15 minutes to stretch and warm up? "3,2..." fair enough, I'll just forego my warm up. "Go". Not a fan of starting right at the back of 150 runners, but it didn't take long to get up to the leading group.

The pace was fairly steady and course was pretty flat a tire leap was the first 'obstacle', and after about half a mile the runners had spread out to single file. the 2nd obstacle of an under tarpaulin crawl was sandwiched with 10 press ups either side of the tarp. This was good fun but I did have my doubts to the numeracy skills of some of my fellow runners! More running and a few large, fallen, tree trucks to run along the top off, this again was great fun and a fun alternative to just leaping over them.

The course was clearly going to be lots of running with a sparse amount of horse fence style obstacles. Not really up to claims of "pain and suffering". But soon enough came a great obstacle, we had to carry 2 large heavy water containers around, down and then back up a small quarry / bomb hole. This slowed everyone down to a walk, and was a great challenge. it was then back onto the running. but after running to the other side of a small valley another water container carry was in store. There was a little confusion with the marshals whether we should have 1 or 2 containers, but we settled on one. this time the containers had to be carried around a similar small quarry but with added 1/2 meter boxes to climb over and tarpaulins to crawl under. Again great fun and a fresh approach to obstacle racing. It was now time for another long run around farmers fields.

Obsticles blur into each other at this point as there were very few noteworthy ones. The more memorable zone was a zig-zag route up and down a very steep hill side with a marshal enforcing press ups and site ups at the top of each leg. this was an energy sapping zone and worthy or the pain and suffering title. after more bland running, there was a great tire carry up the bank to the castle walls its self. but with no marker to tell you when to turn and head back to the tire pile it seemed a little confusing. A few more miles of running, horse jumps, and a barbed wire crawl and I was back insight of the car park. The final 1/2 mile of the course was great, a muddy trench to navigate, followed by a wall, monkey bars, wall, monkey bars, wall. the walls got higher with each phase, and I was greatly impressed to see marshals giving press up forfeits to those that couldn't manage the obstacles. I luckily had enough energy and upper body strength to complete the monkey bars and walls, only need a helping hand on the final highest wall.

http://www.thesufferingrace.co.uk/

In summary: A good 10 mile cross country run, but only a very average obstacle race, with only a couple of obstacles of any note, and all three of them being 'carry' obstacles.

Race Review - Wild Warrior - 17th Mar 2013

Before, looking clean and warm

Sunday morning was a miserable one, drizzling and grey and chilly. Ness and I loaded up the camper van after breakfast and headed to the site. We arrived just before 10 am and the parking field was already getting cut up and cars were wheel spinning and sliding. The bongo did well and we parked up, and headed off to sign in and register for the race. We then pottered about, went and looked at the new fire and monkey bar obstacles, then just hung around waiting for other mates to arrive.

The pre-race warm up was very crowed on the hard packed surface, and we couldn't really get a decent warm up but I had already stretched in the morning so at least I got my blood pumping a little. From the gun my mate went out pretty hard so I hung on to his heels and chased him to the first hay bales he beat me down the other side but I managed to push past him on the uphill run to the next bales. the ground was incredibly slick and wet and gaining traction was incredibly difficult. Any incline or corner resulted in instant 'Bambi on ice' flailing and sliding.

Best photo ever

This year they added 2 new obstacles of a fire pit and monkey bars. I'm not a fan of fire obstacles mainly because they are usually just a simple leap, and the burning hay gives off very acrid smoke which hurts the lungs and stings the eyes. But the wind was up and the smokes wasn't too thick, and it does make for incredible photos. The monkeys bars only spanned a stream and so I decided to leap as far as possible and grab a far away bar. But that bar was about 20 cm too far away and i just ended up in the stream. I quickly dragged my way out and continued the run (stumble and slide).

Trudging on

Next up was the swamp of doom, 50 meters of waist to nipple deep water; thick with mud and hidden trip hazards, tight corners and testicle shrinking coldness. It is impossible to move through this with any speed, you are simply forced to wade and try and maintain momentum with out taking a fall. The climb out of the swamp is muddy and slippery and a challenge all of its own.

The course now opens up and running becomes a lots easier and you can almost build up a rhythm, but there are still hay bales, cargo nets and water dips to break it up again, and the slippery grass and mud mean that every step is a fight for traction and every slip is a back jarring jerk. Nothing was going to be easy today.

Post mud slide chills

Once the open field filtered into a more wooded landscape the obstacles became harder with spider webs of rope criss-crossing between the trees, and another water plunge, and a run of hay bale hurdles. Next up came the showpiece of the course, the water slide. A 10 meter slide in to, yet more, cold, muddy waist deep water. This is a great, fun obstacle, but unfortunately I managed to get a sharp stone in my shoe whilst wading out the pool. I had to fish it out as it was too painful to run on. it took ages to re-tie my laces as my hands where painfully cold and unresponsive. Most annoyingly it gave my mate a chance to pass me.

None stop obstacles

Once my shoe was back on, I ran hard to try and catch up but obstacles and the rope climb up a very muddy and slick mud-bank. I crawled though tunnels, ran through mud and deep puddles, climbed cargo nets, vaulted over A-frames, teetered over balance beams, rolled under cargo nets, and cautiously climbed over a Jacob's ladder, before starting the second lap. I could see my mate at the other end of the field. it was going to be very hard to catch but i'm going to try. The second 5 km lap was even slippier due to the added footfall of extra runners. Every obstacle seemed higher, deeper, colder, greasier and so much harder. Those sweet spots of grippy, un-crushed grass were become a rare memory. My legs and clothes were heavier and clinging to my skin to add to my discomfort.

With the end in sight

 I fell over much more and actually welcomed the short break of lying or sitting in the brown sludge rather being frustrated by the pace stealing accidents. I met with many more back markers and large groups of charity walkers which always pushes you to run past them to avoid being caught at a the pre-obstacle bottle neck. It was still a hard painful trudge over the final obstacles to the finish lane, with bleeding scraped knees but what a sense of accomplishment. Even through i have ran this course 3 or 4 times now, this was by far the hardest time, and possibly the hardest event I have ran. I moved quickly to the bag storage area to quickly dry and change. But my hands were so cold and numb I had to pull my shoes off with undoing the laces. Getting changed was as hard as any of the obstacles and was fought with lots of grunting and mini victories won with each heavy mud infused layer peeled off. I grabbed a coffee to help warm me up. It definitely warm my hand up as I was shaking so bad it ended up all over my hand and forearm. I walked back through the course to keep warm and cheer on my sister and Ness.

Summary: every step was a challenge due to terrible weather conditions. probably the hardest race I've done to date. but still great fun!