Photos only.
My official race review was written for obstacle race magazine, buy the subscription and read it on lovely glossy paper :)
Saturday 21 September 2013
Sunday 15 September 2013
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/
Sunday 8 September 2013
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
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!
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