Race Review - Xtreme Challenge - 3rd Feb 2013

soaked, coming out of the nipple high water obstacle

My mate and I arrived early as he was registering on the day and we car shared. It only took a couple of minutes to get signed in, so we took the opportunity to look round obstacles at the end of the course and also those just after the start.

We were both impressed by the quantity and density of obstacles and were very happy with the signs and  course markings. We noticed there were no 'stoppers' and none of these obstacles shouldn't stop you, just break your pace.

We grabbed a coffee and headed back to the van to get kitted up and stretch . Once in full race kit we jogged the road back to HQ to avoid the sodden car park, quick pre race pee and we were on the start line.

The race had a little false start when a flash bang went off, but we were quickly herded back behind the line and waited for the countdown. the going was pretty soft and slippery, but i managed to work my way to leading pack of about 20 runners when we hit the first fence and steep hills. The hills thinned out the pack and I was happy to still be in the top group, this group started to thin out too and I wasn't able to keep up with the leaders. we hadn't spotted the 2km or so run round the outer lying fields on our earlier reccy, so they came as a bit of a surprise. i managed to only lose a couple of places through the trail running section, but kept them in my cross hairs.

At the end of the trail run the course changed from open running to a barrage of obstacles, ranging from tire mounds, to water dips, to classing horse trail fences. This is what I was hear for, this is where I pull those lost places from and gain a couple more in the process. At the end of the first lap I've settled into a rhythm moving and picked up running buddy who is sitting on my heels, and making sure I can't slow up and give a position away.

Very happy with 45:51 for a 10km obstacle race

The hills on second climb are tackled with hard walking rather than slow running, this leaves more in the tank so I can run hard down the hills. this ended up with my lying on the floor in slippery mud, but a few curse words and scrambling go me back on my toes. Not only could I not loose my shadow, but I gained a second. three of us now ran at a similar place, occasionally swapping lead into an obstacle or in an open run. as the final field of obstacles approached I maintained the lead of our trio. It was a downhill finish, so I pushed hard to keep off any competition. One of the marshals handing out water suddenly moved too far aside to let me through, which meant I hadn't lost my shadows.
Crap.
Not sure I want to do this.
Sod it.
Hammer down.
Full on sprint finish with one of my shadows we crossed the line neck and neck, the results put me ahead of my shadow, but I think he took me on the line.

Summary: I great way to finish a great race, I shook hands with the other 2 guys and thanked them for pushing me hard on the final lap, and ensuring I didn't let up.