Eight Harriers set off on a drizzly damp morning to face a race heralded as ‘not for the faint hearted’. Having nervously reviewed previous race reports and scanned the photos I could see that this certainly was the creation of running suicide.
Runners lined up in a bog laden field and the first obstacle almost immediately was a hill, probably on the scale of a 1:3. As I ascended into the misty skies, strangely I was looking forward to this challenge – accompanied by a couple of fairies one of which was shouting to the other ‘yowl be awlrite if you kip tekking little steps’.
Quickly it became apparent that the suicide element was whole heartedly embraced by the number of runners wearing road shoes – I on the other hand smugly zoomed, well slid, in the style of Hawaii 5 O past them in my Salamon trail shoes which were perfect in the treacherous conditions. In the first mile there was a never ending mud fest which claimed the first few lives (including one of the fairies who had obviously not listened to the advice of ‘tekking small steps’).
The route was extremely undulating and narrows at times, forcing you to walk which was a little frustrating. It’s the first time ever in a race when I was dreading the downs – thank god for the metal fence which you could grab at one point as you tried to stay upright.
As we approached 5 miles through a wood I could hear crowds howling in sadistic delight, in the style of a Roman gladiatorial amphitheatre. I knew what was coming – and rounded upon the ‘stream’. My adrenalin kicked in, “once more into the breach dear friends”, and struck out into the murky depths. Now you can’t say that they don’t make it easy for you as there is a rope to clutch – however this is supported by metal rods in a swamp. I immediately slipped on the grassy bank, grabbed the rope for support and stepped into ankle deep water. No problem I thought– however the next precarious step saw me up to my waist in a swirling vortex of muddy water desperately trying to keep a modicum of decorum. Thankfully for me, and disappointingly for the baying crowd, I emerged waterproof mascara intact!
The final challenging hurdle half a mile from the end was a slippery ascent of some 200 steps. Warning cries from the marshals instilled the need to walk and use the handrail – and the gradient certainly tested your quads and oxygen needs!
Learning points from my first multi terrain – always look down, keep a line of sight and enjoy yourself. Would I do it again – damn right I would.
Lesley B
Results here. Pics here. Biran Smith's photos here.
| Pos |
Time |
Competitor |
|
Cat |
No. |
| 35 |
0:43:09 |
Gary |
Mason |
MV40 |
176 |
| 83 |
0:46:34 |
Paul |
Foot |
SM |
141 |
| 176 |
0:50:01 |
Steve |
Hopkins |
MV45 |
143 |
| 191 |
0:50:20 |
Mark |
Sprawson |
SM |
429 |
| 225 |
0:51:24 |
Stella |
Denniss |
SF |
45 |
| 359 |
0:55:57 |
Helen |
Foot |
SF |
142 |
| 360 |
0:55:57 |
Sarah |
Rock |
SF |
216 |
| 511 |
1:02:44 |
Kelley |
Sprawson |
SF |
430 |
| 516 |
1:02:57 |
Julian |
McDougall |
SM |
690 |
| 595 |
1:07:53 |
Lesley |
Byrne |
FV45 |
144 |
