ForEliteAtheletes to FunRunners
35
Winner of the Mudstacle award for “best event for mud”
2015, could Mud Monsters Run really be any muddier
than other ‘mud heavy’ races I’d completed in the past?
When they have 4x4’s on hand to winch people
out of the mud, you know you are in for some serious
fun!
The race started off with a great warm up from
Emz Watts of Bootcamp Revolution, who then set
us off on our adventure, and what an adventure
it was. We began with a few hay bale jumps and
then straight onto a set of muddy ditches. The mud
then just kept coming thick and fast. There was
very sticky, shoe engulfing mud, waist deep mud,
muddy rivers and even chest deep mud, all of varying
degrees of thickness. The organisers Mark and Becky
also made great use of the natural terrain, mixed in
with some man made obstacles, including cargo nets,
walls, ladder climbs, tyre crawls
and log carries. The mud definitely
sapped all the energy from your
legs, and it was a welcome relief to
find some grass to run on dotted
round the course. The course was
great for spectators who could see some of the more
technical obstacles, including the monkey bars, wall
climbs, weaver and the ninja rings. There were also
opportunities to see the racers wading through the
mud in the forest close to the event village.
You never strayed too far from the event village
and so you could hear the music, Emz mc’ing and
other racers starting, which added to the atmosphere.
The course looped back at some parts so you could
also see and hear racers in the later waves laughing
and shrieking as they tried to pull their friends out of
the mud.
The mud levels were helped by the fact we had
heavy rain leading up to the event and the venue is a
permanent 4 x 4 track, where conveniently, a whole
fleet of them had churned the site up nicely a few
days before.
There are a number of options on the course,
you can take the 5km route, 10 km route or even do
multiple laps and do 20km which contributes towards
earning a triple-dipped medal if you signed up to
complete all 3. I had initially signed up to 20km, but
with a knee injury from Nuclear a few weeks earlier,
I moved to the 10km distance the week before
the event. Mark and Becky were really helpful and
quickly changed me to the 10km and even refunded
me the difference.
I was pleased to make it round the course with
both my shoes still on my feet! The medal and t- shirt
afterwards were great, and the triple-dipped medals
looked top notch. A great plus was the showers after,
which although cold, were much needed to remove
the worst of the mud.
I have to admit that I had not heard of this event
before and was drawn to signing up by the fact that
it was a UK Championships qualifier event, and I was
looking to qualify and represent The Pride of Boot-
camp Revolution team at the Championships later in
the year. Sometimes the fact an
event is a qualifier event is seen
as taking away the fun, all-inclu-
siveness of an event. However,
what made this event great was
the fact that the organisers still
catered for all levels. At every Championship obstacle
or more technical obstacle there was an alternative
obstacle, and so runners didn’t have to go round
obstacles at this point. Everyone could have a go at
the Championship obstacle if they wanted, so you
could really challenge yourself. The event was also
made more fun, not only the mud, but the organisers
and marshals (providing sweets and general encour-
agement), as well as the great stalls (in particular, the
beer bus!). The event was really well run and I will
definitely be adding it to my race calendar in future –
I will be earning my triple-dipped medal in October.
I also managed to qualify for the UK Champion-
ships. It wasn’t easy – I
really struggled at the ninja
rings, but eventually con-
quered them with advice
from Tony Campbell and
the encouragement from
the supporters, so it was a
great day all round.
If you love mud, then this
is the event is most
definitely for you!
Mud
Monsters Run
RACE: REVIEW
by Charlotte Teall of The Pride Team
Sunday 29th May saw me
heading down to Mud Monsters
Run...well, the clue is in the
name!
01732 452404
mudmonstersrun.co.uk
