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ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners
34
RACE: REVIEW
there was a familiar sense of organisation...
More water
(no warmer I
might add) and
a bucket carry
uphill got the
blood pumping
Just 1 week after attending the OCR World
Championship, for me this race was just about getting
out there and stretching the legs. However, after a
week of total rest (other than recovering from jetlag)
rather than feeling fresh I felt lethargic, heavy and
unprepared.
My mind set on this particular day was just to get
round, in a half reasonable time, taking the time to
enjoy the beautiful surroundings and remind myself
of all the things I love about OCR.
I’d booked this race back in December 2015 and had
been looking forward to it ever since, up until now
I was a JD virgin having only marshalled for them
previously. There was a familiar sense of organisation,
professionalism and all round brilliance which I have
now witnessed from both sides of the fence. The
team all appear to know their roles and are exactly
that, a team, working together.
To summarise some pre race points briefly…
Getting there was a simple, the postcode they
advised led me straight to the location and a huge
banner on the main road meant I couldn’t possibly
miss the entrance.
Car park
– a doddle and right next to the event village
so no need for bag drop. Always a bonus knowing
there is 1 less queue to stand in.
Toilets
– positioned between the car park and event
village and plenty of them.
Registration
– straight forward, an excellent team
who know the procedure like the back of their hands.
(well done ladies, and all looking gorgeous too)
Event village
– small but buzzing and ticked all
the boxes. A food vendor, OCRA tent (this was a
qualifying race after all) MC and pumping tunes, The
Coffee Bike, Sports Care Revolution offering pre race
taping and post race massages, medal engravers and
FREE key drop.
All that surrounded by some key obstacles meant
it was not only a runners’ race but a spectator and
family friendly affair too.
The Race.
Having attached my “unlucky for some” number 13
from my race pack, timing chip on, keys handed in, I
was ready to go!!
Challenge 1 was to scale the wall to even get into
the starting corral but with excitement building I was
keen to get going. After a good stretch to break up
the pack it was straight into the water. It was a mere
3 degrees when I left home this morning and things
hadn’t changed much in the last couple of hours.
With very little sunlight getting through the trees I
wasn’t expecting a warm dip.
The trenches were fun. Nice and muddy, not too
deep but enough of an obstacle to slow you in your
tracks slightly. Slipping and sliding adds to the fun
factor and so the camaraderie began. Heading
back towards the event village to tackle the monkey
bars was next before crawling under the truck and
disappearing back out again. More water (no warmer
I might add) and a bucket carry uphill got the blood
pumping before heading back onto the trails to the
tyre hoist and a fairly challenging one at that I’d
say. Down hill through the trees guided you to the
slackline over the water. Once safely on the other
side, a quick skirt around the edge then saw you
back in the cold and wet, a wade at first then a short
swim to the waterfall with ropes to assist your ascent.
Up and over and onwards to the 8ft wall and through
wall. A touch more of the wet stuff again and a cargo
net climb up and over the bridge then a drop into
water and swim across the lake. I also now know
never to call a kayak a canoe! Thank you Mr Water
Judgement Day
18k Pippingford Park
Photo:
My Bib Number
