obstaclemudrunner.co.uk
ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners
40
It was really cold, it was wet and cold, it was dreary
and cold and damp and cold, did I mention it
was cold? Thanks for that, whoever is in charge of
weather! You could have done us a favour. It’s the UK
Championship race day and I was going to need as
much help as possible!
I’m up, dressed, fed, in the car with coffee, 40
minutes later I arrive. Wow… The atmosphere is very
special. (I won’t say electric like you were expecting)
oh ok, I will, it was. Registration is buzzing. There’s a
whole other level of anxiety floating in the air today.
This is it, the big one, the one we’ve been waiting for
in the UK.
Hosted by Judgment Day at the stunning Pippingford
Park in Sussex, it was the UK’s time to filter out
the best of the best. The two wristband system was
to give competitors a chance of still standing on
a podium regardless of failing an obstacle. Many
have an opinion on that but the fact remains, there
were still empty podium places. That along side
the disturbing reality that not one single female
completed the race and every obstacle, has now
raised the question of was it too hard or are the
females just simply not good enough? You make your
own mind up on that one.
So, where was I? Ah yes, the race. Waves split by
gender, age group and pro. We were organised into a
starting pen quite some time before the race actually
set off but once we got going (thanks for the uphill
start) it wasn’t long before we hit the hurdles, shortly
followed by monkey bars and the pack started to thin
out as we all found our rhythm and took each step
and obstacle in our stride. At many times, the order
of 1st, 2nd and 3rd changed and it really is anyone’s
guess what happens out on course. You only need
one set back (thank you Gladiator rings – I got you
in the end) and the outcome of each person’s race
can change in an instant. A series of walls followed, a
through wall, a 6ft incline and an 8ft vertical situated
nicely on the outskirts of the event village meant a
huge surge of excitement as you made your way
back near to where you started. It’s a brief moment
before you’re back off out towards slackline, a hoist
then that bucket carry which means most resort to
a walk or risk losing its contents. Cargo net nicely
hung off the bridge meant a climb up and over the
other side lowering yourself down the rope. Off we go
again and it’s soon a series of muddy ditches to slow
you in your tracks slightly before you face the event
village again for one of my personal favourites, the
Reapers revenge 1,2 & 3. It took me a couple of goes
to appreciate the size of this beauty and the distance
I had to leap to reach the final part but I got there.
(I may have left a knee cap on it somewhere though
as I did rather launch myself and hope for the best).
A crawl under a platform then as I looked up, every
RD’s and runners worst nightmare… a queue!
Now this is a whole other topic of which you all have
your own thoughts on also. Various question marks
hang over this obstacle. Was the positioning of this
obstacle right? Did it need more lanes? (although
not really feasible as it was kindly donated by
Mud Monsters Run) I know a lot of runners were
...it was dreary
and cold and
damp and cold,
did I mention it
was cold?
Obstacle Course Racing
UK Championship
IT’S RACE DAYYYYYY…
But this is not your average race.
RACE : REVIEW
from my eyes...
Most of us have been there. Setting the alarm for silly
o’clock. Getting up before daylight to load up the car
while the rest of the world are catching their zzz’s.
It can only mean one thing.
Congratulations
to all finishers
and competitiors.
Results are:
Female.
1st – Freya Martin
2nd – Laura Heywood
3rd – Linda Johnson
Male:
1st – Tristan Steed
2nd – Ross Brackley
3rd – Dasos Gonnella
Photo:Louise Dean
Photography
