I had been told that registration opened at 9 am and that we needed to be there as close to 9 am as possible. Needless to say, after registering at 9.30, we then had to stand around in gale force winds and hail for almost two hours. I wasn't impressed at all and with every minute that passed, I dreaded the start of the run even more. What didn't help was that everyone else there seemed to be thinking exactly the same as me!
Waiting for the race to begin - start line behind me!!
As we all walked miserably to the start line, we saw the Yeti skip across the field and then quickly run back to his van to hide from the elements.....it's alright for some people!!!
The run itself was the muddiest 10k that I have ever experienced. The mud was, at it's lowest points, ankle-deep. The start of the run consisted of running through "The Quarry" which was very hilly and extremely muddy. Shortly after that was the first main water obstacle which was knee deep and absolutely freezing. So, from about 1.5-2km in everybody was soaking wet and freezing.
There were then a few obstacles including a few climbing fences, at which point, there was a bit of queue of people and apparently I thought it was a good time to do a thumbs up lunge pose for Sean
For anyone who has ever run in an organised obstacle course/mud run, you will know that one of the best things about these events is the team spirit. I've always been very aware of and involved in this team spirit however, I certainly could not have completed this race without the support of the strangers I met on Saturday, in particular, a couple I met on the cargo nets.
Those of you who know me will know that I'm not great with heights. This hasn't been a problem on any of my events to date however, on this occasion I managed to get myself to the top of the cargo net at which point I froze with fear. I literally could not move and was physically shaking with one leg on each side of the wooden beam at the top with my arms wrapped around the tree that the net was suspended from. Luckily for me there was couple who were running just behind me who literally saved my life (ok, well I probably wasn't going to die up there but I certainly felt like it)
To those who then ran past us, the following scene must have looked strange but what happened did result in me being able to complete the run and for that I am grateful. The lady (and I apologise for being so vague but we didn't exchange names) climbed up one side and the man climbed up the side that I was trying to get down. Between them they managed to get me over the beam and down the net, still a quivering wreck.
A few deep breaths and a good old laugh at how stupid I was fixed the problem and I was able to continue running......for about 500m when I came across another cargo net obstacle. Luckily for me, the couple were still right next to me and between the three of us (yes I am going to take some credit for the second net) we managed to overcome the obstacle.
Following those few obstacles there was then a long run across a number of fields, up and down some hills and through a forest, through a few rivers, lots of deep puddles and plenty of mud.
It became very difficult at around 7km when, after carrying a tyre up and down a long hill, came the lake wade which is exactly what it sounds like. I've done this a few times on other runs that I have been on but nothing compares to how icy cold this water was - it was actually painful, it was that cold. The last few kilometres were then hell as, no matter what I did, I could not warm up at all.
The final few obstacles consisted of crawling under a cargo net under water and crawling through a very small, muddy tunnel. Luckily for me Sean was there to capture the magic and take some very flattering pictures of me.
The end of the run consisted of running through the quarry again, climbing over some hay bales and being covered in more icy cold water by some bloke in a high-vis jacket with a hose pipe. Shortly after the finish line we were ushered into a tent where we received our goody bag - the best goody bag I've received from any of these events - which consisted of a t-shirt, a bottle of water, a sports bottle and 5 sports drink mixes, as many cereal bars and bananas as you wanted and a beer.
The run had been a huge challenge but the drama didn't end there with possibly the biggest challenge of the day still ahead of me........
As we slowly made our way back to the car which was parked in a field about a mile away, my fingers began to swell up and became increasingly painful. My body temperature fell very quickly as well. By the time we got back to the car, I couldn't feel any part of my body except for my fingers which were absolute agony. Sean then had the role of carer and had to take off my soaking wet, muddy running gear whilst I stood in the middle of a muddy field full of people in my underwear crying in pain - on the scale of embarrassing moments this came in just above being stuck on the top of a cargo net! But I was too cold to care.
I've now got over being cold (although I think I actually had hypothermia and it did take me several hours to even start warming up) and I'm fully recovered, apart from some very bruised knees. Whilst yesterday was absolute hell, I feel very proud of myself for not just getting back in the car and driving away the moment we arrived at the event. Chasing the Yeti (or not, as he buggered off back into his van at the very start of the event!) has definitely stepped up my motivation for marathon training and also showed me that my determination can overcome physical pain.
