I just finished a 25.234km running that lasted about 2hh:32mm:0ss !
Mud. Styles. Mud. Cake. Mud. Puddles. Mud. Hills... Mud.
They don’t call it “the challenge” for nothing. This was 15.6miles of mud. I had a watch malfunction and it missed the last couple of km’s off. My moving time was really 2:50. My chip time was 3:05 & I came in as 28th female which i’m very happy with given the conditions.
Started off at 9:05am from a village called Harby. No sooner have you ran half a mile down the road you are directed off in to the fields. Now, I knew it would be bad seeing as it’s rained most days for 3 months but I wasn’t expecting that bad! There were many times throughout the course where I struggled to lift my feet as they were so caked in mud.
Why do people enter this event? Because of the food! After 4 miles there was a quick hydration station serving water, mars bars & bananas. After 7 miles there was the first tea & cake stop, who’d have thought a sausage roll could go down so well during a run?! Last food station was around the 11 mile mark. Lemon drizzle cake? Why not!
By 13 miles i knew the end was in sight but my spirits were dampened slightly by the last 2.6ish miles being through some of the worst mud on the course. It took ages!
Once over the finish line I was able to sit down with a bowl of fruit crumble & custard. I reckon this may be the only race where you can gain weight!
All in all a sociable race where people love to chat as they go along. There are excellent food stops. You get more food at the end. However, that was by far the toughest run that I have ever done. There is a 26mile option and I was so happy that I wasn’t doing that, I don’t think I could have managed another mile!
Will i go back next year? You bet.
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