The Nuts Challenge 2015 and the UK Wife Carrying Championships 2015
It always gives always with a smile founder, Joel Hicks great pleasure to return to events which he first attended in years gone by, and last weekend he had the pleasure of doing this twice during a visit to Dorking in Surrey.
The first event, on the Saturday, was an obstacle course race called the Nuts Challenge...Back in 2011, Joel had waddled around the course in its inaugural year whilst dressed as Berty Bassett, a video clip of which made its way onto the TV show ‘Have I Got News For You’ with claims that he was in fact Colonel Gaddafi attempting to escape from Libya!
Since then, the event has grown from strength to strength and it is now one of the biggest Obstacle Course Races in the UK. Those ‘going Nuts’ could either do between one lap (7km) and 4 laps (28km)... and rumour had it that some were even attempting 6.
Given his inability to run with any form of grace, and the fact that he had a second event to consider the following day, Joel opted for a single lap - whilst dressed as TeenWolf from the classic 1980’s movie.
The course was great fun, with plenty of mud and water-based obstacles to entertain and challenge both the novice runner as well as the elite athlete. In fact, Joel enjoyed the plunge pool and water slide so much he repeated each obstacle 4 times (losing his wig in the process).
Barbed-wire crawls, tyre carries, plenty of high walls and deep pits... this was everything a obstacle course should be, with an atmosphere to rival the best. As always, Joel connected with many people on the way around, both old friends and new, this is just one of the reasons why he holds these kind of events so close to his heart... He even had to fight off a snake which a group of small children had told him was swimming in one of the mud pools!
After crossing the finish line, a rather drained Joel collected his shiny finishers medal... and so thoughts began to turn to the challenge that would await him less than 24 hours later.
The second event of the weekend dated back even further, to 2008... when Joel managed to win (yes, he actually won something!) the first ever UK Wife Carrying Championships! Whilst this magnificent victory is etched into the record books, it probably should be noted that him and his wife (not being married, Joel dragged a 'wife' from the spectators waiting to run the Leith Hill half marathon afterwards) were one of just 3 ‘couples’ taking part.
On his return, some 7 years later however, more than 50 couples took to the start line... Now, despite the lapse of time, Joel's efforts to secure a wife (if only for the purposes of this event) have failed... and so he was forced to take drastic action and invite his friend Jason La Shard (under the race name of ‘Tina’) to act as his fiancee - a plan most suited to his antics as founder of ‘Always With A Smile’ you might think.
Now ‘Tina’ (and this is no word of a lie) stands 7’4” tall and weighed in that morning at over 22 stone (that’s 90kg over the 50kg minimum weight requirement!)... shattering the record for the largest ever wife!
With a beautiful blonde wig and bright red lipstick, Tina and Joel stood on the start line with 49 other loving couples, ready to tackle the 500m ‘sprint’ course. Joel's legs and back buckled when he lifted his giant fiancee into the air and set off up the hill to the set of 4 ‘hay bail’ hurdles... There were roars of laughter as he stumbled, one leg and then another, up the slope, desperately trying to move with this mammoth 'lady' and her size 16 boots precariously balanced across his shoulders.
With 250 yards gone, they manoeuvred around the half way corner post and made their way back down the slope to the finish... at one point collapsing to the ground in exhaustion! Nevertheless, with the roars of encouragement from the crowd they got to their feet and carried on... ‘leaping’ the hay bails and finally making it over the finish line to a huge cheer!
Unsurprisingly, they’d made it home in last place, and several minutes behind everyone else... but this was yet another event where AWAS had left its mark... and, of course, with the experience both Tina and Joel had gained, training can start for the World Wife Carrying Championships later this year!