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Tumblr it’s been awhile. The last few weeks have been buuuuusssyy. But this smile is the smile of a girl who just crossed the finish line of her third half marathon in 27.5 hours. This was my first dabble in back to back endurance events and it was brilliant! It hurt, a lot, but I spent the weekend surrounded by the most wonderful people and learned just how strong I can be ❤️
Days off were made for exploring trails with happy dogs ❤️
41km in 27 hours for these girls. Currently training for 3 half marathons in 2 days at the end of February and wondering why I thought it was a good idea to sign up for that 😂🙈
Tired, tired girl this evening 😴😴
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12km of trail for us this morning. This week has been my highest mileage week in awhile with 52km. It’s been tough, but it’s been good and I’m pleasantly tired and achy this evening.
A mixture of rough track, single trail with some technical tracks and longer, easier stretches. This run is up there with one of my favourite routes.
X is for ... X-runner
There has been an explosion in recent years in obstacle and adventure races, invariably branded with words such as ‘tough’, ‘warrior’, ‘ultimate’ and ‘mud’ (or indeed a combination of these). A cursory search of the internet reveals a catalogue of mass participation military-style assault courses, with eye-watering registration fees to boot. There’s the (deep breath) Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder, Rat Race, X-runner, Demon Run, and Total Warrior to name but a few. To this relative outsider they all appear to share the same common premise: the promise of an ‘experience’ – albeit a highly sanitised one – an event which mixes the normal demands of running with a varying number of obstacles, and a staggering amount of branding and marketing.
Richard Askwith in his book, Running Free, writes in a fairly sneering and disparaging way about what he terms the ‘Big Outdoors’. He questions: ‘can it really be right for the great outdoors – part of our common heritage – to have been so monetised, and for so many ordinary people to have been persuaded that they need to pay to have outdoor adventures?’ At the same time you sense, grudgingly, a little respect for those entrepreneurs who have successfully created and capitalised on a demand for individuals craving a packaged adventure experience.
My short-lived venture into this world of outdoor adventure races took place a few years ago. It occurred during a particularly low point in my life, which led to me giving myself a bit of a pep talk that went along the lines of ‘grasp new opportunities when they arise’. The latter happened days later when two friends were seeking a new team member to take part in a 10K Commando Challenge. Without taking any time to research what the event would actually entail I enthusiastically agreed, only to later discover the full extent of what I’d signed up for.
The Commando Challenge took place on Woodbury Common near East Budleigh in Devon, utilising (hence its name) an existing military base. Indeed a key component of the advertising is that it sells itself as an opportunity to ‘undertake the same training course used daily by the UK’s Royal Marines’ (and in the process indulging hundreds of would-be soldier fantasies for hundreds of people who can’t be faffed with anything more challenging that you’d actually have to train for) although I suspect none of them are bedecked in fancy dress. As it transpired the cross country run was the easy bit, in comparison to the long underground tunnels that you had to navigate your way through in pitch darkness – not a welcoming prospect to someone who doesn’t like small, confined spaces. My other overriding memory was having to queue for eons for each obstacle and the mountainous amount of mud, so much so that most participants simply discarded their kit when they’d finished.
Looking back now it was an exhilarating experience - one which certainly took me away from my comfort zone – and despite my aversion to some of the obstacles, actually wasn’t that daunting, or tough. Not that it has been something I’ve wished to replicate, much preferring smaller, and considerably cheaper alternatives to run and get covered in mud, such as the Dovedale Dash in the Peak District.
In stark contrast, day #25 of Juneathon proved to be a somewhat more sedate affair. I opted for the familiarity of a homeward bound run commute, so the usual 6.3 miles from Clifton Campus to Sherwood with the only ‘obstacles’ being the hilly but concrete terrain of Mansfield and Hucknall Road.
Clif Bar 10 Peaks - Brecon Beacons
Clif Bar 10 Peaks – Brecon Beacons
The Clif Bar 10 Peaks Brecon event is the ultimate 24 hour navigational ultra distance fell race in the UK. The course takes in the 10 highest peaks in the Brecon Beacons, covers a distance of 89 kilometres with nearly 5000 metres of ascent and is all to be completed within a time limit of 24 hours.
To say I have been excited about this race is an understatement… they’re a modest bunch, I don’t…
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me: *out for a run*
me: *leaping and dodging through a minefield of goose shit*
me: ADVENTURE RUNNING!!!!
