The things you do for a medal, a chocolate bar and a tiny bag of haribo….
A couple of weeks ago, my running buddy Liz mentioned a possible race for us to do... so I signed up without really investigating all that much.
I knew the date, the location, and the distance. I did enough research to know that trail shoes would be a good idea and I probably would get a bit muddy. The weather forecast wasn't great, so I was expecting to get a bit wet too.
And then the alarm went off this morning and, after heavy rain overnight, the likelihood of getting wet and very muddy increased even more.
We journeyed down the M6, arrived in plenty of time for a pre-race cuppa, and then the fun began!
There wasn't just mud, there was deep, squelchy, suck-the-shoes-off-your-feet mud. And lots of it. Fortunately, we all kept our shoes on and only had a couple of dodgy moments. Our technique improved as we went along, working out the required amount of momentum to get through each boggy field we encountered.
There weren't just puddles, there were water-above-your-knees streams, where wading through without falling over was a significant challenge.
There wasn't just a little bit of uneven terrain, there were cornfields, woodland paths, potholes, stiles and obstacles to climb over too.
There weren't just occasional changes of direction, there were twists and turns and we got really confused about where we were and where we were going next. Thankfully, the marshals were fantastically supportive and kept on encouraging us and pointing us in the right direction, although the promised gin stop never actually appeared!
But there was also laughs, shrieks of delight (with a bit of fear thrown in), smiles and lots and lots of fun. Liz, Emma and I ran together and encouraged each other all the way round. We didn't worry about how fast. We just made sure everyone finished and that we finished together, with a smile.
They say you should always read the small print, to know what you are signing up for.
But I'm not sure I agree.
I might not have got out of bed if I'd known.
And then I would have missed out on all that fun!
PS Fruit challenge update - another week completed. This week I've had papaya, guava, cherries, raspberries, sharon fruit, longans (probably not to be repeated) and pear. Just one day left. How will it end?
A couple of weeks ago, my running buddy Liz mentioned a possible race for us to do... so I signed up without really investigating all that much.
I knew the date, the location, and the distance. I did enough research to know that trail shoes would be a good idea and I probably would get a bit muddy. The weather forecast wasn't great, so I was expecting to get a bit wet too.
And then the alarm went off this morning and, after heavy rain overnight, the likelihood of getting wet and very muddy increased even more.
We journeyed down the M6, arrived in plenty of time for a pre-race cuppa, and then the fun began!
There wasn't just mud, there was deep, squelchy, suck-the-shoes-off-your-feet mud. And lots of it. Fortunately, we all kept our shoes on and only had a couple of dodgy moments. Our technique improved as we went along, working out the required amount of momentum to get through each boggy field we encountered.
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| Photo Credit: EmmaS |
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| Photo from Mash Running |
There wasn't just a little bit of uneven terrain, there were cornfields, woodland paths, potholes, stiles and obstacles to climb over too.
 |
| Photo Credit: EmmaS |
There weren't just occasional changes of direction, there were twists and turns and we got really confused about where we were and where we were going next. Thankfully, the marshals were fantastically supportive and kept on encouraging us and pointing us in the right direction, although the promised gin stop never actually appeared!
But there was also laughs, shrieks of delight (with a bit of fear thrown in), smiles and lots and lots of fun. Liz, Emma and I ran together and encouraged each other all the way round. We didn't worry about how fast. We just made sure everyone finished and that we finished together, with a smile.
They say you should always read the small print, to know what you are signing up for.
But I'm not sure I agree.
I might not have got out of bed if I'd known.
And then I would have missed out on all that fun!
PS Fruit challenge update - another week completed. This week I've had papaya, guava, cherries, raspberries, sharon fruit, longans (probably not to be repeated) and pear. Just one day left. How will it end?
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