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Initially I was in a team of 8 made up of 3 females and 5 males from my local Tri Club. However, when it came to it one of the girls pulled out which left us with just 7 on our team!
We left our home town of Kendal at 9.30am on Saturday morning to travel the 28 miles to the race Head Quarters situated at Lowther near Penrith.
We arrived at around 10.10am to be met with a queue to the Car Park aka a very muddy slippery field!
By the time we had parked, walked to the registration point, queued to register, queued for the loos, had a sandwich and then queued at the bag drop off point it was time to head to the start line for our 12pm starting slot!
We were called to the start at around 11.45am where we were held in a pen and given a safety briefing! Thankfully the sun had started to peak through the clouds and day was just beginning to warm up!
I had worn long leggings and a long sleeved top to protect my arms and legs as well as an attempt to keep warm. I had also opted to wear my wetsuit gloves in the hope that my hands would stay relatively warm despite being immersed in freezing cold water!
After the safety briefing we all did a warm up before there was a count down and we set off together along with a load of smoke bombs!
The hilly, off-road, course comprised of 38 physically demanding obstacles and attracted a wide range of ages and abilities, including a wheelchair athlete!
As soon as we were out the starting pen we had a grassy hill to contend with!
I was filled with excitement, anticipation, terror and dread as I headed off with my team with very little idea what I had actually let myself in for!
It wasn't long before we got to our first obstacle which was a relatively easy climbing one then we hit our first water crossing!
As we entered the icy cold water my breath was taken away but my mind was quickly distracted from the cold as I tried to negotiate my way over the rocks at the bottom of the river!
We stayed together as a team and I enjoyed the camaraderie and supportive atmosphere of the event! Everyone appeared to be having fun and everyone was willing to help anyone who needed it!
All was going well for our team and we hadn't come up against any obstacles that we couldn't conquer but after completing about 12 obstacles the event was stopped!
Apparently, all the ambulances and medics were helping injured competitors and they wouldn't allow the event to continue until some medics were free incase of any further injuries! I can understand why they did this from a safety point of view but it was still a very difficult time for us! We were standing around in wet clothes getting very very cold! Eventually after about 15 minutes we got the go ahead to continue but by this time I was shivering so badly and my whole body felt like it had seized up totally!
Thankfully, once we got moving again my circulation soon returned and I started to get back into the swing of it. Unfortunately this hold-up meant that the whole field was bunched up and we encountered long queues at most of the obstacles from this point onwards!
Altogether there was 3 water crossings, lots of mud based obstacles, many things to balance on, lots of obstacles which involved slithering through mud, underneath barbed wire, through 20ft tunnels and underneath rolls of tyres, there was one which involved log carrying up a hill, there were more walls to climb than I care to remember, a total water submersion one and 39 hurdles to get over!
When you are tired, wet and cold all these obstacles are seriously hard work and without the support of my team I would never have completed the course! I was pulled and pushed in all directions!
I enjoyed most of the obstacles and there were only 2 that truly tested me which were thankfully the last and second last ones!
The most enjoyable ones were the giant slides that went into a mud slide finishing in a mud bath! I wanted to do these ones again!
The hardest one involved commando crawling through mud underneath rows upon rows of tyres! I was exhausted and didn't have the strength to pull myself through! I felt like I was a giant slug being squished beneath the tyres!
I felt quite claustrophobic and panicky and was glad when I finally managed to escape!
The scariest one was the giant wall at the end! With the help of my team I got up the wall relatively easily, but that is where my problems began!
How was I supposed to get down?
At the back of the wall there was a giant climbing frame to climb down but my nerve completely left me at this point and I started shaking uncontrollably and couldn't muster the courage to descend!
Thankfully my team remained calm and took charge! I was frozen to the spot in fear and couldn't move! They each helped me by physically moving my body, my hands and my feet as necessary talking to me calmly the entire time!
By the time my feet were back on solid ground I was very very scared and just wanted to cry!
I later discovered I had every right to be fearful as someone had actually fallen off this obstacle and needed the air ambulance!
It took us around 3 hours to get around the entire 10K course but this included an awful lot of hanging around and queuing!
I was delighted that I had faced my fears and conquered the entire course!
By the time I finished I was exhausted, my muscles were burning and I was cold! Never has a foil blanket felt so good!
After getting my T Shirt and Goody Bag I immediately collected my bags and headed to the changing tent to get out of my wet muddy clothes into some warm dry things! This proved to be another endurance test in itself! The changing tent was packed and just getting in through the door was tricky! Trying to get out of very wet and very muddy clothes in a tiny space whilst shivering uncontrollably was difficult!
I felt better once I was warm and dry and enjoyed a hot chocolate and some well deserved food!
Once at home I quickly got in the shower! It took 3 washes to get all the mud out of my hair and I found mud is some very strange places!
The next day I woke up feeling sore ... very, very sore! My entire body ached and my arms and legs were black and blue with bruises! I looked like I had been in some sort of horrific accident not just completed what is supposedly a fun activity!
I did enjoy it and we laughed an awful lot!
Would I do it again ...
NO!
NEVER!
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