Mudrunner

The Mud Runner was fun, if a bit.. damp. 100m in and we were in a river.  It was cold, dank and frankly, very smelly.  Coming out of it it took some effort to level the heart rate off - the combination of the sprint from the start to the water, followed by the shock of the cold, and the effort to stay upright in the water left me nearly breathless.

The rest of the course was hard.  A mix of very hilly terrain and, as the name suggests, mud. It was biased enough towards proper running to be good, with the occasional wading and sliding a break from the hills.  I could feel Saturdays run in my legs on the hills, though I noticed towards the end I was still running up hills thats lots of people were walking on.  I suppose the thing about ultra running is that you might not start fast, but don't slow down much.  It was actually quite a challenge to override the desire to pace myself.  This year I have been carefully building distance, and focussing on making sure I start a run at a pace I know means I'll get to the end.  I found myself wanting to do the same today, despite the fact that for the distance I could have cheerfully gone full (or close to) throttle.  I have always quite enjoyed short, hard races.  The sensation of finding a level that is only just bearable, and than holding that pace for the duration and being utterly spent when you cross the line is, in a masochistic kind of a way, a good one.

Today took me 1 hour 7 minutes, which shows it was a hard 10km.  Ali reckoned I was about 40th across the line, from a 1000, though the race was started in waves (based on your estimated time).  There were lots of photographers out on the course too, so I am sure there will be plenty of photographs of filthy wet people.

The day was rounded off with a trip to Cotswold Outdoor. Mmmmm new season ski gear...