1st November 2014
Minley, Hampshire
Team member: Johno
Exactly a week after staggering dazed, electrified and slightly blood-soaked across the Tough Mudder finish line, the Challenge 2014 Muddy Knees Tour found itself driving through a dark forest towards the starting point of the Grim Blackout - a 7 mile off-road mud run...in the dark (head torches thankfully permitted).
The sound of distant gunfire echoing from a nearby MOD range was a sufficiently dramatic soundtrack as a horde of LED topped runners were unleashed into the dark woods.
"You will get wet" promised the website and true to it's word within the first half mile there stood a three feet deep puddle of brownish, muddish, coldish watery stuff - the "warm up" - followed by a short, sharp hill to climb. After that, the course consisted of two loops through thick dark forest, up and down, on feet, hands and knees, through mud and more water. During the run, Johno contemplated a number of things: 1) how dark it was and 2) how he really should have invested in a better head torch.
Chasing what seemed like a single lit match, Johno weaved his way around the course occasionally passing (or being passed by) much more prepared runners who seemed to have their car headlights strapped to their foreheads. After just over an hour, the woods cleared, the darkness lifted and the bright lights of the finish line were in sight.
And so another fun mud-based event completed for LLR and excellent preparation for the Grim Challenge in December - in daylight thankfully but with much more mud...
Before that thought, the London Tube Challenge awaits!
C14 x
(PS: And oh yes, we've blatantly screenshotted these photos off the official site...)
Minley, Hampshire
Team member: Johno
Exactly a week after staggering dazed, electrified and slightly blood-soaked across the Tough Mudder finish line, the Challenge 2014 Muddy Knees Tour found itself driving through a dark forest towards the starting point of the Grim Blackout - a 7 mile off-road mud run...in the dark (head torches thankfully permitted).
The sound of distant gunfire echoing from a nearby MOD range was a sufficiently dramatic soundtrack as a horde of LED topped runners were unleashed into the dark woods.
"You will get wet" promised the website and true to it's word within the first half mile there stood a three feet deep puddle of brownish, muddish, coldish watery stuff - the "warm up" - followed by a short, sharp hill to climb. After that, the course consisted of two loops through thick dark forest, up and down, on feet, hands and knees, through mud and more water. During the run, Johno contemplated a number of things: 1) how dark it was and 2) how he really should have invested in a better head torch.
Chasing what seemed like a single lit match, Johno weaved his way around the course occasionally passing (or being passed by) much more prepared runners who seemed to have their car headlights strapped to their foreheads. After just over an hour, the woods cleared, the darkness lifted and the bright lights of the finish line were in sight.
And so another fun mud-based event completed for LLR and excellent preparation for the Grim Challenge in December - in daylight thankfully but with much more mud...
Before that thought, the London Tube Challenge awaits!
C14 x
(PS: And oh yes, we've blatantly screenshotted these photos off the official site...)