Obstacle Race Magazine Issue 6 by Obstacle Race Magazine

TOHBES TA NC OL.E1 RM A EG FAOZ RI NAEL LF M OU R DOABNS D T ARCULNENCI NOGU R S ET HRUAS C AC EN I AI SNTG S

TRAINING NUTRITIONAL ADVICE GEAR TESTING

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PROFILES TIPS RACE REVIEWS LETTERS

FEATURING

DOMINATE HILLS BODYWEIGHT TRAINING FOR OCR

TESTED INOV-8 X-TALON 200

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EDITOR’S LETTER With a really nice long Summer already feeling like a distant memory, it’s time to start to acclimatise ready for the Autumn/Winter weather really setting in. Even the shortest of distances can seem like a million miles especially if they involve a few frosty river crossings. So be smart and layer up, merino wool is always a great choice for your added base layers. If possible try to wear a hat even if its just a swimming cap to stop you losing to much heat through your head. Remember to stay hydrated even if you don’t feel the thirst it will help to ward off hypothermia. I’ve finally been able to get two or three races under my belt and with one of those being the Spartan Race Beast I can happily say that my Achilles is healed and I can get my head down and get the miles in now. This issue is a real mixture from all over the industry with stories, reviews and training coming from some fabulous contributors. The Active network have also done a nice round up of what 2014 has brought to the OCR scene. October 28th marked one years since we started the magazine so I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has supported us over the past year, let’s hope for many more to come.

Carl

EDITOR Carl Wibberley carl@obstacleracemagazine.com 01246 241780 ADVERTISING Kevin Newey kevin@obstacleracemagazine.com 07932 411592 DESIGNED BY RAWWW www.rawww.com 0845 371 0993 PUBLISHED BY Spuddy Media Ltd, Counting House, 1 Nuffield Road, St Ives, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE27 3LX. PRINTED BY TO SUBSCRIBE www.obstacleracemagazine.com

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CONTRIBUTORS JOEL HICKS (Always With a Smile ) Joels Journey MICHELLE PARSONS (Red Cape Coaching)- Reap What You Sow CHARLEH DICKINSON (Designed 2 Eat)—Recipes Page DAVID POOLE MSC Bodyweight Training for OCR MICHELLE BUTLER (Good 4 u) Diet Myths LANCE WANTENAAR (MUDTAP OCR podcast) Going Back To Barefoot Roots TOINE BOS Bieg Katorznika ANDY FISHER Mud, Sweat and Volun-tears

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PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY Front Cover— Spartan Race Contents page -- ShotAway.com Caption Competition -- ShotAway.com Trifecta Journey --Epic Action Imagery Always with a Smile—Joel Hicks Nuclear races – Nuclear Races Rock Solid Race -- ShotAway.com Mud, Sweat and Volun-tears – Epic Actiom Imagery Every effort is made to ensure that the advertising and editorial content in Obstacle Race Magazine is supplied from reliable and reputable sources and is contributed with integrity and accuracy. However no warranties or claims can be made against Obstacle Race Magazine in respect of the contents OR the views of individuals who do not necessarily represent the views of the Magazine, Spuddy Media ltd or the Publisher ISSN 2053-9495 Contact us by letter at: OBSTACLE RACE MAGAZINE 370 WHEELWRIGHT LANE ASH GREEN, COVENTRY, CV7 9HL

CONTENTS KIT TESTING

RACE REVIEWS

DARN TOUGH SOCKS

ROCK SOLID RACE REVIEW

INOV-8 X-TALON 200

NUCLEAR RACES - NUCLEAR BLACKOUT

SPARTAN RACE TRIFECTA JOURNEY

FEATURES

GLADIATOR GAMES

GOING BACK TO BAREFOOT

THE MR MOUSE INTERVIEWS

BODYWEIGHT TRAINING FOR OCR

MUDSTACLE

REGULARS

ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

TRAINING TIPS MICHAEL COHEN

MUD SWEAT AND VOLUNTEERS

28 76

LETTERS PAGE

ACTIVE NETWORK YEAR ROUND UP

RECIPES

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

MUDTREST

Good 4 U

STEVE HAMMOND

CAPTION COMPETITION

LUCY MARTLEW

EVENTS PAGE

PROFILES

BACK 2 THE TRENCHES AD

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STUNT CHALLRNGE

RACE PREVIEW

STUNT CHALLENGE

Gary, why did you decide to set up a new obstacle race?

STUNT CHALLENGE Stunt Challenge is set to be the world’s first Stunt Challenge run. The first thing you’re faced with when you log on to their website www.stuntchallenge.co.uk is a fantastic video that really whets your appetite. Their first event is set to take place in West Wycombe on the 7th and 8th of March 2015. Stunt Challenge is an obstacle course race designed by award-winning, world-record-breaking movie stunt performers Gary Connery and Curtis Rivers. Their world-first event launches in the grounds of West Wycombe Estate, the home of Sir Edward Dashwood and family. The house is frequently featured in screen adaptations of literary classics such as Cranford, Little Dorrit and, more recently, Downton Abbey.

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I am very passionate about ‘stunts’ and sharing the knowledge I have built up over the years with others. It’s an industry that few people know much about, yet everyone is aware of. I also compete in off road ultra-marathons. Both Stunts and ultra-marathons are a true test of body and mind capability, so this is an opportunity to bring two of my passions - running and stunts - to the general public, while raising the quality of obstacle races and mud run events. It’s very exciting to be introducing stunt-based obstacles that use special effects and movie trickery! The event will give runners a real insight into the world of movie making and stunt action. What kinds of runners should take a look, first timers or hardened athletes? We really have designed this event so there’s something for everyone. The participants will get very close to the action, and feel like stunt performers for the day, and yet we’ve been very careful to make each obstacle safe and accessible to all. You don’t need to be a stunt person, or an extreme athlete to complete our course, but our event will test body, mind and soul. With that in mind, we have both a 10km and a half marathon course available, and people can go as fast or as slow as they wish. You’ll always get your elite runners and OCR teams, which is great – we encourage that. But you’ll also get people that are there purely for the experience, the team atmosphere, and for that wonderful feeling of elation on crossing the finishing line. Especially our finish line! What makes the Stunt Challenge different from all other obstacle events? The difference between our event and other obstacle course events starts with the genuine passion that Curtis and I have for pushing boundaries with stunts. The fact that the obstacles themselves will be stunt scenes makes it very different, and the stunt related finish line is something special – and a world-first. When we talk of a Hellfire

firewall finish, we don’t just mean jumping over flaming embers, or low flames, we mean running through a wall of fire! And yet, this is movie magic – runners will not be burned. You’ll see on the day how we achieve this – an amazing finish line and great photo opportunity! Oh, and did I mention the World Records that Curtis and I will attempt in front of spectators on the day? This is going to be a memorable day for all of the participants, their families and people who drop in to watch the fun. What are the key obstacles participants will enjoy and why? At this stage we are keeping our obstacles and ideas under wraps. We will drip-feed some information though over the coming weeks. I can tell you that a lot of the obstacles will look more like a scene from a movie than hay-bales and tarpaulin. I just mentioned fire – expect plenty of that, and there will be ‘film weather’ added to some obstacles – wind machines and rain machines for a start, just like we do it in the movies. I can give you a bit of a scoop if you like, in telling you Curtis and I believe ‘why roll over some boring hay-bales, if you can roll over the bonnet of a crashed car? A little hint there of what’s to be expected! What distances do you have planned? We have a 10K route and a half marathon course. They are both different courses, as we don’t believe in simply ‘running round more than once’ to achieve a longer distance. The half marathon is a timed event, with the 10k just for fun. Of course, we’re very happy for 10k runners to change their minds on the day if they feel good, and complete the half marathon route. What sort of terrain should racers expect to be faced with? The terrain is varied and interesting. A mixture of ups and downs, through fields and rivers and woodland. There is a small amount of flat, but mostly gentle undulating, with one severe up slope with a nice surprise at the top…

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GOING BACK TO MY BAREFOOT ROOTS Lance Wantenaar, MUDTAP OCR podcast

This article came out of a discussion with Carl Wibberley during our podcast call. I made the choice to go down a minimalist shoe route about 3 years ago after discussion with a couple of friends about shoes and which to use. I decided on Vibram Fivefingers for some unknown reason but this was partially due to an injury that I was recovering from to my left glute and hamstring and I decided to force my left leg to work harder and improve the muscle and weight distribution between my legs.

PEGLEG POPPA COCK That nickname was courtesy of Jeffrey Cochran in Muddernation if memory serves. The full story behind that will be posted on my blog with more details of how I became Pegleg. I got injured when I got washed off rocks while on holiday in South Africa. My left leg ended straight up with my ankle next to my left ear and my right leg down behind me in an unplanned split. This meant the muscles in my glute and hamstring got badly injured and the tendon was severely stretched. I also suffered from sciatic pain. I could feel the tendon roll off my hip bone when I bent down to touch my toes when stretching. It took a while to recover from the injury itself. I had no control over my left leg when I tried running. Walking I was fine with but anything more than that required me to swing my left leg forward to move faster. I basically fell over due to muscle weakness when I started running. Imagine how that felt. I went from doing aikido, volleyball and surfing to barely walking and not being able to sit on my left side due to discomfort. I went back to gym to repair my body and build up

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strength in my left leg and to see what I could do long term. Queue very careful squats and deadlifts and this is how I learned that training technique is critically important and that functional strength is more important than the "Big Gains" BS. My recovery training can be covered in detail later but this lead cardio to improve fitness hence working on running. It took me about 12 months to be able to run at any kind of pace. I had to drag my leg forward during running and I felt the shoes I had weren’t helping me as I still had significant weakness in my left leg. After months of research I decided on Vibram Fivefingers. I decided on KSO Trek sports with breathable uppers and a tough sole suited for outdoor trail running. In preparation for shoe delivery from Italy, I started changing my running style. Based on information on "Tinternet" I started running on the balls of my feet. This felt OK with running shoes but I realised this was loading my calves so much and I couldn't get any speed increase. Running like this led to my Achilles being so stiff that I strained my right Achilles. This was a couple of months before my first Tough Mudder. This was another learning curve and with massage, foam roller and treatment I coped. I went into my TM with an Achilles strain. Brave or stupid is yet to be decided. I actually felt better after the brutally cold conditions seemed to have reduced my inflammation in my Achilles. Plus, to top it off I ran in my Vibram’s which performed better than most people running with old trainers but I still slipped around a lot.

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RUNNING BAREFOOT There are various websites with loads of information about stride length and techniques and how to load your feet but this is what you should do. Start phasing in your running with 10 minute runs every day to get used to the feedback you get when running barefoot. Learn how to place your feet and to run more gently. Become more fluid and smooth when running. Heel striking will kill you. You transfer shock into your joints very quickly, this affects your ankles and knees dramatically when you do. Shorter strides are a must as you cannot rely on cushioning to reduce impact. This will also require an increased tempo in your run with shorter strides.

BREAKING IT DOWN

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I had to learn what feedback was. The good thing with normal running shoes is it protects your feet and joints but the bad thing is it supports bad habits like heel striking due to cushioning. The feedback I got when running barefoot meant I learned quickly not to run on the outside of my feet. This loaded the leg and IT band with unequally. This is how I learned about foam rolling and why stretching is crucial for barefoot running. I noticed I was rocking whilst running and I was loading my right leg. I still have days where it feels like I have a wooden leg and it can get so bad that I am hardly using my left leg. I can correct the balance with stretching and foam rolling. When running barefoot you learn how to load your legs and be more deliberate in foot placement to protect your joints. I don’t have the very short fast tempo anymore. This was the case when I started but I felt like I wasn’t fluid enough or comfortable. I slowly became comfortable in my stride and also learned that I could place my foot smoothly when I ran instead of doing the traditional heel strike. My legs became stronger and my calves worked very hard to take this load. Initially I was relying on my hamstrings to support this run but leaning slightly forward meant I could increase my speed and transfer weight forward slightly to get a more even distribution between glutes, hamstrings and quads. Having a shorter stride helped as I wasn’t driving my heel into the ground and I was placing my whole foot on the ground. Be careful not to slap as that will end up with shock transfer into your joints. To get a good understanding of what you want to achieve watch a cat walk or run. They place their feet and the run is gentle and smooth. It takes a while to learn to do a more deliberate placement. I rely on the feedback from my feet to modify my running position the whole time. This changes as I warm up and my body gets into a relaxed movement. Once I am comfortable I will increase my stride and pace and as I relax I can improve my speed. During my run I can feel the where the load is in my legs depending on my feet hitting the ground. I have learned to make sure I have a stride and foot placement perpendicular with my body. This means the load into my legs is correct and I am loading evenly all the way from my calves into my thighs. Why is this important? Having equal and correct foot placement determines how this load is spread into your legs. Running on the outside of your foot means the outside of the foot, heel, calf and thigh are used. This causes IT band issues and also locks up your hips. Once this tension builds up over time it feeds into upper parts of your body. By making minor corrections in your foot placement you change the stress and muscle utilisation into the legs hips and the rest of the body. Remember the Dry Bones song? All of these bones and muscles are connected nothing works in isolation and this is how I have learned how to use my body better. I still have to see how my body reacts to longer distances and have done the Spartan Beast which I classify as a long distance. I am increasing my running training but I have not had the opportunity to run for long distance runs as my training is broken up between 10k runs and sprint training which I fit in before work but I will start changing to test longer distances. Running like this is a lot harder but more rewarding as I have not had the issues a lot of runners have suffered with hips or knees. Even with knees which have been problems in the past I cope well but the only reason I can run effectively is by breaking down my run and knowing how my body reacts during my run. I also support my running by doing weight training with squats, lunges deadlifts and a number of other exercises to ensure all the muscles work correctly to support my body. I don’t train in isolation as each part of my training is with an end goal in mind and that is to ensure I can function better for as long as possible.

BODYWEIGHT TRAINING FOR OCR

David Poole MSc Personal Trainer and owner of Custom Fitness, Lincoln.

Before the inception of weights, resistance machines and vibration plates, people who wanted to get big and strong had to train using only their bodyweight. Although it originated out of “necessity,” this training method continues to be used because of its efficacy. From the Spartans to the Romans to the Armed Forces, bodyweight training has been a consistent component of the training methods used. Why? It’s cheap, convenient, will be relative to each individual and ‘always at hand’ as it were. Bodyweight workouts can be effective for everyone, from new recruits to drill sergeants. But by the term ‘bodyweight’ don’t be confused into thinking that this will mean all those press-ups or squats will get you huge! The opposite is more likely to be the case. If you do a quick search on any social media site or around the internet, you will find plenty of virals, pictures and videos of people taking over bars and poles in playgrounds and parks all around the world. No doubt about it, bodyweight exercises can aid in getting you strong and ripped. That’s because these types of exercises force you to move your body around the limb, as opposed to limb around the body. This equates to a higher level of neuromuscular activation and greater metabolic demand than those where you are simply moving your limbs. It’s one of the reasons why back squats are better than leg presses and chins and pull ups beat lateral pull downs every time. Likewise, doing a number of body weight exercises within regular training programmes could mean that you may never have to worry about doing any abdominal specific exercises again. No more crunches! Be sure to always include a good amount of bodyweight isometric holds, single leg squat variations or ring work into your weekly training plan. This will enable you to get strong

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*and* lean i.e. walk the walk when it comes to physical performance, rather than being ‘all show and no go’!

ZOË MILLS LIKER OF OCR’S Love them or hate them, just do not underestimate the power of the burpee. Or plank. Or humble squat. There is a reason that this style of exercise has been used for hundreds of years and continues to be within the arsenal of many a coach, personal trainer and probably millions of athletes alike. Bodyweight exercises – they’re portable, they’re free and most of all they’re effective. Bodyweight training for OCR is a given, it can translate into so many areas that it should certainly be a consideration for inclusion into everyone’s training plan. I have definitely seen a benefit from utilising these exercises, as for me, working on my upper body strength, core and leg strength for explosive power is a must. Slowly, over time, I’ve been trying to incorporate these into my regular training plan. This was out of necessity from consistently getting frustrated during races, with not having the upper body strength to either get myself up over walls or across monkey bars. I like completing things. I don’t like giving up. So I work on these a lot. Press ups, pull ups, chin ups, anything that I can work on that mimics that action, to increase my strength and ability, to ultimately get myself moving over things mid race. CONTINUE ON PAGE 18

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Similarly, building my leg strength through squats has increased my power to jump up and at walls, or to plough my way through knee deep mud or in and out of endless streams and of course, for increasing my leg strength to run harder and further. Planks I like. Alright, that’s maybe a bit odd I know, but I really do. I like the feeling of being strong and having a solid, powerful core. I’ve been working my way up and can manage a 6 minute plank now, but I want to get to double figures. Naturally, as always, I like to keep pushing myself! And folks, if your inner core is strong, you’ll be preventing many a potential injury too, before it even happens, so it’s a win - win all round. Even burpees I (mildly) enjoy. Because if you whack out enough of those in succession you know about it and I like feeling as if I’ve worked hard after any exercise. With burpees you can always push it and feel an extra burn, whether it’s in your shoulders, legs or chest from the cardio element. Speak to any professional and they will all tell you, that the most effective of exercises for overall strength and flexibility are those that you can perform yourself, utilising your

SHUT UP AND SQUAT 18

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own bodyweight. It’s why the squat and burpee are loved by all! Yes, some people *love* them! Plus, it doesn’t matter what your weight is, it’s all relative isn’t it? I might only be 4 foot and a peanut and 48kg, but a good mix of pull ups, lunges, squats and burpees over time will have the same exertion on my body as someone doing the same who is nudging 6 foot 2 and over 110kg. The beauty of any body weight exercise is that you can start simple and jazz them up in a flash. Planks can become one legged, or side planks with an arm raised or push up style, up and down. Squats can be lowered and held, then raised and back down again. Perhaps to Moby’s ‘Flower’ or ‘Sally up, Sally down’! (As I’m sure readers will be all too familiar with by now!). Burpees can incorporate a push up, or push up clap, or jump squat, or even become a burpee / pull up hybrid. Fabulous! So I guess what I’m saying is this. Don’t worry if you can’t afford to join a gym, don’t worry that too many bodyweight exercises might make you massive, don’t worry if you’re away and can’t get to a gym and don’t worry that the weathers too shocking to get outside and train. If you really want results then just get on with it.

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RACE NAME: ROCK SOLID RACE

ROCK SOLID

RACE REVIEW

KEVIN NEWEY LOCATION: MILTON KEYNES DISTANCE: 10KM NUMBER OF OBSTACLES: 20+ SORT OF TERRAIN: FIELDS, WOODLANDS, HILLS AND WATER LEVEL OF MUD: 7 DIFFICULTY LEVEL(1-10): 6

STORY ON NEXT PAGE

â&#x20AC;º

Photography by- ShotAway.com

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RACE REVIEW

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The race weekend didn’t get off to the best of starts with the Obstacle Race Magazine van failing to start, so I made the short 1 hour journey to Milton Keynes in my car instead. It was a nice easy drive, and as soon as I got near to the venue, there were plenty of sign posts directing me into the car parks. Registration hadn’t opened yet, but I managed to sneak in and get my race pack, before the hordes came rushing in. I loved the Rock Solid Race down in Escot Park earlier in the year, so this event had got a lot to live up to. I’d also got a number of friends travelling over to it from the Midlands because of my recommendation, so I also had a bit of pride at stake too! I’ve been to loads of events this year, and have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. As soon as I stepped foot in the spectator village, this was clearly in the ‘good’ category, with a fully functioning pub, catering facilities, medal engraving and most importantly – a shower block for the post race wash down! I was registered for the first wave, which at 11am, was a little later than other races, but it also meant I got a bit more sleep time. There were 3 different race distances to choose from – 5km, 10km and 15km. I went for the 10km which would still give me a great taste of the course and let me experience the best obstacles. I lined up at the front with

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all of the competitive runners. There were representatives there from a number of OCR race teams including Stuart, Lee, Gemma and Laura from #teammuddykit. I do like the sense of being able to keep up with them over the first 30 to 40 metres before getting swallowed up by the pack. It does look good when the start line photo’s go up on your facebook profile. After a short warm up, it was time to race and a nice leg stretching run and some hay bales to leap over eased us into it. The terrain was mainly flat, but there were a number of gradual hills to climb, the steepest one being an up and down slalom carrying a log. For the people doing the 15km run, after they put the log down, it was an up and down slalom in a sack! One of the main differences I saw at Rock Solid compared to some of the other races that I’ve been to was that there was a lot of imagination and innovation that had gone in to designing the obstacles. Everyone expects a few walls to climb over and barbed wire to crawl under, but it’s the extra signature obstacles that set all of the best races apart. Even small touches like the cargo net being suspended by a huge digger either side, just made the experience that little bit more interesting. There was a fair distance between the obstacles which was great, as it stopped large queues building up. We also had a ‘Green Mile’ timed section where there was a 1 mile straight run. I’m not a fast runner by any means, so

I just ambled along this at my standard pace and tried to conserve energy for the rest of the run. There were a number of crossovers on the course which is highly unusual, but they had been designed perfectly so that there was no confusion as to which way you should be going. For instance, we had to run through a large tube which was about 5ft high, and then 20 minutes later, we were clambering over the side of it with the help of small pieces of wood to grip hold of. After tackling everything that the course could throw at me, we entered the water obstacles. I’m not a big fan of heights, so when I clambered to the top of a shipping container and looked down at the water I had to jump into, a slight tingling of fear did take over my body. Luckily for me, there was a lady standing at the front petrified with her partner, not willing to jump. This gave me the time to take a few deep breaths and man up a little. After she plucked up the courage and jumped, there was no way I could wimp out. What’s the worst that could happen? It was straight out of the water and then onto the monkey bars, which were situated on a floating plastic structure. There was a further dip into a pool before we could jump onto the monkey bars, but this made them very wet and difficult to complete. I’m the monkey bars master, but this defeated me. Straight onto a log balance beam and then around a floating path and off out to complete the rest of the course.

There were a number of net crawls on the course and the last one took us through some real sloppy mud. The nets had been anchored down very well, which kept you nice and close to the floor. There had been lots of banter flying around on facebook before the build up to Rock Solid, with the Mudstacle gladiators being the last thing between you and your medal. After overcoming the final wall, which was being manned by Rob Foulkes and his Muddy Race team, I had the gladiators in my sights. A quick psyche up and a charge towards them, before dropping my shoulder and going down the side. A few of them tried to sweep my legs from underneath me, but I kept my balance and clambered up onto the finish line to finish in just under 2 hours. By the time I finished, the registration tent still had a good flow of people lining up for race numbers and there was a really good buzz around. I collected my medal and shower token, and off I went. I said it after the last Rock Solid, and I’ll say it again. There are a number of races on the OCR calendar that you MUST pencil into your diary for 2015, and Rock Solid is one of them. Professionally run, fair pricing structure, great venue, challenging obstacles = fantastic event.

WELL DONE TEAM ROCK SOLID!

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

DARN TOUGH SOCK REVIEW Anything that says life time guarantee or the only ones you’ll ever have to buy immediately makes you want to test something to destruction. So when Darn Tough sent over these socks it was hard not to be sceptical of such huge claims. The socks are manufactured in Vermont, which is the perfect testing ground to make the finest Premium all weather performance socks.

THE TEST Rather than the usual test situation where one of our team would get the item then test it in at least three OCR’s, giving their honest feedback on certain criteria. This time as it was such a huge claim we decided to give them an equally huge test. So rather than three OCR’s we actually went for four OCR’s and all the training and Crossfit we could throw at them in 60 days.

TESTING

RRP:

£11.70 AVAILABLE AT:

MUDDYKIT .CO.UK

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

TEAM WORK

FORTHCOMING EVENTS London South, 18 April 2015 South Wales, 20 June 2015

SAID

London East, 15 August 2015 Dirty Dash (6km + 15 obstacles) Dirty Dozen (12km + 20 obstacles)

It's the muddiest, wettest and most gruelling challenge you could imagine. Face the murky waters of the Terror Trench, swim underwater through the Sheep Dip and clamber through knee-deep mud to face a 10-foot high, sheer wall - and that’s just for starters.

Quote ORMAG10 for 10% discount. Group Discounts also available

The socks were worn straight out of the packet for their baptism in mud. It’s always a risk with new socks that they won’t fit quite right but there was no such problem with these. These particular socks are made with Marino wool which is the softest wool of any sheep. Merino is excellent at regulating body temperature, wicking sweat and unlike cotton, actually retaining warmth when wet. Merino also contains lanolin, which gives the wool antibacterial properties. The fine gauge of the Merino Wool makes this a fast drying and breathable “all weather” sock that stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I like thick socks, so the high density cushioning on foot bottom was a welcoming feel. It’s not overly cushy but it gave me confidence to just get on and run in them. The ribbing above the ankle is comfortable and ensures a proper fit. The socks have a reinforced heel plus toe and they say “Darn Tough” right on the toes, nice motivational touch. Elastic support around the arch keeps the sock in place and gives some support. Everyone hates blisters but with no bunching or hot spots that was never a problem.

VERDICT By the end of the two month test the socks really are as good as the day they came out of the packet. Zero wear signs on the sock and not a single blister though out the whole test. So good in fact we have now given all our Muddy Kit team racers a pair to race in after deciding to stock them in Muddykit.co.uk.

DIRTYDOZENRACES.COM

MUDSTACLE

MUDSTACLE TOP 5 LEAGUE MENS MUDSTACLE LEAGUE TOP 5

Photography by: Pete Rees / Tom Nash

Position

Name

Team

Scoring Points

Thomas Blanc

Team Wild Forest Gym

390

Ross Brackley

Obstacle Kit Race Team

389

Ross Macdonald

Inov-8 OCR

388

Conor Hancock

Team Muddy Race

384

Adam Teszke

inov-8 OCR

374

LADIES MUDSTACLE LEAGUE TOP 5 Position

Name

Team

Scoring Points

Beth Albon

Inov-8 OCR

326

Laura Try

Team Muddy Kit

301

Katie Keeble

RPCC Elite

297

Lucy Martlew

RPCC Elite

292

Zoe Mills

Custon Fitness

285

PETE FORCING A SMILE ON THE FOURTH LAP OF THE NUTS CHALLENGE

Hello Obstacle Race Magazine reader and welcome to Mudstacle’s two page take-over. I’m sure many of you are used to checking out our shenanigans from the other side of a monitor but now, for the first time, you get to touch feel and smell us in paper form. That’s it, open up that spine and take a deep sniff. Mmm… I’m getting freshly opened Panini stickers, with a delicate hint of dry wood chippings. Damn I love magazines. I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I could fill two pages with. Maybe I could cover recent event highlights, but there have been too many to mention over the last couple of months with the likes of Nuclear Blackout, RockSolidRace, Nuts Challenge and Dirty Dozen knocking it out of the park. I could talk about the exciting prospects for next year, with Rise of the Ronin, Eliminator Race and Mudnificent 7 looking to take us to exciting new places. I think I’ll save all of that for another time though. Today I’m feeling the love for our community. One of the things that I really love about obstacle racing is that it has something for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you are out to lead the pack in a competitive race, or whether you’re looking to hang around at

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

the back having a laugh with your mates. I think what unites us is that we are all in it to be challenged. We see evidence of that on our forum every day. I love that newcomers can air their fears about upcoming races and receive incredible encouragement and support from other community members. I’ve been involved in a lot of sports in the past but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a wonderful level of acceptance, respect and encouragement for each other’s goals. Just by slipping a yellow tshirt over your head, you instantly become part of a unit. It’s a beautiful thing that I could never have predicted when I published my first article on Mudstacle a couple of years ago. I can’t sign off without giving the Mudstacle League a quick mention, as it’s getting to be a very exciting part of the season. At the time of going to press Beth Albon (sister of Spartan World Champion Jon Albon) has stormed to the top of the ladies table, with only a few points separating Thomas Blanc, Ross Brackley, Ross MacDonald and Conor Hancock at the top of the men's table. Keep an eye on it as we work towards the final day of the season at Survival of the Fittest in London, it’s going to get very interesting!

BECOME A MUDSTACLE MEMBER with Obstacle Race Magazine

We’d like to offer Obstacle Race Magazine readers a 10% discount off Mudstacle Membership. So for only £27.70 you’ll get: • • • • •

Entry into the Mudstacle League Insurance for 12 months (for taking part in OCRs, etc) Loads of exclusive discounts Mudstacle t-shirt inov-8 Wrag

Just head on over to mudstacle.com/membership/orm

CROSSFIT KEV WAS LUCKY TO MAKE IT PAST THE MUDSTACLE GLADIATORS ALIVE Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

COACH MICHAEL FUELS YOU UP FOR RACING! Michael Cohen of Wild Forest Gym You are what you eat, as Gillian McKeith would say! And she is 100% right. Every item of food that you eat has a nutritional and fuel value depending on how it is grown/ produced; what it is treated with; how it is processed and ultimately how your body digests it. So lets get down to the nitty gritty of how much nutritional value you get from your food, and whether it is giving you the best quality fuel for your OCR racing.

DOES YOUR TOMATO LOOK LIKE A TOMATO?

ORANGE WATER

It’s nutritional value.

Have you considered how orange the water in your saucepan is when you boil carrots? Simply explained boiling food, is boiling nutrients and enzymes out of them, which is why the water changes colour. The optimum way to eat a carrot is in this order:

How easily your body can break it down.

Raw

How it can distribute the essential nutrients.

Steamed – Lightly cooked al dente.

The quality of fuel it provides you.

Stir fried – Lightly cooked al dente.

Roasted – Lightly cooked al dente.

Boiled – Last resort cooking.

This brings us to the first subject of processed food. Depending on how processed a food type is, will determine:

If you take the example of a tomato and compare a raw one in comparison to the tomato in a curry sauce, you will immediately notice that in the latter case the tomato is less distinguishable to the way it was raw, due to the way it was processed. Therefore a higher percentage of the nutritional value has been cooked out. Whereas, a lightly steamed courgette that is al dente will have proportionally more nutrients as the cooking time & heat is less. However, if eaten raw, the tomato will require chewing, this process is known as mastication. Mastication is a very important aspect to food digestion. So going back to the curry sauce, it is likely that it can be virtually swallowed rather than requiring much chewing, whereas the raw tomato will need to be chewed until it is broken down and ready to be swallowed. Mastication releases the natural enzymes inside of the tomato, which set off the 1st stage of digestion, rather than waiting for it to

commence in the stomach. In the case of the swallowed curry sauce it is more reliant on the enzymes in your stomach to digest it. This ultimately requires more work and more of your body’s energy to digest it. To summarize, the least processed and the more chewing you need to do, the more nutritional value it has, and the least work your digest system has to do to break it down. So what we are talking about is fuel economy and nutritional gains.

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Not only will you gain nutritional value from the raw to minimal cooking processes, but also the food will taste better in regard to the texture and flavour.

CANNED V’S FRESH V’S PRE-PACKS V’ PROCESSED The moment you cut into an item of food it starts a process of oxidation. Oxidation reactions happen when

chemicals in the food are exposed to oxygen in the air. From hereon it starts to loose nutritional value. So a salad or vegetable cut at the table or just before cooking/serving is the optimum time to reduce the oxidisation process. The best example is when you cut an apple, it literally changes colour in front of your eyes. Likewise if you buy pre-packs of cut vegetables such as carrots from the supermarket they look shrivelled and paler in colour, which are signs of dehydration and oxidization. Similarly tinned vegetables and fruits tend to be soft and have little form. The same thing applies to buying a processed meal such as lasagne or shepherds pie. More importantly most of these products require preservatives, colours and flavourings to give a more artificial vibrant colour, taste and a longer shelf life.

DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A CHEF? No you don’t, and neither do you need to be a nutritionist. But you do need to educate yourself about food and begin or develop your cooking as well as knowledge about ingredients, nutrients and how to put a balanced meal together. You may be saying, “Well these will all take time and effort”, and you would be right. But the bigger picture is your nutrition is just as important as your physical training. Without this basic understanding you will not have the fuel

to optimise your training, racing and recovery. How are things looking for you so far? As I hope you are already appreciating you do not need to be an expert, but a researcher, an experimenter and an explorer, and the rest is simple logic and common sense. Ready to move on?

ORGANIC & WILD V’S NON-ORGANIC There is nothing better than going into a village shop in Spain, Greece or France and seeing a crate of tomatoes. Every one is a different colour, shape, texture and flavour. A very different experience compared to shopping in your local Sainsbury or Tesco supermarket here in the UK, where every tomato is the same colour, shape, weight and flavour. So much so that they can be symmetrically displayed on the shelf. And why? They say it is because of you, the customer, for wanting this precision food engineering to create the perfect vegetable. Well I don’t remember being asked, were you? Precision engineered food that is non-organic can include a myriad of synthetic substances such as: antibiotics; growth stimulants; synthetic additives, sweeteners, preservatives, pcps, insecticides and of course

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Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

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can be modified or genetically modified. To discuss each of these in full details requires an article in its own right. But briefly I will state that for you to have that perfect tomato with its textbook colour, size, flavour and shape, then it would be needed to be farmed/grown using synthetic insecticides and growth stimulants. Likewise to make sure each chicken fits onto the conveyor belt, with its precision instruments, each bird needs to be farmed to be a precise colour, size and flavour. Similarly non-organic chickens are routinely given antibiotics as a preventative against infections and virus outbreaks, as well as growth stimulants, GM animal feed that has been sprayed with insecticides. Farmed fish are farmed close to the shoreline, so they tends to be contaminated with ground surface run offs, sewage drains and PCP’s. Likewise they are often fed with food, which may have insecticides, growth stimulants and GM ingredients.

SUPPLEMENTING In short we should avoid supplementing with vitamins and supplements where not necessary. So rather than building your body with protein powders and drinks, instead do some research and experimentation on how you can possibly get many of your nutrients naturally from your foods where possible. However, if a doctor or nutritionist has prescribed medication/supplementation, always speak to them before reducing or stopping.

HAVE YOU GOT A SWEAT TOOTH? This morning I was undertaking a nutritional analysis of one of my Elite TEAM Wild Forest Gym OCR athletes. We started to go through her diet and it was looking really healthy. However, she has been conscious of not being able to loose a few excess kilo’s she was carrying. Further through the analysis we got onto the subject of sugars. “I only eat good sugars such as fruits, no more sweets”, she said. So we started to look at what that incorporated, and bingo all was revealed. She loves her watermelon, apples and dates. In fact her daily consumption was 2 massive wedges of watermelon or more, at least 3 apples and handfuls of dates. When we started to look at the nutritional chart to determine the

sugar levels in these healthy foods, the alarm bells started to ring. Although they contain a higher percentage of fructose rather than glucose and sucrose it was still a lot. It was teaspoon after teaspoon and that was just from her fruit, let alone other foods she was eating. So what I’m saying is, fruit is good, organic fruit is even better, but it has to be in moderation, especially with dried fruit that appear small in comparison to fresh fruit.

Just to give you an idea one Braeburn apple contains approx 15.5g of sugars broken down to 8791mg Fructose, 3085mg Sucrose and 3621 mg Glucose *. 1 date contains 16g of sugars broken down to 7669mg Fructose, 127mg Sucrose and 8084 mg Glucose.

When weighed and measured one apple/date is the equivalent of just under 4 teaspoons of sugar. Now you see where she was getting her sugar high’s from and why she was struggling to loose those couple of kilos.

SO WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE? As I previously said, let’s look at food logically. You are best to eat organic certified produce, wild or natural foods where possible. Best starting place is your local butcher, fishmonger and farmers market, as they are more likely to know the origin of their food. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out to your local restaurant and have a non-organic steak. However, try and make sure that the rest of your meals that day are organic and/or wild where possible. Once you get your shopping home try to eat it while it is as fresh as possible, and when it comes to cooking it, make sure you try and include as much raw, steamed and least processed cooking where possible. Don’t forget healthy foods such as fruits and nutritional bars may have good ingredients, but it doesn’t mean that are not high in sugars. Before you over challenge yourself, don’t expect change overnight. It takes a bit of time to do the researching, to get your co-habitors/family on board. Similarly don’t try and do it 100%. Otherwise it will take over your life. Been there done it! Not going back there again. Instead, why not give yourself a target to move up in stages from 30% to gradually reach 80% organic, wild and least processed food as possible. Then there is always room for exceptions and treats!

LAST FEW WORDS OF ADVICE.

Don’t get hooked onto analysing your diet. Research, experiment and then get on with it. Don’t try and go by the book 100% just 80% is a good target. Plus teach yourself how to cook, and then you will really understand about food, nutrition and your body. *Source www.nutritiondata.self.com USDA SR-21

GET YOUR FREE NUTRITIONAL CALCULATOR To help you optimise your racing ORM have partnered with Coach Michael of Wild Forest Gym to give you a FREE nutritional calculator and nutrient chart so you can research you foods, nutrients and even calculate your needs with a sports activity calculator by visiting http://bit.ly/ormnutrition. PLUS enter our draw for FREE 30 minute diet analysis.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

NUCLEAR BLACKOUT

RACE REVIEW

STUART PARSONS RACE NAME: NUCLEAR RACES NUCLEAR BLACKOUT LOCATION: ESSEX DISTANCE: AS MANY 5KMS IN 2 HOURS NUMBER OF OBSTACLES: 30+ PER LAP SORT OF TERRAIN: MUD, MUD AND CRAZY FARM TERRAIN LEVEL OF MUD: 8 DIFFICULTY LEVEL(1-10): 7

NUCLEAR BLACKOUT 32

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Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

â&#x20AC;º

RACE REVIEW

Whilst on the drive home I refuelled with a protein shake, banana and plenty of fluid including my trusty coconut water, before arriving home and having a quick meal before having to swiftly make a move to the secret nuclear bunker ready for Nuclear Blackout. Why the last minute rush I hear you ask? Well it was because I am in fact crazy enough to be doing a double race day. The event village was buzzing, a stage set up with a band playing, plenty of merchandise stands, bag drop changing area, and WARM SHOWERS! I went through my usual pre race ritual of popping to the loo several times before lining up at the start. Dusk had arrived, and with my head torch on, I was ready to go. Setting off with a quick pace, I stretched my legs out nicely for the first mile before settling into my stride for the 2+ hours that lay ahead of me. Considering I’d only finished Rock Solid Race a few hours earlier, I was feeling pretty refreshed and looking forward to the challenges ahead. Sitting out in front, the opening stretch was a run that was slightly uphill. Something I really hate but seem to excel in. Knowing I had a long way to go, I eased off a bit to sit closer with the guys behind me, as I didn’t want to burn out before I’d even begun. Up and down into some deep water filled ditches, the mud was really thick and quickly zapping the energy levels early on. Hang tough was approaching and the rings were pretty far apart. Not only that they were already very wet and slippery from the race they held earlier in the day. I took hold of the first ring and felt my grip slipping straight away. I reached for the second ring and in spectacular fashion I fell into the water below. Climbing out the other side I was unaware of what penalty I had for not being able to complete the rings because I didn’t hear the pre-race briefing. A marshal quickly instructed me to carry out a second attempt. A little more cautious and using both hands on each ring (rather than skipping straight to the next ring) I managed to get across. A few places down but still a long way to go. I slowly gained some of the positions I had lost and was sitting in the top 3. Climbing over giant hay stacks, tall and inverted walls, as well as battling some thick mud, the 5km laps(closer to 6km) were going to take longer than originally anticipated. Having to use the ropes to climb up some of the muddy hills was a must, even with the claws on my Inov-8 190’s it was a struggle to scramble up. There were a couple of obstacles that I’d never experienced before on this course. One where you had to lay on your back whilst water was being sprayed and pull yourself along from the cargo net that was just above (not a great explanation of an obstacle I know), and the quarter pipe. As I approached the quarter pipe it looked pretty daunting and my fear was not actually having the strength, speed and grip to get up to the top in one attempt. At this point I was neck and neck with 3rd place and this is what made the difference between us at this point. I had made it up on the first attempt, whilst 3rd place had to settle for giving it another try. 1st place was off into the distance at this point and I just wanted to focus my efforts on maintaining the pace I had, with still a long way to go and not even a lap down. The uniqueness with this race wasn’t just the night time element but the grounds also housing a nuclear bunker where the course took a detour, running in and out of

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narrow rooms, corridors and tunnels before working your way up a long flight of stairs to the exit. Just when you thought you must be at the top of the hill after the stairs, you still continue on a short climb. Coming to the end of the first lap, there was another hill to contend with (surprising the number of hills on a relatively flat area and on a course that seemed to have very few downhill sections). This last climb proved to be the toughest. It wasn’t particularly steep, but the Mud was so thick and heavy I was reduced to crawling in parts to spread my weight and avoid going knee deep in thick heavy mud. Totally zapped of energy, the open stretch of running to the start/finish line and into the beginning of the next lap was nice to use to recover. Sitting in second and starting my second lap, I was surprised and shocked by how difficult and tough such a short lap could be, but was still feeling pretty positive. The second lap was much like the 1st in terms of how I was feeling. The course was a little more churned up, and the darkness was really starting to set in. The head torches really began to show their value. Being dark also helped conserve a bit of energy, because it was so difficult to see properly, even with the use of the head torch. Caution had to be taken when hitting some of the sections to avoid slipping or tripping in places. This was fine by me as I was beginning to think I would need every ounce of energy I had to survive the 2+ hours. An additional obstacle to contend with was the sheer number of competitors on the course that I was beginning to lap. Weaving left and right around them one at a time, taking that bit more energy out of me, I even ended up smacking someone on the head with my legs as I went across the hang tough as she paddled below me. Sincere apologies if that lady was you? Slipping into 3rd place and approaching the end of 2 laps of what was likely to be a maximum of a 3 lap race, Rock solid from earlier in the day had begun to take its toll. Second lap complete I was sitting in 3rd place going into what would be my final lap then BAM! All of a sudden I just hit a wall. My legs had nothing in them. My pace dramatically dropped and I was forced to almost walking pace. Someone was slowly creeping up behind me. At this point it was difficult to tell what lap people where on and what positions people where in, so as he approached I asked what lap he was doing. His was on his 3rd, that was me into 4th place. Feeling slightly deflated and out of energy there was a small glimmer of hope, a sea of yellow jerseys were up ahead. It was none other than the Mudstacle crew of Tom, James, Pete and Co. I was so glad to see these guys. They had an adventure of their own. Not only had they been gladiators at the Rock Solid Race, and also competing in a later wave, and barely making it in time to start Nuclear Blackout, but they also had a race to also look forward to the following day. These guys lifted up my somewhat defeated attitude and I made the decision to no long ‘race’ and join these guys to lift my spirits. Lessons to be learnt from this race and the decision to race competitively twice in one day twice in one weekend is one thing, but twice in one day was never going to see me perform at my best. As for the race, Nuclear Races really delivered in a way only they know how.

...BAM! ALL OF A SUDDEN I JUST HIT A WALL. MY LEGS HAD NOTHING IN THEM Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

SHOE REVIEW

INOV-8 X-TALON 200

INFO

The X-Talon 200 is inov-8’s newest shoe to hit the off trail market. The obstacle racers of the world have spoken and inov-8 have listened; it’s been designed specifically to meet the needs of obstacle racing enthusiasts everywhere. From beginner to elite, the shoe offers everything you need from an OCR shoe. In the past, inov-8’s whole range of footwear was designed with sports crossover in mind. There always seemed to be something you didn’t quite get enough of from each model. Whether it be the light weight shoes wearing quickly due to the materials used to make them light, or the lack of drainage due to the more robust materials used to make them last longer. The X-Talon 200 has now been designed to tick all these boxes with a light weight design but without scrimping on the durable materials. When these shoes hit the ORM door mat, it was time to put them on our Muddy Kit team Captain Lee Pickering’s feet and let him loose with them over a week of racing and training.

COMFORT: 9/10 STABILITY: 9/10 GRIP: 10/10 WEIGHT: 10/10 APPEARANCE: 9/10

10k Challenge W o od s , Ob s ta c l e s , L a k e s & F i e l d s . . . W i l d R u n n i n g

OVERALL: 94%

CMY

THE TEST

The top five initial tests for any OCR shoe are GRIP, DRAINAGE, FIT, DURABILITY and WEIGHT. These are the main five factors in choosing a shoe which will suit our needs. So we sent Lee off with these things in mind and told him to get them muddy and give them hell.

TESTING

The first time these shoes got to meet my feet was approximately an hour before the start of the Dirty Dozen Destroyer 18k OCR. What better way to test them to the limit. My first impression putting on the shoes was that they were comfortable straight out of the box, which was a very good start, especially as we would have to spend 18kms together on a Sunday afternoon. Before even taking my first steps in the shoes I spotted a great new feature with the added durability of reinforced eyelets on the laces, bonus. A gentle warm up provided no real test for the shoes but these were really starting to feel good. Bragging a minimalist 3mm drop from heel to toe made this shoe feel like a road racing shoe, comfy with some support, but very little weight. 36

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

OFF WE GO!!

The first two kilometres of the race proved to be a good test; lots of mud, water and uneven ground for them to contend with. I have to say, what a shoe! The grip was as solid as you’d expect it to be from a pair of Inov-8 shoes. The mud proved no match for the talon like grip. The thing that really stood out was when I hit the water obstacles. This was due to the water retention being so much less than the X-talon 212. This made the shoe lighter as I came out of the water with none of the waterlogged welly feel. The shoe’s overall fit was superb with a little more space in the toe box to let your toes splay. I liked this as it gave my feet space to move when they got hot. I didn’t experience any slipping, hotspots or blisters, which is always a good thing! This shoe is lighter than the X-talon 212 but the 12g difference is barely noticeable to be honest. As I said before, the weight difference however, was highlighted once the shoe was wet. This is now the OCR shoe for me! Overall I would say this shoe is going to be a hit when it comes out, a must for all OCR racers!

Winter Wolf 1st & 2nd November 2014 S ta n f or d H a l l , L eic e s t ersh i r e Wild running across natural, raw terrain; through woods, mud & water. Running, climbing, wading, crawling and swimming. Tackling both natural and man-made obstacles. Testing physical & mental skill & stamina. Running in a pack or as a lone wolf...

Have you got what it takes to be a Wolf Runner? w w w. t h e w ol frun . c om

EVENTS INCLUDED: In the last issue of ORM I revealed that the ‘Always With A Smile’ foundation was about to ‘discover its inner warrior’ by joining forces with the Reebok Spartan Race Series, and not long after this announcement I was, quite literally, breaking my toes at a Spartan Training Camp in Cambridge. The camp, a great concept designed to give people a taster of OCR, allowed me to meet with Team Spartan in my role as founder of the UK’s most inspirational foundation, and following what was a great day (and several weeks of hobbling around), in September I returned to Cambridge to tackle my first ever Spartan - a 5km ‘sprint’ comprising of a least 15 different obstacles! On arrival I was immediately struck by the atmosphere and the excitement amongst those taking part. I’m not sure how many people took to the course that day… four, maybe five thousand… all of whom were setting off in different waves, but the enthusiasm and sense of thrilled trepidation was palpable.

LEONIDAS HIMSELF WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD! 38

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SPARTAN RACE TRAINING CAMP & SPARTAN RACE SPRINT CAMBRIDGE

After slipping into a pair of short black shorts (which wouldn’t have looked out of place in my recent Channel 4 commercial) I asked the other racers to write ‘Spartanic’ messages across my body and words which optimised the feeling on the day. My body mural read with words and phrases such as ‘never surrender’, ‘courage’, ‘glory’ and ‘pride’… with some ladies choosing to practice their handwriting skills in the most ticklish of places! With my race start time approaching, runners were gathered together for an arrousing speech (no, not in that way!) from one of the Spartan Race team, dressed in full ‘300’ clothing! From underneath his helmet, he called out to the crowd who responded with cries of “Aroooo! Aroooo!” and before we knew it, we were off… The course itself was great fun… a well set out mix of off-road running and obstacles which would challenge both the novice and experienced runner (many of whom chose to run the course twice!). Runners were made to climb, crawl, leap and slide their way across dry land, through thick mud, and splash (or swim) through water in what can be described as a continuous 5k adventure.

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COLOR RUN SUNDERLAND, BIRMINGHAM, BELFAST AND BRIGHTON AN EVENING WITH GEORDAN MURPHY & AN EVENING WITH GRAHAM ROWNTREE, SAM HARRISON & ED SLATER

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WORLD GRAVY WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

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Obstacle Race | Issue 6

But in addition to the terrain and traditional OCR monkey bars, cargo nets and barbed wire, there were certain challenges specific to the Spartan Race Series… Entrants had to throw a spear at a target; they were made to climb a 30ft rope and then ring a bell; they were required to carry an atlas stone; they strained to heave a heavy weight into the air on a pulley system… and so on… and failure to complete any of these tasks would result in the now stone-etched Spartan penalty of 30 burpees! The finale required runners to haul themselves up the slippery wall, with the aid of a rope and the helping hands of those around them, and then following a cargo netting descent, leap over a track of fire laid out in front of the finish. At this point, having sneaked my fire-breathing kit onto the course, I managed to blow 9 foot flames from my mouth as those around me crossed the line to pick up their finishers medals! Since the event, what has struck me the most is how many ‘Spartans’ have reached out to me to ask about the ‘Always With A Smile’ foundation, both its aims and values, and to send messages of goodwill and support for what it is I’m trying to do. I can honestly say that I’ve never had such a response from a single event, and I’m extremely excited about working closely with the Reebok Spartan Race next season to help develop their charitable commitments and to further inspire people to do something that they have never before considered doing! And since it’s conception some eight years ago, there is no better example of the foundation’s altruistic efforts than the worlds messiest culinary charity competition… the World Gravy Wrestling Championships! Held on August Bank Holiday Monday at the Rose ’n Bowl pub in the village of Stacksteads, Lancashire, and now in its 6th year, the competition sees around twenty or so willing participants grapple in around in 1,500 litres of meaty sauce… and with gravy being an old Northern favourite, it’s no wonder that this contest has become one of the most popular independent charitable events in the calendar with literally thousands cramming in to watch the spectacle no matter what the weather brings. Unlike normal wrestling, there are no pins or submissions however… instead a group of judges award (only a few) points for take downs and holds, and (a whole load of) points for comedic value, entertainment, crowd reaction and costume. At the end of each 2 minute bout, a winner is declared by official referee Ken Claxon, until finally one gladiator stands victorious, knee deep in the gravy pool! This year, with temperatures dropping to a chilly 9 degrees, 14 men and six women fought to the bitter end… with splashes, wedgies, throws, tumbles and slips littering each bout. As is written in the rules, all of the gravy grapplers transformed into a fighting alter ego for the championship, and this year’s characters included Superman, a tiger, Big Daddy and a Minion. As a two-time winner of the competition, and a Guinness Book of World Records holder in the mystic art, I took to the arena as the ‘Bisto Beast’ – much down to my caveman-like beard. Admittedly, my decision to actually compete was rather last minute, due to the ‘Spartan Toe’, but my love for this competition and the people who organise it, meant that I was always going to be there in some fashion… Not

to mention the fact that this event raises around £4,000 annually for East Lancashire Hospice. To introduce the wrestlers to the crowd, a parade takes place before any of the action begins, and a prize is awarded for the best costume… and only then is it time to get messy! First up, I was matched against gravy wrestling veteran and one of the chief organisers of the event, Andy Holt. In his final year of actual competition, the old boy of the gravy game came as just that… gingerly walking into the gravy pool with his zimmer-frame! This meant trouble for the ‘wrinkled one’ as the ‘Beast of the Gravy Pit’ would take no prisoners… or should that be pensioners?

WHAT RESULTED WAS AN ONSLAUGHT OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. Needless to say, having secured my path into the next round I found myself up against Stephen Claxon, the son of referee Ken… who was also dressed as a referee! In a Neandertholic haze, I floored both men and proceeded to suplex the younger Claxon several times before throwing him outside of the arena and assaulting him in the midst of the watching crowd. After a savage battering, Stephen was thrown back in the ring, where one final suplex almost ended the bout until (in what some believe to be an act of love, others a despicable breach of authority) I was set upon by both father and son. On being thrown out of the ring myself, Ken then raised the hand of his off-spring and disqualified me from the competition! And that was that… well, for another year at least. The event itself, it has to be said, is quite remarkable… and its success has been built on the hard work of all the volunteers that work tirelessly throughout the year to help stage this truly British extravaganza, and as founder of the ‘Always With A Smile’ foundation I can’t praise the people behind the scenes highly enough. With the body cleansed of both gravy and mud, the foundation has also been doing it’s bit elsewhere over the last couple of months. I’ve continued in my role as an ambassador for the Color Run, travelling to Sunderland, Birmingham, Belfast and Brighton as the world’s biggest event series draws to a finish at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In addition, I’ve also continued in my role as a compere to some of the UK’s top sportsmen, hosting ‘Evening With…’ events with rugby legends Geordan Murphy and Graham Rowntree, as well as current Leicester Tigers players Sam Harrison and Ed Slater.

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

MUD SWEAT AND VOLUN-TEARS Andy Fisher

I am currently recovering from what was for me one of the most physically arduous days in this year's OCR calendar. What race was I competing in? I wasn't running - I was a volunteer! My day began at 7.30am on a Saturday morning in late August when I arrived at Pippingford Park bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as one of the team of volunteers for this season's inaugural event in the Spartan series. It was overcast and eerily quiet and as I drove past an M.O.D. sign warning that I was entering grounds used for military training; I wondered if my trusty sat-nav had finally let me down. Soon enough however I found the tell-tale signs that the gently rolling hills and forests surrounding me would soon reverberate with the laughter, screams and grunts of over a thousand athletes. I made my way towards the administration tent as the heavens opened and I fished out my waterproofs; it was about to get muddy! People volunteer at an OCR for a number of reasons. Some are curious about our sport but are not yet ready to commit as a participant and so helping behind the scenes affords them an opportunity to get involved while they decide if it is 'for them'. Others are working on behalf of charitable organisations who will receive a donation in exchange for the time they give up for the day. My motivation was a little less altruistic; I will be joining the starting line in October for the infamous Spartan Beast (a 20km event held at the same venue) and it seemed like a good idea to recce the route ahead of time and get an idea of what I have let myself in for! What I did not appreciate was just how physically demanding the day would turn out to be. Myself and another member of the red t-shirt crew found ourselves stationed towards the end of the 5km race where we would spend the day marshalling a carry-task involving jerry cans

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

filled with water. There were perhaps fifty of these, each weighing something like 30kg, neatly piled beside a long line of race tape heading off into the distance; this indicated the direction in which the participants would have to lug their load before returning it to us. If they failed to complete the distance we would be happy to dispense 30 chest-toground burpees before sending them on their way! By the time the last wave of runners had negotiated our station several hours later I believe we had man-handled and dragged the equivalent of 1300 of the blessed things from one side to the other of the obstacle's start and end points! This distance was negligible (just a few metres) and some runners were kind enough to follow our instructions to the letter so that we didn't have to touch them again but these were the exception rather than the rule. Often we would help those who were struggling to lift the load onto their shoulders or safely bring them back down to the ground and this also added to our labours. I would like to think I am in pretty decent shape but it took a couple of days before the muscles in my upper back had recovered sufficiently to take up my own training again! I mention all this not by way of complaint - I loved every minute of it - but because I came to have a new respect for those who volunteer at such events. We were there to work and we certainly paid our dues! Even if I had had a less demanding task to oversee, I would still have been dehydrated and my voice would have been just as hoarse from all the yelled encouragement and banter. The packed lunch I was provided with was delicious but had to be eaten in snatches when we had relatively quiet moments and these were rare - throughout the day I witnessed a steady stream of runners testing themselves against the best the Spartan team could throw at them. One of the great things about volunteering is that you get to see first-hand the range of people who undertake these kind of races. First came the elite wave who set a blistering pace and looked too fresh for my liking. They were soon followed by the full spectrum of humanity, young and old, the stout and the whippet-thin, lone wolves and close knit teams, the bare-chested, the costume clad and the courageous who had been injured earlier on the course but limped on, refusing to quit. I respected each and every one of them and did my best to lift their spirits, encourage them and assure them that the finish line was just a kilometre away (it was a generous 5km course to say the least!) before sending them on their way, hopefully in the right direction. I have followed with interest the debate in the OCR community about whether concessions should be made for female athletes and I got to see just how thorny an issue this is while at Pippingford Park that day. The jerry cans we were looking after were all filled to the brim and in the first couple of waves of runners several of the more petite women tried valiantly to carry them but then reluctantly requested burpees, knowing that they faced possible injury if they continued to try and cover the distance with such a heavy weight. Most accepted the penalty with good grace but a few gave us an earful about how we should have provided a lighter alternative. As the day wore on some of the cans had leaked (and others I suspect had become lighter because one or two emptied or drank the contents at the far end of the line

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which conveniently disappeared over the brow of a hill, before returning them to us!). My partner and I set these aside and offered them to those who asked for them or who looked like they might appreciate the modified challenge. Again, most were grateful but one or two made it quite clear that they wanted no special treatment and didn't appreciate the offer! It seemed that we were damned either way and this illustrated perfectly the two sides of the debate! Given how tired most of the runners were by the time they reached us, I was amazed by just how polite and thoughtful they were. Many made a point of making eye contact, smiling and thanking us for helping to make the event so memorable. I can count on my fingers the number who dropped their jerry can at the earliest acceptable opportunity and struck out for personal glory without acknowledging our existence. Even this I think is forgivable; I know when I am in pain and focused on the finishing line it is all too easy to lose sight of my immediate surroundings. It is a testament to our community that so many had the presence of mind, despite their personal discomfort, to connect with us along the way. For me the highlight of the day came when the last three runners arrived at our station, accompanied by a member of the Spartan staff who served as a sweeper to ensure that

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

no one was left out in the field. Once they had completed their carry, we finally abandoned our post and ran the remainder of the race with them, helping them over the last three obstacles. Linking arms, we all jumped the fire pit that led to the finish line and applauded them as they collected their hard-won medals. The tired smiles and expressions of pride etched across their faces as they each hugged us and thanked us was humbling. Our duties were not quite over however and many of the volunteers like me stayed behind for another hour to help with litter collection as the site slowly emptied. By the time I left at 6:30pm the sun was dropping towards the horizon and Spartan's tag line - 'You'll know at the finish line' had taken on a whole new meaning for me. Tucked into my pocket was a voucher which affords me free entry for a future race which was much appreciated but was by no means the most valuable thing I took away with me. The whole of the Spartan staff team had proven why they are leaders in the field; from beginning to end they had made us feel welcome, valued and part of their team. It was great to come away knowing that I had been able to make a difference and, in a small way, made the race memorable for those who had taken part. I still faced a five hour drive to get back home and was shattered physically and mentally but I would do it all again without hesitation.

RACER PROFILE STEVE HAMMOND Written By CARL WIBBERLEY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: STACEY SERRA

Imagine for a second, every daydream you had as a kid, of the epic adventures you would be able to go on as an adult. Climbing mountains, white water rafting and camping out under the stars in far off lands. Well Steve Hammond our racer review in this issue has pretty much dedicated his whole life to making those day dreams a reality. Not only that, but he has also become a damn good obstacle course racer and all round action man meets Grizzly Adams. Steve please tell us some more about the amazing adventures you’ve been on? Wow where do I start. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world! From when I was a kid I would dream of climbing big mountains and going on mad adventures, so at 17 and after realising that schooling was not for me, I got involved in working at an outdoor centre and the adventures came thick and fast! The best recipe for adventure is keenness and lack of experience!!! I got told once it’s not an adventure unless something goes wrong, otherwise it’s just another trip! So when I find myself 200 feet up with no ropes on a vertical rock face and realising I don’t have the ability to climb it!! That’s adventure!! I very quickly learned you can have great adventures you just have to get the right skills! So in time I did. Years later I find myself on the north face of the Eiger in a very similar position this time a lot more skill! Did it make a difference, well not really but I’m still alive!! My love for kayaking, skiing and climbing has taken me

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all over the world and too many different countries to have epic adventures. Long may it continue!!! Where would you say is the greatest place you’ve been lucky enough to visit? I have many favourites, but for me a country has to be as diverse as possible, because I love to ski when it’s snowing, kayaking when the rivers are flowing, climbing in the sun and surf when it’s pumping!! So for me there is a place that can give me this all in one day!! Unbelievably Morocco is this place! With the Atlas Mountains and the amazing coast, it’s like California but with less bikinis!

climb, ski, or train! When done with that, drink beer!! What is it about OCR that makes you keep coming back for more? I’ve been involved in many sports but not one as addictive as OCR and I have thought long and hard about this, yes it’s exciting, challenging, hard and rewarding, but so are the other sports I’ve competed in. But for me it’s the people. The OCR community is the friendliest un elitist bunch of guys and girls I’ve met; so welcoming and heart-warming - Epic! Describe yourself in three words?

So tell us a little about what you’re doing when you aren’t getting muddy on an obstacle course?

Ambitious, smiley, andcompletlymadandfartoohonestformyowngood (is that still one word!)

So I’m sitting here writing away and this questions has got me!! I’m covered in mud on a Monday after a great OCR weekend in Pippingford with Spartan as now my job is to set courses for Spartan; I find myself doing miles and miles putting up tape and obstacles and then doing miles and miles pulling them back down!!.

What would you say is the biggest challenge you’ve faced? Both professionally and personally?

For the last 5 years I worked running rafting expeditions in Nepal Zambia and Morocco. I’m at a turning point in my life just now, but exciting times ahead working with Spartan. So when I’m not getting muddy I’m probably sleeping! If I do find myself with time off without the sessions I do then its finding a flight to go see my mates, either surf,

I’m sat now for about an hour looking at this question not sure what to say, and wondering how deep to go. In life I have faced many challenges; in my life style, my personal life, reading and writing, illness, divorce, and losing a business. But for me that’s just part of life and you have to keep driving on! For me my main love is to be out when in the mountains pushing the boundaries, things can happen that are out of your control. I lost someone close to me on a climbing

trip and it have could have been me. For me getting back to that level and pushing the limits again was one of the biggest challenges out there! In everything you do I ask myself is it worth the risk? My answer is I am who I am because I did push those bounders and I am living life to the very most I can live it to! Do you have a mantra you turn to while pushing hard during racing or training? Oh yes!! My faith is one of the great driving points in my life. So when half way through an ultra-run or when it gets tough in a race I say out loud. Isaiah 40vs31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” It’s amazing how uplifting it is for me. What is a typical weeks training for you? My training has always been a bit inconsistent because I don’t have a normal job. My jobs have always been a key part of my training. My job as a guide has always been a

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workout but on an easy day I do make it for a run, but most the time the country’s I work in are pushing 40 degrees and I have to make myself run when it’s quiet which was usually midday!! Woo woo I love it! Now I’m back in the UK for a bit I’ve been able to now work on my speed the endurance and strength are there but speed is key to perform at the top! So will try and train every day in some form or another! Where do you see the sport of obstacle racing going in the future? Super excited about this! I really do see OCR going all the way and maybe Olympics. But it has to sort itself out, first of all it has to be a sport, it’s not at the moment, it’s a business. It’s being pulled in many different ways and we have to be careful to make it as a sport, it’s sort of getting there with The OCR World Championships and the Spartan World Championships and the World’s Toughest Mudder! But as I said it’s all being pulled by money and therefore will never make it as an Olympic sport as the big companies want their brand to be the face of it! It is fantastic that it is not just an elite sport, that anyone of any age can take part, that’s a huge plus point, but I would love to see it as a sport in years to come. What does your race day breakfast consist of? 2 whole chickens’ yum yum yum!! And half a packet of pro plus!!!! Wooooooooo hooooo!! What races are you most looking forward to this season? Really excited about the Spartan Beast as I get to set the course with Richie Pringle and see how people get on with it. It will be a great race to watch! As for me competing also the UK OCR Championships hosted by Doug at Dirty Dozen will also be epic! When you are not training / racing what do you like to do? In recent time my chill out keeps changing, I have some sports that are like meditation to me and surfing is one of them, I lived near the beach for some time and getting up early or having a sun set surf is just perfect way to chill out! Never been in to TV and can’t read! But love drinking beer!! If you could give one piece of advice to someone new to obstacle racing what would it be? Be prepared for it to change your life!! And let yourself be open to the amazing people involved in OCR, they’re awesome; be apart and never look back!! What would you say is your must have kit list for race day? A super positive mental approach! My inov8 talons or Reebok OCR super might get told off as I’m sponsored by Reebok but will have to let go of my inov8 soon!! , athlectic8 compressions and my RPCC kit, includes 1 pair of ripped shorts only! For the colder races I have some NRS hydro skin top and bottoms and there amazing in cold weather OCR, deep heat and my dry robe, can’t eat the go go gels as they make me feel a little sick so I rely on my 2 chickens and a heap of bananas for power!! So, if people want to keep up with your racing adventures where can they follow you? Do you have a blog? I don’t as yet, but will have an athletes Facebook page very soon.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

Obstacle Race Magazine sat down with Team ACTIVE, from ACTIVE Network, the leaders in Activity and Participant Management – powering registrations for a whopping 180,000 events worldwide. What’s unique about Team ACTIVE is that they are also participants. We wanted to ask them about the recent growth in OCR and what’s driving that success from both sides of the fence. How have you engaged in OCR? We’ve spent the past 12 months travelling up and down the country getting muddy. We’ve scrambled through nets, scaled 30ft constructions, leapt over 10ft walls, and nearly got hyperthermia…well only one of us, but let’s not get into that! We’re fortunate enough to work in Sports Technology, so we are constantly reviewing, analysing, and engaging in OCR from a professional standpoint. As participants we’re a varied bunch – a gym going Account Manager; rugby playing Sales Executive; fitness fanatic Business Analyst and running enthusiast Marketing Manager. This sport has bonded us in a way that none of us anticipated; we don’t just go to these events together, we complete them together. Like most teams in OCR we all have different reasons for taking part as individuals, but there’s something about a team-centric sense of accomplishment that unites us and keeps us coming back for more. Aside from the obstacles themselves, what is it that makes OCR unique? OCR is a pretty special discipline. It’s the only sport that integrates running, core stability, cross-functional strength and mental endurance into one event; it’s these diverse requirements that make OCR fun, challenging, and appealing. Each event organiser has a different approach to challenging their participants, which makes each experience unique.

ACTIVE YEAR ROUND UP AN INTERVIEW WITH TEAMACTIVE’S OCR FANATICS

Endurance sports like cycling, running, and triathlon, at their core, are primarily focused on an individual’s result. The team element is one of the things that make OCR so special. It is this focus that has created a community of enthusiasts who otherwise wouldn’t exist. This should be celebrated as it changes our mind-set from ‘I’ to ‘we’ and the belief that ‘we can do it together’. It’s this re-evaluation of how we consider ourselves that can have a significant impact on attitude and perspective. It’s incredibly rare for an event of any kind to be able to achieve this. In fact, this team trend is so strong that it’s changing the way Race Directors perceive their own events. In 2014 we’ve seen the launch of the UK’s first ever team-only challenge, and the biggest indoor team based obstacle course race. We find these changes extremely exciting and are looking forward to how this space evolves in 2015. What’s driving participation in OCR? As we mentioned, groups are a huge driver in participation. What’s interesting is that 51% of men and 47% of women sign up for these events as a part of a team. It’s a clear sign of how much appeal this sport has across both genders. The hyper-social aspect of OCR is another driving factor,

Thomas Mannah ACTIVE Network, Sports Endurance Account Manager’ CONTINUE ON PAGE 53

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not just in terms of group participation, but also sharing the experience via social media— whether it’s posting photos on Facebook or recruiting your mates via Twitter.

also likely to take part in the same event the following year. This allows event organisers to tap into a larger customer base that they’d otherwise be blind to.

AWOL Adventure have led the way with their photo-sharing platform where, at a recent event of 1600 runners, we saw 50,000 photo views with an average of 12 downloads, shares or tweets per shot. So not only is social media bringing in more participants, it’s also acting as a visual engagement hub.

How should an OCR event format itself?

You cannot discount the novelty factor either – it’s something new to try and a great gateway for people to get involved in a fun sport with their mates, colleagues, and families. What do you think OCR race directors should start to focus on? OCR in the UK is definitely evolving with events becoming bigger, slicker, and more brand focused. However, even though participation is moving in the right direction, race directors need to be savvier than ever to increase participation and build brand loyalty. This pressure is due to the continuous growth of events coming into the market. Throughout the past two years, participants have sampled a wider range of events and they’re becoming a lot more discerning. If you cannot differentiate your event or meet the quality that participants expect, then stagnation may set in. With 38% of participants attending via recommendations from family and friends and 23% being past participants, it’s essential that race directors tune into customers’ expectations based on what they know, not what they assume. To give this context race directors need to know (not assume) where their events fit on an experiential scale; is your event actually challenging, fun, or a combination of both? If the answers to these questions aren’t known then there’s a risk that you’re messaging is wrong, or you’re targeting the wrong audience. Either way these disconnects will impact customer’s expectations, and your brand. There seems to be a lot of activity around fundraising, why is that? OCR has a bucket-list appeal, which naturally aligns itself to charities. Through our partnership with JustGiving, we’ve seen that 50% of OCR participants are open to fundraising. We also know that 27% of fundraisers will raise money for a specific charity. It’s this synergy between sport participation and social engagement that creates a feel-good vibe which are the perfect ingredients for a fundraising platform. The impact we’ve seen in fundraising is quite exciting. Each fundraising participant is likely to raise an average of £445 through fundraising page creation during their registration process. In addition to raising funds for a good cause, one third of fundraisers will inspire their friends and family to fundraise too, which is a great win-win. What’s really cool is the knock-on effect. 62 percent of those who are encouraged to participate by the original fundraiser are

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As OCR grows, there are questions that naturally emerge, the main of which is whether this sport should focus on completion or competition. At this stage, there’s definitely room for both, and for OCR to develop, this should definitely be the case. On the other side of the spectrum, there are many events which are more likely to appeal to the everyday-person. The idea of completion does have mass-appeal creating a funnel which feeds the more competitive events – dropping the barriers that other sporting events can put up but still providing a platform for the hard-core enthusiasts How should event organisers prepare for 2015? 2015 is going to be a very exciting year for OCR. There are a lot of well-established events which now have a brand to live up to. The exciting news for these events is that they’ll have a following, but the challenge will be creating experiences to build brand loyalty which will live up to participant’s expectations. In order to thrive, their courses are going to have to become more creative, and their communication more targeted and sophisticated. They’ll also need the right tools on-hand to ensure that they’re getting to know and engage their customers. The biggest challenge that new event organisers will have is making their event stand out from the crowd, as they’ll now be battling against known brands. Their concepts will have to be original, creative, and well-executed, both digitally and on race day. As we touched upon earlier, there is a healthy demand for OCR, which means that more events will emerge during 2015, meaning more choice! So, being able to profile your past and future participants through your event data will keep your brand communication focused and customers expectation managed. We’re also delighted to see how OCR media is progressing. We’ve seen a huge growth and are fans of the community based websites and forums. It’s also great to have publications like yours focusing on this massparticipation niche sport. I think these channels will thrive and continue to increase awareness, and participation. Any advice to those who are thinking of getting involved in OCR? OCR is a sport that’s open to anyone and everyone; and with the amount of events out there you can quite easily find one that suites you and your mates. If you want to take part because you have a competitive streak then you can, or if you just want something new to try then that’s an option too. Any final words? See you in the mud…

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

WHY YOU SHOULD GO FOR THE SPARTAN TRIFECTA IN 2015?

Obstacle races are the new race for life, the new half marathon and the hottest sport since triathlon really took off.

SO WHY DO WE PUT OURSELVES IN FOR EVENTS THAT ARE PROBABLY GOING TO GIVE US CUTS, SCRAPES AND BRUISES? Take a minute to answer this question yourself and you’ll probably find that the words challenge, stories and bling have cropped up.

CONTINUE ON PAGE 57 WRITTEN BY: STUART Amory

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY: EPIC ACTION IMAGERY

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I HAD TO MAKE A DECISION … I SIMPLY HAD TO DO IT! 56

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

Well the founder of Spartan Race, Joe De Sena and his team are not silly and have come up with the brilliant idea to get people like you and me to do all of their races and do them within one calendar year. Complete their 5km+, 15 obstacles “Sprint” event and you get a rather nice medal to show off to friends and family. Manage to do their 13km+, 21 obstacles “Super” race and you get another epic medal but if you also conquer their 20km+, 26 obstacle “Beast” race you get the medal for that plus the Trifecta medal. Hang on…if you do three events, you get four medals? SOLD! I am not going to lie but I am what some people call, a medal whore. I love collecting medals and as I have two young children the more colourful the better. I hate paying extortionate fees for an event not to receive the silverware necklace, oh and I also hate when you find the medal and the bottom of the goody bag…every racer should be awarded their medal and not take it off for at least 24 hours. Anyway, I digress…after speaking to a Spartan Race representative I was ready to sign up for the challenge and the FOUR medals of the Trifecta. In chatting to other people who were doing one Spartan event, it didn’t take them long to get involved. Christie, a self-confessed gym bunny looking to do the smaller Sprint event as a major challenge signed up to the Super before doing the original Sprint and on completion of the middle distance had her name down for the Beast. George, a 27 stone ex homeless, drug abuser heard about the Spartan races and signed up for the Super event but after immersing himself in the Obstacle Race community online had set his sights on the Trifecta and is doing it despite numerous naysayers trying to talk him out of it. The challenge of the Trifecta is infectious. So laptop on, diary open, I logged onto to uk.spartanrace.com and found that the easiest way for me to get the four medals was to do the Sprint on Saturday the 30th August with the Super, the day after. Now, I’ve done my fair share of obstacle course races but never a Spartan one and from what I’d heard, they were different. They are not just off-road races with things to climb over or crawl under, in Spartan races you will lift stones, carry jerry cans, climb ropes, drag tyres and throw spears! So to attempt two events in two days required some strategy. I decided to go for the third wave of the day for the Sprint to see what Spartan Races would throw at me whilst taking it at an easyish pace and then join the warriors of the ‘Elite’ wave on Sunday’s Super race. On the morning of the event, my family travelled down to Pippingford Park on Rich Pringle, Spartan Race UK’s Director of Operations’ advice that they aimed to make this an event where the family can enjoy the day too and not be ‘Spartan Widows’. My eldest child recently turned four and qualified for the Junior Spartan race so it was a first for both of the Amory men. My wave started a little late due to parking issues but following the trademark Spartan Battle cries lead by the team “AROO AROO AROO”, we were off. Straight down a hill, over a bridge and up a bugger of a hill before reaching the first of many obstacles right at the top. I chuckled to myself and murmured a swear word. This was going to be tough I thought. I found myself in the lead and catching back markers quite soon into the race but I had company. I kept thinking that I should be taking it easy but the ‘BEAST MODE’ was switched on and I was on a mission. What happened over the next 49 minutes was epic, even the two lots of 30 burpees for falling off of the monkey bars (I have a good excuse!) and treating the spear like a javelin and missing

the haystack by a mile added to the Spartan adventure. As I approached the ‘Fire Jump’ I saw my family, gave them a kiss/high five and then leaped the final obstacle before collecting my medal. Now it was Sam’s turn and I must admit I was excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because this was his first race and this was his first real taste of what he sees his dad doing but nervous because Sam can freeze and go all shy with things like this but the 11 minutes after the Junior Spartans were given the go, he had me in tears. He was incredible. He tackled everything head on and thoroughly loved it. I recorded him on my GoPro and made a video that can be found on my You Tube channel. The day ended with meeting and chatting with Joe De Sena and a ‘Sprint’ burger from the van. On the Sunday, I arrived early and asked Carl (editor) about the spear throw…I was taking this seriously and didn’t want any burpees today. He advised me that you have to “throw it like a dart”…I’m not sure I believed him but it was worth a try…so more Phil Taylor and less Steve Backley. When I lined up amongst the ‘Elite’ I must admit I was thinking I should’ve entered a less competitive wave as I’d heard that these guys and girls were machines and I had raced the day before too. GO!!!! Now, on Saturday I found myself near the front within 50 metres of the start but today there was a full on sprint towards the hill. At this point my thoughts focussed on getting around the course and the medal as being competitive didn’t seem likely. I managed to overtake a few on the hill and spotted that I was probably in the top 30. When I approached the traverse wall, I saw quite a few burpees being dished out. I crossed this and then the monkey bars. Now my excuse for failing these on Saturday was that you need momentum to conquer this obstacle and I got held up by a slower Spartan Warrior. So this time I made sure my lane was clear and reached the middle in no time at all. What made this even better was the fact that more burpees were being performed as I set off to the next crazy obstacle. The course was exactly the same as the sprint until we’d completed the parallel bars then we veered off to the right and took on some nasty hills. I saw two lads running together and by keeping my head down and going at my pace I found I was catching them and soon had passed them. One thing I’ve learned is to never believe what you can see is the top, I imagine that Mount Everest is over the next peak or there’s a tractor waiting to be pushed so when you do reach the top you feel a sense of relief that there’s no tractor…believe me, it works. Ammo boxes, tyres and logs faced me in the next few miles where I could see the next runner quite a bit in front and the two lads I passed earlier, behind. I felt in control and started to really enjoy the rest of the race. I asked a marshal what position he thought I was and he said “fifth, I think”. I was wetting myself with excitement which is easy to disguise in the bogs. Another marshal was shouting “Top 10” as the course re-joined the route of the Sprint race. I was loving it and my excitement hit the roof as I threw the spear ‘like a dart’ (thanks Ed) and it stuck in. As I approached the ‘Fire Jump’ I really couldn’t hide my excitement and went for a forward roll that thankfully went well before doing the ‘Blazeman Roll’ (google it) over the finish line. A lovely ending to the race was having

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Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

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Rich Pringle at the end congratulating me and he really couldn’t believe how energised I was after doing it. I simply said “I LOVED THAT!” and went to collect my second medal! The week prior to the Beast race had me off work and in bed with the recurrence of a throat virus and I’d felt I’d done everything I could to get myself well including two visits to the doctors but it was the night before and I had to make a decision…I simply had to do it. Now as a personal trainer, you should never compete with an illness but remember I did say the Trifecta was infectious…pardon the pun. I turned up early and allowed my mind to take in the atmosphere hoping it would help me think I was well and it helped. The adrenaline was flowing as the music was loudly mixing with the eerie early morning mist. I lined up in the 9am ‘Elite’ wave and thought I’ll give it what I can and knew that even if I had to walk, I’d get my Trifecta medal. BOOM, we were off and I knew I had to run this differently. As everyone bolted off I felt weak and had to take it easy. The course was great and challenging with the week’s rain making the bogs boggier and the hills slippier. I simply hung in there but felt that this was not the usual ‘me’ running and the first time I found myself walking, my head dropped. I had to change my whole normal race strategy and run on the flat and the downhill but yomp uphill. I really wanted to give the Beast a thrashing so to speak, but there was nothing there. The course was epic and the long uphill barbed wire was a cracker but to make my pain worse was when I got my first set of penalty burpees. It was the same scenario on the monkey bars as I had in the Sprint race where I was waiting for the person in front to clear, eventually they did but it was just one bar too many for me and I slipped just as my feet touched the ground and I missed hitting the end bell. The muddy, wet rope climb had me going up and slipping down but I managed it before I got my next set of burpees on the weird ‘crossfit’ rotating monkey bars thingies. Today was not my day but I kept thinking that I had come here for the medals. Heavy sandbag and tyre carries up and down hills, buckets and jerry cans through water as well as tyre dragging and flipping all faced us but the real challenge was the temperature of the 60 metre swim… it was Baltic!!! One moment that did eventually make me smile was the spear throw as it stuck like a dream… no more fricken burpees I thought. I had done 90 in total as I slipped off the traverse wall too. Finally, heading towards the finish line after 13 miles was two more obstacles before the fire jump. In the Sprint, I jumped. In the Super, I rolled. It was time for the ‘Firewalk’. As I reached the burning inferno, I stopped and proceeded to walk across like Arnie would’ve in Terminator…I did it knowing that I had conquered the Spartan Series and gained my Trifecta medal. The Trifecta is an epic challenge and in life we face many challenges including some that you belief you cannot conquer. Spartan want you to do their events facing challenges so you become a stronger person physically as well as mentally. As much as I hated doing the Beast whilst ill, it actually made the challenge that bit more difficult but I conquered it and feel stronger for doing so. So, check out the 2015 Spartan dates when they come out and I may see you then as me and the Beast have some unfinished business!

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

MUD 7

THE BIG 7K MUD7 is the first multi OCR organisation event ever hosted. We have invited 7 of the best obstacle course racing organisations to put on a kilometre of the course each creating a unique 7km race with 7 different zones and 7 sets of the best obstacles the organisers can offer – all in one race! Naturally every single one of these OCR brands will want to make a lasting impression and so you’re guaranteed a unique experience at MUD7 full and bursting with the obstacles you love. Obstacle Race Magazine had the challenge of finding a location which could do such a unique race format justice. We wanted to set our amazing event up in a place that anyone coming from all the four corners of the country could easily get to. Also any of our international readers could be tempted to as well. We’re very pleased to announce that we’ve found such a spot! The Heart of England Conference Centre located in Warwickshire is a 160 acre site with tons of woodland and rolling hills. It’s situated in Meriden – the most central point in England and is extremely close to the M42, M5 and M6.

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01/08/15 7 KILOMETERS

7 DIFFERENT RACE ORGANISATIONS

1 EPIC RACE WWW.MUD7.COM

Heart Park, which was made famous for an amazing ‘beach’ that they created at the location couple of years ago, really does have everything you could want from an OCR. We can’t wait for next summer to come around. Obstacle Race Magazine is also going to host an expo at the same time for all you obstacle racing fanatics and so it was important to find a venue that could accommodate this also. Heart of England Park is currently used as a conference centre as well as a 4x4, Off Roading, quad bike, corporate event and paintballing site. It really is perfect for The MUDNIFICENT 7! We have so far revealed four of the seven race organisations who will be putting on a kilometre of the 7km race. Month one it was Airfield Anarchy, Month two it was The Reaper Run, month three we announced Spartan Race and month four was Tough Guy. These four alone will make it a race you don’t want to miss out on. The race entry price includes free entry to the Expo. For more information visit www.mud7.com or check out the latest news on the Facebook page ORM Mudnificent 7 & Obstacle Race Expo.

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

REAP WHAT YOU SOW Michelle Parsons, Red Cape Coaching Photography by R&R Photography

After your adrenaline has settled and your bruises have started to appear in all their glory, acting as a medal in their own right for your gruelling and challenging adventure, have you ever looked back upon a race and thought ‘I could have done better’, ‘I could have gone faster’ or even ‘If only I was stronger, fitter, I could have given so much more’? I have. Being recognised as a bit of a fitness junkie, I was the ideal candidate to take on a demanding obstacle race. I was capable, incredibly strong willed and fit!! – Or so I thought. In March 2013 I competed in the Rock Solid Race in Exeter, Devon. It lived up to every single expectation I had imagined. The glorious setting, the huge crowd, buzzing atmosphere and every competitors face showed such passionate display of emotions, from nerves and excitement to courageous, victorious finishers oozing confidence and fulfilment as they hurled themselves over that final obstacle and powered on towards to finish line. It was simply amazing. I did incredibly well and enjoyed every minute. I was exceptionally proud to be within the top 10 females to cross that beautiful and gratifying finish line, followed by the combination of some celebratory drinks and an entertaining England v Wales 6 Nations match to unwind. It was the perfect recipe to keep fuelling my euphoric high from the entire day well into the evening for the lively after party. We all had so much fun and laughter, battle scars and glory stories as we all shared the thrill of pushing ourselves to our fearless limits. At the time, I had no idea of the reality of how close to my limit I was actually was dicing. After when the excitement had mellowed, Monday morning had struck and it was back to the real world. It was in between these everyday routines that I took time out to realise how much more capable I was and what results I could have achieved. I knew deep down I was not race fit,

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

I was not at my strongest and I KNEW that if I was, I would have won that race for the ladies, and not been just within the top ten female finishers. Time flew by and before I knew it March 2014 was here and the same Rock Solid Race was upon me. But this time was different. I was different. I was fit, focused and still carried that mental toughness and determination, but most of all, I was healthy and strong. The race flew by; it felt like a breeze in comparison to the punishment I incurred last year. I was flying over mighty wooden walls in seconds rather than on the 7th, 8th or even 9th attempts of last year. I felt like a Grand National horse powering over everything in my way, leaving just debris and a trail of my path for the rest of the runners behind. It was the most rewarding, the most powerful and self-satisfying sensation that I had experienced throughout the entire past 12 month journey I had undergone. I finished the race, I claimed my race victory and importantly to me, I got that title I’d been chasing – 1st Female! Hurrah! So what was the difference? Had I just concentrated on getting fitter, stronger and more prepared for my race? Well. Yes. It was, but within that I had been concentrating and focusing in on so very much more. In 2013 I was at the breaking point of a long 7 years trying to juggle my life, my career, fitness and my friends all whilst struggling to control an all-encompassing and brutal eating disorder of Bulimia. Bulimia effected literally every hour and minute of my days over these awful years. From the physical symptoms that were restricting me from doing things I enjoyed, the way the illness itself made me retract from engaging with friends, family and functions, to the endless arguments and battles with my own thoughts, Bulimia had me held captive, ensconced for what felt to be a lifetime. CONTINUE ON PAGE 64

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The turning point for me was shortly after my Rock Solid Race in 2013 and by making the decision to apply my determination and strong will that I knew I owned, to something more useful in the long term. Unless you have been there and lived this nightmare lifestyle it is very hard to understand the effort and energy it takes to maintain an eating disorder, and I learned that if I had the strength and energy to keep this up, I also had the strength and energy to kick this firmly in the balls and reclaim my life. They say ‘The body will only go as far as the mind will push it’. My body was not fit or strong enough to have got the results I did in 2013, and although my sheer determination and will power got me through, this was never going to be sustainable and I was risking my health and my body to further damage and of course injuries. I would only ever have been able to keep it up short term until in some way or form I went ‘Bust’ and it was just a matter of time. The power of the mind is truly extraordinary. Thankfully I realised the direction my life was taking and how close I was dicing with my limits before I reached my fate. Since, looking into the area of eating disorders among elite athletes and reading some case studies, I have been amazed how many other high achieving exuberant people and athletes that also suffer this in such silence. Comparing the psychological profiles of athletes to those who suffer from a form of eating disorder actually reveal huge similarities, which helped me to understand perhaps how I had entered this game itself. Features in common included competitiveness, perfectionism, high selfexpectations, repetitive exercise routines, being very driven towards success, body image and being focused upon diet and weight. Although it is assumed that these disorders only effect the weak, low self-esteem or females, ballerinas and gymnasts, the reality is that often those determined, strong and ambitious individuals, striving for better, striving to live up to expectations and past performances are susceptible also. It is thought that up to 20% of elite athletes have suffered a form of disordered eating. There is no face that fits, and I am living proof that you often never know what people go through, my secret life remained a secret for six of my seven years. (*Source: Sungot-Borgen, J. Torstveit, M.K. (2004) Prevalence of ED in Elite Athletes is Higher than in the General Population. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14(1), 25-32) For a long time every day for me had been an obstacle race of its own. Every day felt like trudging through deep, thick mud fighting to lift your legs and not being sucked back down into its cold and hostile imprisonment. On a good day elated highs were soon beaten down by overpowering, strong demons with huge pugil sticks, taking your legs out from under you, winding you so hard that you simply cannot get back up off the ground. I will never be thankful for getting into this chaotic way of existing in the first place, but what I can be thankful for is the lessons that it has taught me. Whether you are taking on demanding obstacle courses or tackling other events that life throws at you, the mind set you hold and the approach you take are your key components to reaching your success. Through all my struggles and achievements there is one thing that has proven to be very relevant. You really do ‘Reap what you Sow’. When you commit to putting in the effort, passion and consistency to something, you will gain the best results. Follow my guide to start making movement towards better, more rewarding and more consistent results yourself, in obstacle racing, work or home life. It’s simple, easy to use and I am living proof that ‘It Works’!! REAP what you SOW Resilience – What defines you is not what knocks you down, but how quickly you get back up. Learn from mistakes, what could have been done better and apply it

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

to your next attempt. Failure is only failure if you do not learn from the experience and try again, now being more equipped to succeed. Enjoyment – Stop worrying about pleasing other people and do what makes YOU happy. Whether you are racing for a podium finish or racing for fun and fits of giggles, make sure you are doing it for your own reasons and not someone else’s. Getting the results YOU wanted from any event, challenge or situation is far more gratifying that getting the result but for someone else. Acceptance – Accept responsibility for your life and your results. Hold yourself accountable for the direction they are taking. You are the lead character and author of this story, make it ‘yours’ and realise that you are the only person in control of this happy ending. PLOT TWIST – If your story is not going in the direction that you want it to go, remember it is never too late to re-write it! Just stop! Scream “PLOT TWIST” and work in the direction you want to be taking instead!! You have the choice. You are the author after all! Structured Actions – We have all heard “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and it is so well known because it is so true! Make things happen by making commitments to your goals. Defining exactly what you want and working on specific actions to get you there. Ensure you write these actions down on paper, with a date or timescale that they are to be held to. Writing plans down and positioning it somewhere that you can see it daily is one of the most effective ways to get the results you are striving towards. Open to change – It is an NLP presupposition that ‘the person with the most flexibility gets the best results’ and it applies to all our challenges. It is all about being adaptable to change and the unexpected, when things are not as planned or as predicted, how do you react to this? If a hurdle jumps in your path, being flexible you will find another route around it, over it or even through it to be able to continue on your journey. You have this flexibility already. Think of a race you have been in where you have got to an obstacle and it was not as you expected. Perhaps the rope is broken that you would have used to pull yourself up the wall. Would cross your arms and think ‘Oh well, I’m best off wandering on back to the start/finish line’ or would you find another way of getting over? I KNOW you would find another way!! Willpower – Keep at it, don’t give up! A river cuts through stone not by its force, but by its persistence. Surround yourself by likeminded people, quotes or images that help you keep focused and on track. Have your end result clearly displayed somewhere that you see it every day to help maintain the desire of what you are aiming for. Keeping the goal in mind and setting milestones and rewards along the way all help you not only get to your outcome, but most importantly, enjoy the journey too. Take some time out to have a think about how your can ‘REAP what you SOW’. Whether that be applying the logic onto your training to maximise you results in your next fiercely fun obstacle race or upon another aspect of your own life. You will be amazed at the results possible. As you will have become more aware, there is no face to eating disorders, and sufferers do become incredibly talented masters of disguise. Don’t ever assume this doesn’t affect you, as the truth is, everybody knows somebody, you just may not realise it yet. Recovery is very possible with the right support in place, but sadly only 10% of sufferers seek help. All Obstacle Race Magazine readers can receive 2 FREE guides to inform you how to identify a friend’s eating disorder and also how to help and support them through it by simply sending an email to info@red-cape-coaching.co.uk and quoting your name and ‘ORM-FreeGuide’. . . . . . And you never know, this time next year, they could be giving you a run for your money out on the obstacle racing course!!

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

YOUR LETTERS

SEND US YOUR LETTERS! Thanks for your mudtastic letters and photos, we always look forward to hearing what you OCR fans are up to. We’re just sorry there isn’t room to include them all, but here’s a selection of our favourites. If you would like to get a letter on to this page then please send 100 words and a picture of you in action to letters@obstacleracemagazine.com

sponsored by Nuclear Races

Hi ORM Hi ORM!

Below is a picture of my 5 year old daughter Isabelle who has just completed her first ever mud race the Spartan junior which was excellent and she loved it!! The event was very well run and will defiantly be doing it again! Now I have to look out for more events for children! Her favourite obstacle was the mud trenches!!! And the cargo crawl! She then enjoyed clapping and cheering the first runners over the finish line. Much to her mothers delight she now will have 2 muddy kits to keep clean!

Just wanted to share my story. I don’t mind if you don’t put this in. It’s just nice to get this off my chest. I completed my first obstacle race on the 7th of September in Cambridge, awesome event. But there was more to this race than just the obstacles for me. Anxiety and depression! My whole life I’ve hidden from these type of things, sports days, events, crowds. I’ve been on antidepressants for 2 years now and was in a bit of a rut. A few months ago, I started working for Papworth Trust, a charity supporting disabled people. Working there helped my confidence grow, my love for life came back and thanks to my colleagues and clients, I’m happy again. So once I saw they were asking for runners to do this race, I thought, what the hell? I can raise money and awareness and give something back. I couldn’t get anyone to do it with me, that made me really nervous. But I carried on, raising around £200! Race day came,I headed up with my mum and brother as spectators and bag carriers! Got my number. Went to the Papworth tent and was told there were two runners Richard and Sabrina that were about to start and that I could run with them, I was so relieved. We worked as a team, despite them not knowing who I was, we shared burpees, cheered each other and paced ourselves so no one was left behind. It was amazing to be part of a team, no fear! I’m proud of myself and I hope more people can fight the fear and do what they want. I now have the bug and can’t wait for the next race! Thank you for reading. Regards, Luke.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

Dear Obstacle Race magazine

She’s one off us now!!!! Bob Payne

Picked up a copy of your mag for the first time this month and fully intend to get future copies. As I live out in the sticks (Elterwater in Cumbria) it’s not easy finding people who share your hobbies so great to read about it in your mag I only do 3 or 4 races each year but have been hooked for the past 3 years. Looking forward to doing the Tough Guy 1/2 marathon in October after completing Winter Tough Guy last Jan. I’m hoping to do the 13 miles in the same time it took me to do 10 in Jan (3.5hrs) I’m not quick, just determined to finish! Next year I’m signed up for both Total Warrior courses as they have been the best organised/most fun events I’ve done so far (you can keep yer Tough Mudders). Here’s a picture taken at Tough Guy last Jan. If Peter Jackson makes any more Lord of the Rings movies I could use this to apply to be an Orc (I also think I was one of only 3 people in Specs out on the course) There needs to be more races organised in the north, we have the terrain, we have the mud but I spend so much time traveling south it’s ridiculous (also more Sunday races) Kind Regards Ben Price

Hi ORM This was taken on Saturday at Tough Mudder Northwest and was my favourite of the season so far. We dressed as grannies to raise money for Alzheimers Society. We even had an actual tea party on top of Everest! Regards, Aaron German

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

GLADIATOR GAMES

RACE REVIEW

GLADIATOR GAMES

THE GLADIATOR GAMES Rocking up late to the Gladiator Games I was paranoid about missing my pre-race routine, and that I did. Registration were working as fast as they could for me but the warm up was well under way once I had my race pack. By the time I was ready the countdown had started, I fought my way to the front with little resistance and managed to get a sprint away from the others. The course started with 2 gladiators 30m into the race, sprint in full flow I took the hit and carried on in stride, up the hill, round the nettles and down through a field I found myself at a field with no one in sight. It’s worth mentioning there was no elite competition here, so instead I targeted myself for a sub 45min finish. Straight into a freezing lake I was caught by some of the 5k runners, they split left and straight into the fields of obstacles, but for me it was a 5k trail run to get the blood moving. The trail run started by heading through a farm, up a hilly field and then over a barbed wire fence, confusing to me, they had covered the fence and provided hay steps over. Long grass and twisted ground made this section a little ropey but none the less I loved the challenge.

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From here I went up and down the same field a number of times, fighting my way through a fallen tree before heading into a wooded area. The wooded area started by sending you across the same stream a few times, nothing new, nothing brutal but great fun! As soon as this finished I moved on to some brutal sloped climbs, before coming down, and up, and down, and up then down… more times than I can repress. Clearing this section, across another stream I had a long slope to climb before coming back down and catching up with a couple of the race staff. I stopped and had a chat with them for a few moments, asked their roles and how long there was left. Friendly, informed and a great laugh these guys really summed up the course. Moving on from my chin wag I took a run up and jumped into a river. Bad idea. With sludgy mud up to my high thighs and race staff aiming ‘banter’ at me I dragged myself out and took a sigh of relief as I escaped onto the bank. Thinking that was over I gave them some words back, they then pointed out I had to go back through it again, great…

Upon escaping this second bank I came across a water station which is where the 5 and 10k met up. It was time for the obstacles. As prepared as ever I had no idea about any of the obstacles, just a word from Carl saying this was a fun based run. Not that I ever trust Carl. Up a long sweeping hill I cleared past as many 5k runners as I could, before blasting down the hill at a scary pace. Here we go, obstacle number one. 2 gladiators were awaiting me, with wait for it!!! Yoga balls? Huh? From their platforms they threw yoga balls to try and slow you down which was a great obstacle, if not extremely easy. With a fore arm block I continued no problem on to number two. We’re all, no doubt, used to slides, but having to run up a hill slide was interesting! A few runners kept sliding back but I managed to find some ledges and leap between them. Straight round a tree I found another slide with one of the staff members I had chatted to earlier. Run, jump, land horribly then slide on my chest grimacing, another great fun obstacle! Next, a lake, simple easy and once through it was time to go back into some woods.

Time started becoming an issue here as narrow trails and slow 5k runners clogging them up. As narrow trails and constant river/stream crossings drained the energy from other runners I found them to be refreshing and spurred me to carry on… Until I came across the longest river walk on the planet. Dodging other runners I ran where possible and power walked where not, it must have taken me at least 5 min to cover it with constant screams a welcome distraction to the cold. At the end was a good friend Phil standing on a fallen free, with a marine buoy in hand. With instructions from the entire OCR community to make me cry I caught his buoy and tried to pull him off his perch before moving on past more 5k runners. Over some trees, through some mud, sorry correction, loads of mud. I came to the balance joists, two either side of a gladiator who was trying to knock you off. The beams were sloped and made for an interesting challenge, one that was just too much as I fell near the end of the 3 meter plank.

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JAMES RUCKLEY RACE REVIEW

RACE NAME: THE GLADIATOR GAMES LOCATION: WOODHALL ESTATE, WATTON-AT-STONE, HERTFORD, DISTANCE: 10K NUMBER OF OBSTACLES: 17 + NATURAL TERRAIN. SORT OF TERRAIN: WOODLAND, TRAILS AND FIELDS. LEVEL OF MUD: 6/10 DIFFICULTY LEVEL : 5/10

MARY WILKINSON

UPHILL RUNNING TIPS PHOTOGRAPHY BY – DAVE WOODHEAD

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Now the fun obstacles really began, overtaking anyone I could I soon had to run through what appeared to be a giant cloud created by a huge foam machine. Suitably soapy I crawled under a constructed frame through some inflatable beach balls before sprinting off. By now the end was in sight, I needed to do one length up the field and one back down with a few obstacles, jobs a good’un! First up came some hay bales with personal trampolines in between, no problem, straight over and across, avoiding 2 guys with tennis ball guns next was one of the weirder obstacles. A bucket of tennis balls, an empty bucked 3-4m away and 2 gladiators??? The idea was to throw a ball into the empty bucket, which one gladiator constantly moved whilst the other hit you with a weird stick. In the end I ran up to the bucket and chucked a ball in. Next please! My favourite person of the day had to be the woman handing out jelly beans, man I wish I had eaten breakfast that day! Jelly beans down, into a colosseum like crater where the two starting gladiators were awaiting. I took the hit well and continued my stride up out of the crater before crossing the finish line! The run was awesome fun, and a brilliant race for beginners and fun runners. I really did enjoy myself but there were a few things I can’t help but feel were missing. Upon crossing the line there was also little in the way of atmosphere. With no one putting medals on the finishers, no water, bananas and no music it was a bit of an anti-climax. Overall it was a great race and great laugh but in its current format is defiantly more of a beginner’s fun run. Moving forward I believe that they have a great platform to become a big race brand, but there is stiff competition in the fun run based obstacle world.

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inov-8 athlete Mary Wilkinson will be part of the Great Britain team taking part in the 30th World Mountain Running Championships in Italy on Sunday. So who better to share with us some of her hints and tips to up hill running than Mary. Yorkshire-based Mary, aged 33, has represented Great Britain nine times in mountain running, winning five medals, including three team golds. The uphill course for this Sunday’s race is 8km in length. Here are Mary’s top-8 tips to master off-road uphill running.

Running uphill can hold as much of a psychological barrier as a physical one. For long continual climbs don’t think of the whole distance and altitude gain. Instead, break it down into manageable segments that you can mentally tick off as they pass. If it’s a race, I will either run the route beforehand or look at the profile and identify key points, such as completing an especially steep section or getting to a flat section. For last month’s World Championship trial race, held over an uphill-only course at Sedbergh, I split it into five sections and thus it felt much more manageable in my head! If the hill is sustained and has a constant gradient, try and find a good running rhythm and stick to it. I often find myself counting to my foot strikes, which keeps me focused and working at a constant effort. Shorten your strides and lean into the hill, but keep the same rhythm and effort, as you would do when running on the flat. Taking smaller steps will keep you driving up and forward rather than over-striding

and having to lift your weight over your foot plant. I also like the feeling that I am running faster and stronger with the higher cadence that accompanies a shorter stride.

Don’t look down! Keep your head up and maintain a good posture. Looking at your feet means that you can’t open your lungs as much, which means less oxygen to your legs, which makes the hill harder! About 15 minutes before for an uphill race do a couple of short (10 seconds max) hill sprints to ensure your key leg muscles are firing. Sometimes it is just as fast to walk very steep ascents, however, if you do, make sure you don’t take the opportunity to ease off and instead really power walk. It can be hard to get back into running if you do walk. So, rather than walking, try shortening your stride and keep running. Ensure your shoes have good grip. There is nothing worse than your foot slipping as you try and drive off. My shoes of choice for uphill-only races are the inov-8 roclite 243 in dry conditions and the inov-8 x-talon 190 when it’s wet. Don’t forget; when running uphill-only races you will finish at a higher altitude than you started and the weather can be very different so carry extra kit to offer protection.

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

HISTORY

THE MR MOUSE INTERVIEWS PART ONE

The making of Tough Guy There are few individuals in OCR that could be classed as Eminent or Seminal. Obstacle Race Magazine’s publisher Mark Petrou has been spending time with Billy Wilson – widely recognised and accepted as the pioneer and spiritual father to OCR and over the next few issues, he’s going to share a unique and invaluable insight that every OCR fan will find interesting, challenging and rewarding... OCR is still the fastest growing sport in the world today. In this brand new “forest” of events that are literally covering the globe, one or two tall trees are growing clear of the canopy and making a household name for themselves. Go back just 30 years though and there wouldn’t have even been a single twig in the dessert…

1970’s

Running was a serious athletic activity. Marathons were competitive events reserved for a nations best athletes and staged not as a public spectacle but as part of a series of different disciplines designed to demonstrate a countries strength and prowess over its allies and neighbors. Before marathons, an activity known as cross country running had found popularity that crossed all social boundaries. Adopted in more recent years by schools, Cross country running originally grew in popularity because of it’s simple rules. At least 2 people would begin at the church in a certain village and would set off with the aim of chasing down the steeple in the next village in the fastest time against their opponent or opponents. No fixed route would be agreed and racers were free to choose different routes and often did – it was down to the individual racer to find the shortest route. Steeple Chase – the earliest form of cross country running has all but disappeared these days but the name remains familiar to many. Billy Wilson grew up in a time and a place that steeple chase and cross country running were a part of his childhood and early adult years.

“NO FIXED ROUTE WOULD BE AGREED AND RACERS WERE FREE TO CHOOSE” CONTINUE ON PAGE 74

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› 1952-1957 He served as a newsboy to save his coins for an Iron Hercules bike. He joined the City Cycling Club then conditioned himself to Wolverhampton Racing Cycling Club becoming Midland Road Race Champion. 1957, despite being the First Major Accident case on Aldersley New Velo track pioneer, which built the wrong camber. Billy in a pursuit Track Race bounced halfway round the track on his head and shoulder. Several Hours in a coma. A week later he needed only to compete and complete the final 10 mile time trial to win Midland Road Race Champion. So the Tough Guy® cast away the bandages and completed his win. His dream of being first Briton to Tour de France was shattered by the Accident. So he turned to running becoming B.A.O.R. Championship Cross Country Grenadier Guards. First over the line, 1956 in Germany. The Suez and Cyprus Crisis seized his battalion to War Training and Sport was a secondary hobby. A military career honed the importance of self-

discipline and fed his passion for physical activity and running for fitness and fun. A man who claims that he hasn’t gazed in a mirror since he was 7 years old, Billy Wilson also refuses to put on shoes that haven’t been polished nor will he wear trousers that haven’t been ironed with a crease in them, cuts his own hair. He’s a man who strongly believes that there are some very basic disciplines missing in life and this becomes more apparent and relevant – the more you get to understand what makes him tick. Before Billy Wilson became Mr Mouse, he was well read on a variety of subjects, a successful barber, retired from the army, financially happy, simple and socially aware. The virtue of charity was already inside him and Billy Wilson realised that all classes were simply not exercising enough. His own moral compass put Billy on a course to try and make a difference in his own community and his first light bulb moment in 1978 was to organise a Park Run through the green fields of Wolverhampton…

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Odd people came in fancy dress on Boxing Day that year and Billy served hot punch at the end of the race. Within 2 years, Billy Wilson had grown the event to a full marathon – hosting it in May instead of December and in 1979 he attracted 6-700 runners. He recalls forgetting to time the event (this still haunts him) but cleverly asked a front runner what his time was half way round and used it to measure everyone’s finish time from that. It’s also worth noting that money was not the driving force for hosting these Charity Fundraising events – giving something back was always the primary driver and already Billy thought that the marathon format was too clean, clinical and not as much fun as it could be for everyone. His first instinct was to make marathons more fun and when that didn’t work out as he expected he decided that taking marathons off road opened up a world of opportunities to enhance his runners experience….

“HIS DREAM OF BEING FIRST BRITON TO TOUR DE FRANCE WAS SHATTERED...”

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› 1981 Saw the London Marathon change forever. For the first time in its history, a Pantomime Horse appeared at the Start line. (The only other novelty racer being a man dressed as a French waiter with a tray and a glass strapped to his hand) It was very frowned upon by the Club Runners at the time but it caught the imagination of the nation and has grown to be a massive part of the allure of the London Marathon to audiences around the globe. Billy Wilson set a respectable time 3 hrs 28 min (with 10 minute donkey dance at Buckingham Palace Window) as the back end of that horse but more importantly, he received some great feedback and learned some valuable lessons too. What he realised was that it was possible to create an event that was both challenging and fun and that there was going to be a massive appetite for it. The impact on the joints from road running made Billy’s mind up and from then on - up until 1985/86/87 Billy spent time conceiving a new type of race. Billy was invited by Norman Harris Sunday Times Fun Run 1980 to start the event in Hyde Park. Dressed as Wilson of the Wizard and to run as 4 Generation family with Grandma and Aunty Alice. Billy’s Organising skills were called upon to officiate the control of 50,000 plus runners at the FIRST LIVE AID RUN/

CONCERT in Hyde Park 1985. These increasing popular Green Space Runs brought the early thoughts of Tough Guy® to be combined with Grenadier Guards Special Forces, early daily training exercises. Tough Guy® started off without a name and was originally 8 country miles long (a country mile being an unmeasurable distance that suited Billys purpose). The format and concept was borne from a cocktail of competitive, structured and fun running – a desire to improve wellbeing, extend one’s self-belief and discipline and render oneself improved physically, mentally and spiritually. At the very beginning Tough Guy® was never intended to be the yard stick that is now widely used to measure all other OCRs against at all. Several other people and initiatives – “Wilson of the Wizard” was a fictional role model for his lesser known namesake Billy and having researched him for this article, it’s difficult to ignore the many similarities between the two. Alf Tupper, the newly touted dangerous sports club, Sandy Hill and the Tough Ten all gave up some of their content for adoption and Billy opening cites them as helping him to define his own Brand and after seeing Kirk Douglas appear in the 1986 film, just 12 months later in 1987 TOUGH GUY® was launched.

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People took part in the original 1987 race and part of the prize for completing the course was a tray of Tough Guy® First Free Range Chicken Eggs. Second Year a bag of Horse Muck. Within 2 years, Billy Wilson had started to build physical obstacles – straw hay bales and simple ramps to start with. Billy remembers that in the early days of Tough Guy®, people could get really hurt. Over the years, it became a challenge thrown out at Billy Wilson by his growing army of devotees to build ever more demanding and challenging obstacles. Billy became known as Mr Mouse within the `Tough Guy® Fraternity and the experience he gained as a true pioneer resulted in a course today that is highly regarded by many within the OCR scene as the most challenging, safe and punishing experience that money can buy.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE, BILLY TALKS ABOUT THE EVOLVING SCENE, THE TOUGH GUY® LEGACY AND THE FUTURE FOR OCR… Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

JUMP LIKE SUPERMAN! Coach Michael, TEAM Wild Forest Gym

In this article Coach Michael of TEAM Wild Forest Gym and now Head Coach to our national OCR Team UK, enlightens us on the importance of jump techniques in your racing and how to preserve your quads from getting so blasted when racing hard!

WELCOME TO JUMP SCHOOL When you consider how many natural and man-made obstacles include jumping up… down… over… across, then it doesn’t take much to realise the importance as to why at TEAM Wild Forest Gym we classify jumping as the 2nd most important skill after running. So the last thing you want is to pump the quads, no more than necessary, when it comes to jumping trenches, ditches and obstacles.

At Jump School we are going to teach you how you can reduce the impact to the legs and in particular the quads; launch your jumps like superman and land like a ninja.

JUMP SCHOOL TECHNIQUES In this edition of Jump School we are going to focus on the Tuck Jump, which is a double footed vertical jump that will lay good foundation to more advanced jumps such as trench jumps and stationary jumps.

EXERCISE 2 TUCK JUMP You are now going to perform a Tuck Jump, which is a vertical high knees jump where you land on the same spot as you take off. The object is to get your knees as high as possible. Before doing the next exercise remove the branch/book/ruler. Then do the ‘Stop Technique’ then repeat about 8-10 times.

NOTE THE FOLLOWING POINTS FOR ALL EXERCISES.

EXERCISE 3 WINDING UP THE JUMP When doing a Tuck jump or in fact any jump it is important that we go down by bending the knees before launching upwards. However, there is more to this than just bending the knees. We call it winding up the jump like winding up a spring, so that when you launch your jump, you spring up and launch off the balls of your feet.

Knee bend on landing - Be aware that when you land you should land into bent knees but no more than 90 degrees, otherwise you risk an injury to your knees. Secondly your feet should be under your hips or just slightly further apart. Stay in the low position for the count of 2 seconds, so that you can evaluate how solid your landing feels. Awareness of foot landing - You need to be aware of whether you are landing on your toes, heel or balls of your feet followed by your heels. It should be the latter as landing on your toes can mean doing a face plant, whereas landing on your heels could mean being flat on your back. Particularly if the ground below you was muddy, boggy and slippery just like on an OCR race course. If you are not landing on the balls followed by your heels, then it is likely that you are not jumping straight in the air so you need to go back to Exercise 1 to practice your precision jump. Other reasons why you are landing on your toes is if you are bending at the hips rather than being tall, or you are looking down rather than ahead as your head may be off setting your balance.

PRE-EXERCISE WARM UP JOG FOR 10 MINUTES AND DYNAMIC STRETCHES

This exercise will help you to understand your centre of balance, your posture and your basic jumping technique. Place a small straight branch/ruler or book on the ground in front of you. Place your feet so they are both roughly 2” behind it. Elongate your spine from the crown (see ORM edition 3, How to run faster). Looking forward do 10 small jumps on the spot. Then check whether your feet are still the same distance from the branch. If you find your feet ending up closer or further away then you will need to adjust the angle in your ankles, rather than from your hips. Note: If you feel like the jumps in between the 1st and the last one you are jumping forward and back, try to stop this from happening when you do the next set of jumps. Before you do the next set do the ‘Stop Technique’ repeat 7-8 times. This will also serve as a warm up for your legs.

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This time you are going to do the Tuck jump so that you will explode upwards from the balls of your feet into a high knees tuck jump. Now you should have much higher knees.

Before doing the next rep do the ‘Stop Technique’ then repeat about 8-10 times.

EXERCISE 4 ARM SWING Now that you are winding up the jump you need to bring the arms into play. The following instructions indicate how your arms move and where they should be at each stage of the jump.

EXERCISE 1 PRECISION JUMP

Start by swinging your arms down as you squat down so that you knees are approximately 90 degrees, then straighten up. Practice this a few times making sure that it is rhythmic rather than jagged movements.

As you wind up the jump you bring your arms down and slightly backwards.

When you explode up into the tuck jump you are now going to explode the arms upwards like superman. So they are now high above your head and slightly forward. Now simulate the arm movement from the point of winding up the jump and swing your arms up to superman as you stand up.

By this point you are in the middle of the jump and as soon as your arms hit the high point of the superman you need to quickly bend your elbows and drive them back as far as possible.

Before you land on the ground, having swung your elbows back, they should now naturally pendulum forward, so that when you land your arms should be out in front to counterbalance your backside sticking out. Make sure your arms although out front are relaxed and can be reactive to the next action i.e. another jump or a sprint run.

Now practice the arm movement without the jump. 1. Wind up the jump bringing your arms down. 2. As you rise onto your toes your arms should be going up into superman. 3. As soon as they are in superman bring them back down and back. And as you finish with bent knees your arms should be out front.

Now practice the full arm movement with the tuck jump.

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EXERCISE 5 LANDING LIKE A NINJA Are you landing like a rhino or are you as quiet as a ninja. This is the key to you reducing impact and burning of your quads. The art to landing like a ninja and saving your quads is to make sure that when you land you are already into your knee bend. For a moment I just want you to feel like your legs are like shock absorbers. Practice the tuck jump and make sure that you start the landing springs before you physically land your feet on the ground.

POST-EXERCISE COOL DOWN JOG FOR 10 MINS & STRETCHES.

Jump school Part 2 to come! If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait and you want to attend a Jump School Training Session with Coach Michael visit wildforestgym.com

STOP TECHNIQUE Elongate the spine from the crown. Relax the shoulders, arms and hands. Breathe, clear your mind.

WIN

A FREE ORM JUMP SCHOOL MASTER CLASS Win a FREE ORM Jump School Master class with Coach Michael by entering the FREE draw by visiting http://bit.ly/ORMJUMP.

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RACE PROFILE LUCY MARTLEW CARL WIBBERLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY: EPIC ACTION IMAGERY

Lucy Martlew is one of the fabulous team members of the elite team RPCC. In a short space of time Lucy has gone from running for fitness to running competitively with the best. Podiums are already mounting for Lucy and with a trip to compete in the Spartan Race World Championships the future is looking bright. Strong legs which were forged in the huge hills which are also the playground of the RPCC elite. So tell us a little about what you’re doing when you aren’t getting muddy on an obstacle course? Training! I have been trying to get out as much as possible in preparation for Vermont so training is taking up a lot of my free time. I also have horses so they are pretty time consuming. What is it about OCR that keeps you coming back for more? I love the atmosphere you get at races. The buzz before and after is addictive and the OCR community as a whole is just one big happy family. Even if I was unable to race I think I would still spectate or volunteer as its great fun just being a part of it. What would you say is the biggest challenge you’ve faced? Both professionally and personally? I am pretty sure the Spartan World Championships is going

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LUCY MARTLEW, 24 OCCUPATION: SELF EMPLOYED NO. OF OCRS TO DATE:16 FAVOURITE OCR: SPARTAN FAVOURITE OBSTACLE: MONKEY BARS YOUR KRYPTONITE: SPEAR THROW NO. OF PODIUMS: 12

to be my biggest challenge to date. The course looks insane! Do you have a mantra you turn to while pushing hard during racing or training? “Though she be but little, she is fierce”. My sister sent me a picture of that quote when I was really nervous before Judgement Day, and it has kind of stuck in my head when racing now. I used to get really frightened in water, especially if I had to go under, so it’s my MTFU mantra! What is a typical weeks of training for you? I go circuit training with the RPCC masses on Monday and Wednesday evenings. I try to run at least 4-5 times a week, varying it between 4 – 12 miles and including A LOT of hills. Almost all of my training is done off road and outside. When the guys from RPCC are free we try and train together, I think training with the guys all the time pushes me so much harder as I am always trying to keep up! I have raced most weekends in the last few weeks so no better training than racing itself, and putting in an extra lap! I compete in local races too to try and improve my running. Where do you see the sport of obstacle racing going in the future?

CONTINUE ON PAGE 82

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(1st Warrior Run, joint 1st The Obstacle, 1st 18k Back to the Trenches, 2nd Nuclear Rush, 3rd Judgement Day, 1st Wales Dirty Dozen, 1st Brutal Enduro (with inov8ocrpcc)1st Backyard Jam, 3rd Dirty Dozen Kent, 1st Spartan Sprint Cambridge, 1st Spartan Sprint Pippingford, 2nd Spartan Super)

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

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I think it would be great for the sport to have an official committee or governing body to set out rules and regulations a bit better. It can be really frustrating when someone misses out an obstacle or cheats in some way as they know they can get away with it. I hear they have ‘Burpee Cams’ in the US to make sure the elites do the full amount of burpees, which I think is a great idea. I think that at least the elite waves should be a little stricter on making sure obstacles are done properly, it is what we train for. What does your race day breakfast consist of? I will have porridge for anything over 12k, but usually just two Weetabix and a banana a couple of hours before, then a chia charge bar and a gel for the longer races. I am still experimenting with nutrition, trying to educate myself a bit better. What races are you most looking forward to this season? The Spartan Beast. Last year I wasn’t fit enough and watched my other half (RPCC Elite’s Ryan Blake) fly around the course, and since then I have been so determined to complete it. When I started training properly in January it was the race I was ultimately training for, I just wanted to get round it, it never occurred to me I could have a chance of getting on the podium! I am also keen to take on my first ultra in 2015. Describe yourself in three words? Happy, dizzy, excitable. When you are not training / racing what do you like to do? I love the outdoors, so I can almost always be found outside. I adore animals so usually horse riding or walking the dog. My dad has a farm so I'm always over there helping out. If you could give one piece of advice to someone new to obstacle racing what would it be? Train with Richard Pringle! What would you say is your must have kit list for race day? A Dryrobe. By far the best bit of kit, especially at the winter events. I also always wear my Athletics8 calf compression sleeves, not just for the medical benefits but it stops rope burn and tonnes of scratches! So, if people want to keep up with your racing adventures where can they follow you? Do you have a blog? I am in the process of putting one together at the moment so I will keep you posted.

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RECIPES

(Serves 4 or 8 as a snack)

Charleh Dickinson (Designed 2 Eat). To see more fantastic healthy recipes please visit designed2eat.co.uk or find us on: facebook.com/Designed2Eat twitter.com/Designed2Eat When the sun is shining and we begin to soak up our year’s total vitamin D intake: here’s a great recipe that can be pre-cooked and assembled later. Perfect eaten hot or cold with friends and family as these meatballs are packed full of flavour, nutrients and your essential proteins and fats. INGREDIENTS 500g minced chicken, turkey, lamb, beef or pork 1 tbsp. of ground almonds 1 red onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp garam masala ½ tsp paprika pepper

INGREDIENTS 8 peppers 1 cauliflower head 12-16 apricots 1 tsp of Olive oil 1 tsp of Cumin seeds 1 tsp of Coriander seeds 500g of Lamb mince 1 tbsp. of Ginger and Garlic paste 2 tsps Ras El Hanout 1 tbsp. Turmeric 500g Spinach Protein Bonus: 4-8 eggs. METHOD 1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (fan assisted). 2. Prepare your peppers by cutting around the tops, taking out the middle and washing under a cold tap to ensure all the seeds are removed. 3. Place onto a baking tray and into the oven for 10 mins.

2. In a large mixing bowl: add the mince, almonds, onions, garlic, cumin, garam masala, paprika or cayenne pepper and coriander, then mix well with yours hands. This will make sure that you get a punch of flavour with every meatball bite

5. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet on a medium to high heat

4. Next, roughly chop your cauliflower in order for it to fit into a food processor.

6. Throw the cauliflower into the food processor with the apricots and whizz for until a rice consistency is formed.

3. Divide the meat mixture into 16 even sized pieces and shape into balls.

7. Moving back to the skillet, add your oil and seeds.

4. Finally, place the meatballs on a deep tray

8. When they begin to turn golden and create an aroma, add your lamb mince, paste and spices.

MEANWHILE…THE SPICY SAUCE 1 tbsp. of Olive Oil 1 -2 chilli pepper 500g Passata 2 -3tsp medium curry powder 1 tbsp. fresh coriander, chopped METHOD 1. In a deep saucepan, heat the oil on a medium to high heat. 2. Add the chilli (seeded or de-seeded: depending how hot you like it!) 3. Turn down the temperature to medium 4. Add the Passata and curry powder 5. Leave to simmer, occasionally stir being careful for the sauce not to burn or spit 6. When the meatballs are ready, take the meatballs of the heat and add the coriander. ASSEMBLING 1. Take one gem lettuce 2. Take two meatballs and cut in half 3. Place the meatballs in the lettuce boat and spoon some sauce on top. 4. Garnish with grated carrot and Greek yoghurt. 5. Repeat 8 times. Obstacle Race | Issue 6

(serves 4 – 8)

METHOD 1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

5. Fill the tray a 1/3 of the way up with water and cover with tin foil and cook for about 30mins.

STUFFED SUMMER MOROCCAN PEPPERS

RECIPES

LETTUCE BOAT SPICY MEATBALLS

9. When everything has been continuously stirred; the spices are well incorporated and the mince is browned (cooked through) add your spinach and cauliflower. 10. Continuously stir until the spices are well mixed and the spinach has wilted. 11. Finally, take your peppers out of the oven and fill with your mixture to the top. 12. Here, you can have to option to add more protein by leaving room at the top and cracking an egg on to the mixture 13. Place the pepper back in the oven for a further 5-10minutes until the egg is cooked. Turmeric has been added to this recipe purposely to provide you with the necessary anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties that it possesses. This means you will be able to recover quicker and better from training. Spinach has some great health benefits when added to your diet as it is a high nutrient dense food. This leafy green is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6. It’s a very good source of protein, phosphorus, vitamin E, zinc, dietary fibre, and copper. Plus, it’s a good source of selenium, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids. This means you feel like you have more energy, improved eye sight and feel happier. Adding the eggs may be suggested to increase your levels of protein as running breaks down muscle proteins and damages muscle fibres. Protein is needed for the muscles to recover from daily training, thereby increasing your levels ensures that your muscles are in good shape for the obstacle course. Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

HAVE YOU GOT AN AWESOME PICTURE YOU WANT TO SHARE? To get your picture on to our mudtrest wall send it to letters@obstacleracemagazine.com with your name and a description.

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Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

DIET MYTHS THE NAKED TRUTH OF

Michelle Butler is a member of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute and obtained her qualifications from Kings College London. Prior to this she completed a BSc Hons in Human Nutrition at the University of Ulster, where she contributed to published research on the effects of Watercress on Colorectal Cancer. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious ‘Mary Breslin Award’ for Highest Achiever on completion of a Diploma in Business Management from Smurfit Business School, Dublin. At present she is Google’s dietitian at their EMEA HQ in Dublin and also leads the NPD team in her family business Good4U who specialise in a range of

MYTH

TRUTH

Consuming large quantities of protein results in large biceps.

Unfortunately, not the case. To see noticeable changes in body composition it’s crucial to be consistent with an effective strength training and nutrition plan. The recovery window is ideally within 15 minutes post workout and should consist of 0.5g protein and 1g carbohydrates per kg body weight. Too much protein is either used as energy, excreted from the body as waste or converted to fat. I have provided below a few examples of carb and protein portions.

CARBOHYDRATE 75G

CARBOHYDRATE 50G

Beef, lamb, pork 2 medium slices (75g)

15 dried apricots

Chicken 1 small breast (75g)

800ml isotonic sports drink

Fish 1 medium fillet/steak (100g)

4 thick slices of bread or toast

3 slices thick sliced bread

Tuna in brine 1 small can (100g)

5 rice cakes spread with jam

500ml fruit juice

Semi-skimmed milk 1 pint (600ml)

1 large bowl (60g) breakfast cereal

Cheddar Cheese 2 matchbox-sized pieces (60g)(reduced fat)

3 slices of bread thinly spread with honey

2 carbohydrate gels 200- 250g cooked pasta/ rice 3 (25g) cereal bars 1 large potato ( 250g)

Cereal bars are a healthy option for a snack.

The majority of cereal bars have just as much sugar and fat as biscuits and chocolate so do not be fooled. You should aim for the 10:10:6 rule – a bar that contains <10g fat/100g, <10g sugar/100g and >6g fibre/100g.

MYTH

TRUTH

Breakfast biscuits are a good option if on the move

There’s a number of products on the market that claim to be a suitable part of your breakfast but in fact the carbohydrate content of these biscuits is 64g/100g of which 25g is sugar (compare that to porridge which has 1.1g/100g of sugar and Weetabix which has 4.4g/100g of sugar. These biscuits have a similar sugar content of sugar to a cupcake or other biscuits - remember the ratio is 64:25/100g.You wouldn’t dream of eating biscuits for your breakfast… Would you??

MYTH

TRUTH

Yogurts are not good 4 me as they are high in sugar

Yoghurts can be good for you – they are a valuable source of protein, calcium and zinc, which are good for the bones and immune system. But unless you go for natural ones, they often contain things that are not so healthy, particularly added sugar. The majority of yoghurts will have more than 10g sugar/100g, but it’s important to remember that a large contribution of this sugar is natural coming from milk and fruit sugars. These natural or ‘intrinsic’ sugars usually amount to about 5-7g and don’t have as strong an effect on blood sugar levels as added or ‘extrinsic’ sugars or (added sugars).The closer you can stick to the 10g/100g of sugar the better. But the natural sugar in fruit is more acceptable because fruits have many other benefits, such as being rich in vitamin C and fibre

MYTH

TRUTH

Only professionals should drink sports drinks

No matter what level - every athlete needs to remain hydrated. Water is ideal if your workout is less than an hour. Sports drinks provide carbohydrates and electrolytes which help muscles perform at their peak for endurance events or in hot climates. Water losses of as little as 1-2% have been shown to decrease performance by 10%.

MYTH

TRUTH

Eating carbohydrates results in weight gain

A carb rich diet will help to fuel the body and the brain before, during, and after workouts. They won’t make you fat, it’s the extra calories that will. Athletes should opt for wholegrain varieties of carbs to ensure adequate recovery and to supply muscles with readily available energy during a workout.

Low fat fruit yogurt 2 x 200g pots (400g) Eggs 3 medium eggs Baked beans 1 large can (400g) Peanuts 2 handfuls (100g) Quorn mince 6 ½ tablespoons (165g)

MYTH

TRUTH

Supplements and pills help to improve performance.

Vitamins don’t provide energy, food does. It’s not advisable to rely on supplements to meet your requirements. A multivitamin might help your body to release the energy stored from certain food groups like carbs and protein, but it won’t give you a magic energy boost.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

TRUTH

PROTEIN 20G

2 medium - large bananas

1 large handful of raisins, dried apricots or other dried fruit

health foods. She has been instrumental in the successful development and launch of Good4U’s range of fresh functional foods. Michelle believes that healthy eating begins at the core and for this reason spearheaded a national cookery competition in schools in 2008 with the focus being on healthy eating and recipe development. Michelle’s ambition in life is to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of others and to offer support to those in making healthier sustainable choices. Michelle’s expert advice will enable many to make changes and achieve goals long term, whether they are related to health or lifestyle or both.

MYTH

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

MYTH

TRUTH

Coffee will dehydrate you

In large doses, caffeine can have a diuretic effect but it will not dehydrate you. If you’re a habitual user, it’s likely that any effect on urine losses is minor. Research has shown that caffeine ingestion can be an effective ergogenic aid for endurance athletes when taken before and/or during exercise in moderate quantities (3-6 mg/kg body mass).

MYTH

TRUTH

It’s fine to skip breakfast

Breakfast is as important as it’s made out to be. In fact when you skip breakfast, it may lead to an up-regulation of appetite (i.e. you feel hungrier) and this may lead to weight gain over time. It has been shown that those who skip breakfast tend to have a poorer quality diet. I have provided below a few options to kick start your day:

JUMBO PORRIDGE OATS...

... made with water and milk and topped with 2 tbsp. of Good4U seeds ( www.good4u.co.uk/seeds.html ) and fresh or dried fruit. *These seed mixes contain a mix of pumpkin, sunflower, chia and quinoa which are all high in essential nutrients for promoting health metabolism such as selenium and magnesium. They are also high in fibre and protein which help to keep you fuller for longer.

MULTI SEED, CHILLI SEED MIX, PUMPKIN SEED MIX, SUNFLOWER SEED MIX AND SPRINKLES

Contain all essential nutrients for sports enhancement High in Vitamin E which plays a major role in preventing oxidative damage to the body High in Thiamine which is necessary for the release and utilisation of energy from food

Rich in protein essential for growth and repair of muscle tissue High in Iron – oxygen carrier in haemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscle

150g cottage cheese with wholegrain toast and 2 slices of turkey

High in Phosphorous – essential for metabolic processes and bone health

½ avocado with tomatoes and 2 slices of turkey or ham

Play a vital role in skeletal development, protein synthesis, muscle contraction and neurotransmission

6 ISSUES FOR THE PRICE OF 5

WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE ON LINE

----------------------------------------------------

Source of Calcium – essential to create and maintain skeletal structures

High in magnesium which is involved in aerobic and anaerobic energy generation

OBSTACLE RACE MAGAZINE DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOOR

Bowl of fruit salad with 2 tbsp. of natural yoghurt topped with seeds Smoothie made with fresh or frozen berries, splash of orange juice, natural yoghurt, oat and seeds blitzed until smooth

FIND US ON

VISIT WWW.OBSTACLERACEMAGAZINE.COM 90

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

Subscribe before 20th March to start receiving from issue 2

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

SPARTAN WORLD CHAMPION In the words of Spartan Race “An unknown racer has taken the lead”. This comment went down like a lead weight with the UK audience watching and waiting for the results. This summed up the 24 hours running up to the Spartan Race World Championships also, with inov-8 sponsored athlete Jonathan Albon flying under the radar even In the press conference which had taken place before the event it was only when James Appleton prompted the media that there was a man stood in the room with them who was probably going to snatch the title away from under everyone’s noses. But then came the dream news everyone had hoped would become a reality. It’s official – British obstacle racer Jonathan Albon has been named the Spartan World Champion obstacle racer. Covered in mud and bruises, he crossed the finish line in a time of 3:23:15, ahead of runner-up Ryan Atkins (Canada) and third-placed athlete Cody Moat (US). The whole of the obstacle racing community in the UK went wild. The guy from the little island we like to call home had gone over to the US and show them the amazing level of performance we have to offer. But we can’t forget about the other athletes who had gone over to represent the United Kingdoms obstacle racing community. James Appleton finished an amazing 10th place overall. Lucy Martlew showed her metal by continuing to finish the race accompanied by Katie Keeble after taking quite a nasty fall. Sam Cherry was also unfortunate after an injury but showed courage by making the decision to pull so as not to make the injury worse. Thomas Blanc was also representing France and the UK had a great run finishing 27th. So to get a little more of a feeling of what It was like over there we threw a few questions Jonathans way to see if we could learn a little more about what it had taken to achieve this.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

So Jonathan what would you say was the most challenging part of the race and how did you overcome it? The double sandbag carry. After quickly realising I could barely pick them up I came to the conclusion my race was probably over. With the TV cameras on me I even collapsed down at one point in frustration and fatigue. Once I was overtaken many lessons from previous races surfaced which made me reassess and find a way. I looked at the course markings and decided to only carry the bags as far as each one before stopping to rest. Slowly I managed to work my way up the ski slope before coming to the steeper section where I was forced to step the bags one at a time clawing my way up. Once at the top and now in third I used gravity to help me as I dragged my bags down. Dropping them of I now had to recover as best I could as the final 4 miles would be the most obstacle heavy of the race and require major grip strength which I had now lost. Did you do any special training especially for the race? My training routine got completely screwed when I moved to Norway and I even lost a couple of weeks as we were working on our flat. Once back and training I immersed myself in running up the mountains around Bergen and took up doing some crossfit circuits to make up for my lack of strength training. I did a couple of sessions particularly aimed at training for the race, one was to carry a 20kg sandbag on a 6km run taking in a famous stone staircase which climbs 300m in just under a km. How did the US Spartan Race differ from the set up of the ones in the UK? The race was a lot more spread out with far less obstacles than I am used to. Of the 33 obstacles that were present many were about strength and heavy lifting. There was very little mud and water except for a 100m swim, I therefore felt

I could recover well on the running sections before facing another obstacle. I think the quantity of obstacles per km in this race is matched by some of our poorer races in the UK and was nowhere near the likes of Spartan Race, The Nuts Challenge or Nuclear Races. Has it even sank in what you’ve achieved by winning this? I’m not one to get too emotional about winning a race, it could have quite easily gone another way but I am happy with how I performed and the added will power I found in order to succeed…as well as my apparent natural talent for spear throwing which ultimately got me the win. Do you have any target races or goals you want to achieve in the near future? Next up is the Limone Extreme Skyrace in Italy, I’m not too hopeful about placing well in this but I am excited to take part as I love to run in the mountains and it will be a great experience. Just two weeks after that I’ll be flying back to the USA for the Obstacle Racing World Championships to take on Hobie Call and Junyong Pak, so exciting times! If you would like to read more about Jonathans race then get yourself over to

JONATHANALBON.COM ... here’s a little snippet to get your juices flowing. “Once at the top I was again closing in on first place and managed to catch him just as we reached the memory test. After a few double takes, I was relatively confident I would remember my numbers and went on to repeat them continually in my head. We then had the first of the two spear throws; having limited experience at any sort of spear throwing apart from the broom handle we threw about in the garden the day before I was intrigued to see whether I would manage. To my surprise, my closest competition just missed his as I arrived and I went on to plough mine into the target where it stayed. A sudden jolt of adrenaline hit me with the knowledge I had a 30 burpee lead and a downhill section to follow. Still crazily repeating my memory test numbers aloud I hurtled down still wondering why I was managing so well and whether my luck would continue for the remainder of the race... it didn’t.“

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

HoNouRaBle KEEP MOVING ™

BRITISH

ob st a c l e

a s s o c i at i o n

Tough Guy® is the Mother of OCR - EST 1986 Mr Mouse is the Father of OCR All OCR Events are welcome to copy with virtue

HORBA

Honourable Obstacle Runners British Association (established 2003 The OCR Movement)

Mr Mouse has created HORBA as an OCR community gathering with the sole objectives : 1) To better the Sport for all 2) To fund the grass roots (Tough Kids) 3) To Fund Injured Runners Charity 4) To Fund Front Runners Training Expenses

R Mr M ead o use http:/ /goo.g Blog l/KyE dr7

TOUGH® GUY

Gavin McCaugherty

Here is our very own Gavin McCaugherty and his my light-hearted top 10 Winter OCR Tips. These have seen him get through 5 Winter TG's. He admits the first two he was in a right state but he

had learnt his lesson by the third one. Now Gavin is a real hard core tough guy who runs like the wind so please scale these pieces of advice to suit your experience and running ability.

Accept you are going to get cold. This will happen, you may start to shake and your lips will almost certainly go blue. Just try and remember you have paid for this!

Keep moving

If you are travelling with someone, make sure they put the car heaters on a full 10 minutes before you finish. Get out of your clothes immediately and sit in the car with as many layers on as possible, this is not the time to pose for photos (1 may be acceptable) or to have a chat. If you can talk at this stage, well done, 90% of people are shaking so bad at this stage they will struggle to hold a hot drink. Remember it’s not embarrassing being undressed by your mates, I'm sure they have seen it all before.

Some of the first words you will say once you have finished may include; "never again", "That's it, I'm retiring" or "help", you will however have completely forgotten about all of this by the next day and be there the same time next year. It never looks as painful in the official photos.

Keep moving.

Pick your clothing wisely. Less is often more. The more clothing you are wearing, in my experience the colder you get. Remember, skin will dry a lot quicker than clothing. Topless for the men is therefore always an option! Neoprene hat (if you have to submerge), gloves and even socks are a must. Make sure you rub a lot of Vaseline on your feet though if you’re going to wear neoprene socks.

Keep moving.

Consider putting on a little more body fat over winter. The skinnier/leaner you are the more you are going to feel it. Fat is an insulator after all. However if you’re running topless, completely ignore this because you will want to look ripped for the photos!

Keep moving

 

Fund For Injured Runners Coming to A Park Near You

Joining is FREE Simply enter your details online http://goo.gl/AhFhwC

Tettenhall Horse Sanctuary

MARSHALS CLUB * Expenses Paid

* Uniform Supplied * Travel Europe

Email - denzil@codrc.co.uk

At all times Mr Mouse Wisdom is open for Enquiries mrmouse@toughguy.co.uk Membership Secretary - ingrid@toughguy.co.uk

Make sure you incorporate running through water/ submersion into your winter training. Wading through rivers is always fun in January or if you have to sit in a bath of cold water and then go running so be it! Sounds obvious but you always hear someone crying with shock after the first water obstacle.

FINALLY

enjoy it and try not to die because that just puts the price up for everyone else!

Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

REBORN RAW ADVERTORIAL

The organisers behind REBORN RAW – the toughest obstacle race on the planet - are thrilled to bits due to the roaring excitement and enthusiasm the REBORN RAW participants expressed after they had passed up to 24 neck-breaking and challenging obstacles at REBORN RAWs launch at Ledreborg Castle in Denmark this September. The successful launch of the REBORN RAW Race stood out from other races because of its giant signature obstacles, great focus on teamwork, unison and simplicity. The participants raced through the Castles rough and hilly terrain on a respectively 10KM and 20KM challenging course. The race began with one of REBORN RAWs signature obstacles, the ”Prison Escape”, from where even the most hardy racers claustrophobic feeling were challenged. The participants swam 20 meters underneath a cage, leaving only a bit a space for them to breath, followed by a 200 meter run up a steep slope hillside. Other awe-inspiring obstacles include a hair-raising climb on a eight meter tall wall, a five meter drop into deep water, several runs between electrical wires, lengthy crawls through copious amount of mud and brachiating over deep moats. The participants finished the course by passing the obstacle ”Heavens Halfpipe”, a large halfpipe that is nearly impossible to complete without assistance from a fellow racer. The 25- 26 of October 2014, the infamous Horsens State Prison in Denmark provides the perfect setting for REBORN RAWs next race ”The Prison Escape” - an obstacle race which will be the first of its kind. The closed down prison buildings, courtyards and barbed wired walls have been home to some of the most hardened criminal minds. The prisons raw surroundings hardens what REBORN RAW races is characterised by: ”SWEAT, FEAR & PAIN”. The participants will be challenged by the large and extremely tough obstacles and undergo various physical and mental exertions before ultimately escaping the Prison. REBORN RAW has so far planned ten races in 2015 in European cities – with two planned for the UK.. Racers can participate alone or in a team and the course offers three volumes: ”The total REBORN RAW” is a 18-20KM distance for those who seek the ultimate challenge, a 10-12KM distance for those who would like to ”get a feeling of it” and finally a shorter distance at 6-8 KM for those who would like to ”get a glimpse of it”. The organisers behind REBORN RAW are a small group of Danes – including the former Olympic Gold and Bronze winner and 4 x World Rowing Champion, Victor Feddersen.

Obstacle Race | Issue 6

PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST OBSTACLE RACE ON THE PLANET Issue 6 | Obstacle Race

CAPTION COMPETITION

RACE

Tough Mudder - London South www.toughmudder.co.uk

HQRECON 3rd www.hqrecon.com

Tough Mudder - London South www.toughmudder.co.uk

Brooks Hell Runner - Hell up North - 10/12 Miles

LOCATION

PRICE FROM

25/10/2014

Matterley Bowl, Temple Valley, Alresford Road, Wincester, Hampshire. SO21 1HW

£125

25/10/2014

Tenantry Farm, Rockbourne, Hampshire. SP6 3PB

26/10/2014

Matterley Bowl, Temple Valley, Alresford Road, Wincester, Hampshire. SO21 1HW

www.hellrunner.co.uk

www.themilkrun.net

The Winter Wolf Run - 10km www.thewolfrun.com

Winter Monster Race 5km/10km

www.glackattack.com

www.themilkrun.net

The Mud Run Resident Terror - 5km www.themilkrun.net

Grim Blackout - 7 miles www.grimchallenge.co.uk

The Winter Wolf Run - 10km

SEND YOUR CAPTION FOR THIS PICTURE TO COMPS@OBSTACLERACEMAGAZINE.COM

The Kernow Killer - 9-12 miles

LAST ISSUES CAPTION COMPETITION WINNER WAS Last issues caption competition winner of 6 months supply of Phyta Oil was Andy Wade with: “‘A good lift well extended. Nice amount of mud. Just what the judges like to see. In Strictly Come OCR. We’ll just have to see the amount of splatter on the come down, to get the full marks” Terms and conditions apply

Closing date for entries is the 1st of January 2015. Entries will also be taken on the Obstacle Race Magazine Facebook and Twitter pages when this picture is posted.

The Suffering - 5km/10km www.thesufferingrace.co.uk

Men’s Health, Survival of the Fittest - 10km + www.mhsurvival.co.uk

Bomere Lake, Condover. SY5 7AP

£26

9/11/2014

Rockingham Castle, Market Harborough. Leicestershire. LE16 8TH

£45

15/11/2014

Long Valley, Fleet, Hampshire. GU52 8AD

£16

16/11/2014

Penllyn Farm Estate, Llwynhelig, Cowbridge. CF71 7FF

£35

16/11/2014

Green Park, Stablebridge Road, Ashton Clinton, Bucks. HP22 5NE

£30

16/11/2014

Wood Street Village, Frog Grove Lane, Guilford, Surrey. GU3 3HB

£31.50

22/11/2014

Wembley Stadium, London. HA9 0WS

£60

23/11/2014

Tank Training Area. Oakhanger Road, Hampshire. GU35 9HF

£70

29/11/2014

The National Cycling Centre, Manchester. M11 4DQ

£60

6/12/2014

Rushmore Arena, Aldershot. GU11 1PZ

£31

7/12/2014

Rushmore Arena, Aldershot. GU11 1PZ

£31

21/12/2014

Army Alpine Training Area, The Maultway(B3015), Bagshot. GU15 1HF

£240 (£30pp Team of 6 or 8)

27/12/2014

Longmoor Camp, Liss, Hampshire. GU33 6EL

£10

10/01/2015

Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. CV8 2LG

£25

11/01/2015

Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. CV8 2LG

£25

11/01/2015

Wood Street Village, Frog Grove Lane, Guilford, Surrey. GU3 3HB

£26.50

31/01/2015

Donnington Park, Derbyshire. DE74 2RP

£54

01/02/2015

South perton Farm, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. WV6 7HB

£74

www.shropshiremudrun.com

Pain & Suffering - 10 miles £69

www.thesufferingrace.co.uk

Brutal 10 - 10km www.brutalrun.co.uk £125

Revolution Runs - The Burn - 10km www.revolutionruns.co.uk

£35

Mucky Mudder - 5 mile www.renniegrove.org/supportus/support-us-as-an-individual/ fundraising-events/active-events/ the-muddy-mucker

Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. LE17 6DH

£48

Charlton Park, Malmesburt, Wiltshire. SN16 9DG

£45

Parkwood 4x4, Tong, Bradford, Yorkshire. BD4 0RR

£30

1/11/2014

Glack Woods, Dunecht, Aberdeenshire. AB32

£35

1/11/2014

Arena Essex Raceway, Arterial Raod, Purfleet. RM19 1AE

£35

1/11/2014 4pm - 7pm

Arena Essex Raceway, Aryerial Road, Purfleet. RM19 1AE

£28

1/11/2014

Hampshire. GU17 9LP

£45

Sandy lane, Nutfield, Redhill, Surrey. RH1 4EJ

£45/ £48/ £53

Brutal 10 - 8km/16km

Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. LE17 6DH

£48

The Winter Ram Run 8km/12km/24km

2/11/2014

www.thewolfrun.com

www.nuclear-races.co.uk

8/11/2014

1/11/2014

www.back2thetrenches.co.uk

Nuclear Fallout - 8km/16km

Shropshire Mud Run Series - 10km

Muscle Acre - Mud Slog 5km/10km www.muscleacre.com

Survival of the Fittest - London Day & Night - 5km/10km www.mhsurvival.co.uk/london-night

Judgement Day - Tank Training Area Bordon - 10 miles www.judgement-day.co.uk

Urban Attack

Grim Challenge - 14km www.grimchallenge.co.uk

Judgement Day - Team Challenge www.judgement-day.co.uk

Back 2 The Trenches - The Big Push 6km/12km/18km

www.kernowkiller.co.uk

PRICE FROM

www.urbanattack.co.uk

The Mud Run - 10km

WIN A GEIGERRIG HYDRATION PACK

LOCATION

£35

1/11/2014

Glack Attack Halloween - 5km

DATE

1/11/2014

www.monsterrace.co.uk

www.thepainbarrier.co.uk

Delamere Forest Park, Delamere, Cheshire. CW8 2JD

RACE

Arena Essex Raceway, Arteterial Road, Purfleet, Essex. RM19 1AE

1/11/2014

The Pain Barrier - 10km

EVENTS LISTING

DATE

1/11/2014

The Mud Run - 10km

2/11/2014

8/11/2014

Chyverton Estate Country Park, Zelah, Nr Truro, Cornwall. TR4 9HD Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood, Essex. CM15 0LB

£30pp £100 Team 4

www.brutalrun.co.uk

www.ramrun.co.uk

The Winter Ram Run 8km/12km/24km www.ramrun.co.uk

£39/ £49

Muscle Acre - Winter Warmer - 5km/10km www.muscleacre.com

Rockingham Castle, Rockingham, Market Harborough. Leicestershire. LE16 8TH

£45

Etihad Stadium, Manchester. M11 3FF

£60

Xrunner - 5km/10km www.xrunner.co.uk

Tough Guy - The Original 10km/12km/15km www.toughguy.co.uk

FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF UPCOMING EVENTS GO TO