Mud Bath

D3 Active organised a second Mud Runner event around Eastnor last weekend.  It is firmly placed on the running calendar, though there was no participation from my family members!  The sun was shining but it didn’t affect the seriously muddy conditions on the tracks.  The 10km off-road run across the estate uses many of the driving tracks that Land Rover use to test their vehicles on, all of which provide a tough and challenging run as well as a generous amount of thick deep mud and large troughs of muddy water!

Mud Runner Video

The atmosphere of the race was, as always, high spirited, sociable and fun. There was double the number of entries this year, with over 1000 runners, as the event grows in popularity due to its distinctly challenging and challenging terrain!  The organisers this year also built a giant steam bath (full of bubbles!) for the racers to de-mud themselves and warm up.  It was greatly appreciated by many and added the camaraderie and uniqueness of the event.

All the feedback so far has been very positive with runners finding it very demanding, gruelling, tough on the legs but immense fun.

Second place Matt James said “The organisation of Mud Runner is what sets it apart and the atmosphere is brilliant.  It feels like you’re getting a three-course meal not the normal two courses!”

Second female runner, Elsa Knoertzer said “Concentrating on which part of the mud pit to step into and how not to swallow too much mud in the process made me forget the pain, as did the sense of comradeship amongst competitors.” 

The next two Mud Runner events at Eastnor in the series are:
Icebreaker – Winter Duathlon – February 6th 2011
Mud Runner Oblivion – May 8th 2011

See you then.    JH-B    22nd October 2010

We often entertain customers of Land Rover in the castle as well as on the woodland tracks and steep slopes on the estate.  This time, our guests were the families who had bought the limited edition Range Rover Autobiography Black and had a night at Eastnor as a reward from Land Rover.

This is the sight that greeted them on arrival.  Some makes of 4 x 4 are accused only of going off-road on the pavements of Kensington & Chelsea, so the 14 steps of our Entrance Hall presented a sterner challenge, but not for long.  The Range Rover reached the required level quite easily, and the doors were then closed. All went well, and there was no trace of vehicular ingress when the car left to return to its natural habitat at the end of the visit.

Meanwhile, the guests, who were probably longing to get driving to learn the capabilities of this superb, 313 hp, V8 powered car, had to change for dinner, meet me and then have a brief guided tour before sitting down to four courses in our State Dining Room. The food and wine helped them forget the alternative entertainment for the evening, but they had a very good day’s off-road driving the next day, provided by Land Rover Experience.  I enjoyed my evening with them very much as they were great enthusiasts and definitely having a good time. I hope sales keep up…

JH-B    9th October 2010