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!
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
Mud Runner at Eastnor Castle
We have an exciting new event to tell you about which takes place on Sunday 11th October 2009 on the Eastnor Castle Estate. Mud runner is an off-road run over a variety of terrain and conditions from rolling grassland (well a little bit anyway) to mud, wet mud and sticky mud. The course includes hills, waterfilled pits, muddy banks and did we mention mud. You will get very wet! 6ish arduous country miles around the Eastnor Estate using the same tracks that Land Rovers have been tested and developed on.
The course will be marked and we will let you know the halfway point, other than that it’s 6ish miles in length and brilliant fun. In addition to the prizes for the first five individual finishers in a variety of categories, there are also prizes for the fastest teams of three.
The first two teams to enter are from the Eastnor Castle Estate with the talented all-male team “Rocket Ron’s Allstars” (Simon Foster, David Littlewood and Nick Robinson) taking on the all-female team “Dickie’s Delight” (Sarah Littlewood, Sarah Bullock and Caroline Brazington).
As Simon Foster (Castle Manager) explains “this event provides a great opportunity for us to compete amongst the office and also develop some (hopefully) friendly rivalry and teambuilding” SB