Light 16 Image Gallery

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Well, you should really watch the video to see how we got on. But here is a quick blow by blow:

• 1km Ski – we discussed how we would split this one up. I have the better cardio of the two of us so I would “attack” the first and last 250m whilst Kiaran takes on the middle 500m. Did well and on to the next…
• 50m Sled Push: 102kg (W) / 152kg (M) – This really took it out of me in my solo attempt, we split it around 60/40 with Kiaran taking on the extra (its far too heavy for me!). Unfortunately I didnt listen to UK.HXR and forgot to heel lock, meaning my trainers kept slipping!
• 50m Sled Pull: 78kg (W) / 103kg (M) – much better, splitting 50/50 – Kiaran was definitely faster than me though and I got a warning for going over the line (I didnt even know this was a thing!
• 80m Burpee Broad Jump – A nasty workout – we split it 55/45 – I am smaller and shorter so slightly easier for me to complete compared to Kiaran.
• 1km Row (on Concept2 Rower) – Split 50/50 – was good to have a bit of a recovery compared to the BBJs!
• 200m Kettle Bells Farmers Carry: 16kg (W) – 24kg (M) – I took the first 100m here (walking) whilst the monster took over and ran the second 100m
• 100m Sandbag Lunges: 10kg (W) – 20kg (M) – Another tough one, I probably did 110m – again, being shorter to the ground is an advantage!
• 75 / 100 reps Wall Balls: 4kg (W) – 6kg (M) – Another nemesis of mine, I am a little short and with the arm strength of a 12 year old girl. I was literally leaping for each rep. Kiaran took the majority – probably 60/40

We finished overall with 1:25:25 – Well under the 1:30 we set for ourselves before hand, but we can definitely hit sub 1:20 with a little more work. Had a few no reps on the Wall Balls which would have itself brought the time down

 

Doing another Hyrox event?

Well at the moment, I don’t have any booked, PLUS tickets so sell out pretty quick! So nothing booked at the moment….

Did I enjoy the event? Yes, so much better in doubles than singles – I am pretty much the wrong shape for a Hyrox event (doing it solo at least)

Would I do another Hyrox event? Yes I would, however, Fitness racing would always come second to Road running or obstacle racing. 

Hyrox London Gallery

Want to know more about Hyrox?

Hyrox – uk.hyrox.com

Want to know more about fitness racing? Follow UK.HXR on instagram.

The post Hyrox London 2023 – My first doubles event appeared first on Wil Chung.

DEKA Mile - my first DEKA event

My local CrossFit Box, CWOne has recently become a DEKA affiliate. They are putting on their first event in a few weeks time and to help prepare for it, they put on their own test event at the Box.

DEKA is Spartan Race’s version of Fitness Racing – essentially running a given distance, followed by some form of exercise station (DEKA call it a “Zone”). In DEKA, there are 10 exercise zones.

DEKA has three race types:

• DEKA Fit – Each zone is preceded by 500m of running (a total of 5km)
• DEKA Mile – Each zone is preceded by 160m of running (a total of 1 mile)
• DEKA Strong – no running!

What's in a DEKA event?

Essentially 10 fitness stations preceded by 500m of running (as in DEKA Fit), 160m of running (DEKA Mile) or no running what so ever (DEKA Strong). All DEKA events have the same 10 stations

The 10 stations are:
– RAM Alternative Reverse Lunges (55lb men / 33lb women)
– 500m row
– 20 Box step-overs
– 25 Med Ball Sit-Up Throws  (20lb men / 14lb women)
– 500m Ski Erg
– 100m Farmer’s Carry (60lb men / 40lb women in each hand)
– 25-Calorie Air Bike
– 20 Dead Ball Wall-Overs  (60lb men / 40lb women)
– 100-Meter Tank Push/Pull (Level 3 men / Level 2 women)
– 20 RAM Burpees (44lb men / 22lb women)

DEKA Mile - YouTube Video

How did I get on?

Well, you should really watch the video to see how “well” I got on (or just look at the image!). But here is a quick blow by blow:

• 160m run and the reverse lunges were a nice warm up to get the heart pumping. Nothing bd here, although I was quite relieved as the weighted lunges as a different event I participated in pretty much killed me off!
• 500m row – all good here too. Tried to take it pretty steady at around 2:20 for the distance
• Step overs- still ok, just got dizzy in the way I was spinning on  and off the box
•  Medicine ball sit ups – doing ok, but the heart is starting to pump. Core was ok on this, but felt it towards the back end
• Ski-Erg – tried to keep it nice and steady. Cardio was doing ok although I was now starting to red line, however as you may know from Ski-Erg, my whole body was starting to ache, especially my upper body and arms which wasnt good for…
• Farmer’s Carry – this is where the alarm bells were starting to go off. I have no real upper body and the weights were huge – the grips were really large too so really tired out the forearms! I stopped a few times and got it done. But I was terribly red-lining at this stage from fore arms just fatiguing
• Air Bike was when it all fell apart. My legs were doing all the work as I had nothing in the arms here. Ive never used an airbike and theyre defintely a different technique to an assault bike. I stopped quite a few times to try and take a breath. Judge was doing well to motivate me to keep moving whilst Grant and some of the spectators were doing their best to move me on. I somehow managed to finish this station, although there were times when I really thought it was all over
• Dead Ball over the shoulder – this was hard! I have no upper body and 20 was a lot! Still, I somehow got over it. The balls were nearly 50% of my own body weight, so relatively a lot of weight to shift
• Tank Push and Pull – probably the one I was most nervous of coming up to the event. However it wasn’t too bad – tried to take it nice and slow to recover a little. The pull was definitely harder (calf killer)
• Ram Burpees – Burpees are “ok”, RAM Burpees are a killer! I have no upper body or arm strength, so moving 20kg in the air 20 times was a real struggle for me. Plus being acsolutely shattered from all the other exercises, I was pretty done by the end!

Definitely the farmers carry into air bike which did all the damage. But I managed to get through it all and celebrated with an ice-cream on my walk home!

DEKA Mile Test Event Gallery

Doing another DEKA event?

Well at the moment, there are not that many DEKA events in the UK (good get out of jail card there for me).

However, I am going a Hyrox event in November as a doubles team – similar fitness stations, with a total of 8km of running. 

Did I enjoy the event? At that particular moment on the airbok, absolutely not. But looking back now, yes I think I enjoyed the event!

Would I do another DEKA event? Yes I would, however, Fitness racing would always come second to Road running or obstacle racing. 

Want to know more about DEKA?

CWOne CrossFit Box (DEKA Affiliate) based in Crewe – https://www.cw1crossfit.co.uk/

DEKA Fit – https://deka.fit/

Want to know more about fitness racing? Follow UK.HXR on instagram.

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This year they reversed the course, which I think to most, didnt really make any difference, but if you keep returning year after year, its nice to change it up a little. The BIG new change was the introduction of “Slidin Dirty” an obstalce innovation (basically beta testing) this was I would guess around a 10m high slide. It was awesome, I managed to get on it several times over the weekend (due to infinity on the Saturday). I am sure it will be refined and will come to courses next year – I mean, how can it not?!

The best thing about the Tough Mudder London South course (especially for newbies) is that 1- its very easy to get to (only 10 minutes from Crawley Town Centre) and 2 – the central hub means that spectators can take in the major obstacles without having to walk to all corners of the course (yes, South West, this means you!)

Loads of ice in Arctic Enema (something that has been strangely lacking over the season) and Cry Baby was overloaded with menthol all weekend!

Tough Mudder London South recap video – 10km course

The video is from the 10km second wave on Sunday morning (around 9.30am) – so the course is nicely churned up from the Saturday participants in which I am told, already over 8000 people ran the course. Take a special look at Arctic Enema and Cry Baby – I think there was an end of season sale!

Obstacle List

• Kiss of Mud – 15km, 10km 5km
• Hero Walls – 15km, 10km 5km
• Mud Mile – 15km, 10km 5km
• Pyramid Scheme – 15km, 10km 5km
• Skid Marked – 15km, 10km 5km
• Cry Baby – 15km, 10km 5km
• Walk this Way – 15km, 10km 5km
• Funky Monkey – 15km, 10km 5km
• Block Ness Monster – 15km, 10km 5km
• Birth Canal – 15km, 10km 5km
• Hydrophobia – 15km, 10km, 5km
• Hero Carry – 15km, 10km, 5km
• Black Widow – 15km (not filmed)
• Block ness Monster – 15km, 10km, 5km
• Devil’s Beard – 15km (not filmed)
• Quagmire – 15km (not filmed)
• Black Widow – 15km (not filmed)
• Texas Hold Em – 15km (not filmed)
• Hold Your Wood – 15km (not filmed)
• Ladder to Hell – 15km (not filmed)
• Gut Buster – 15km (not filmed)
• Twinkle Toes 15km, 10km, 5km
• Shawshanked – 15km (not filmed)
• Electric Eel – 15km (not filmed)
• Slidin Dirty – 15km, 10km 5km
• Arctic Enema – 15km, 10km 5km
• Mudderhorn – 15km, 10km 5km
• Everest – 15km, 10km 5km
• The Gauntlet – 15km, 10km 5km
• Pitfall – 15km, 10km 5km
• Electroshock Therapy – 15km, 10km, 5km

Tough Mudder London South Gallery

Final thoughts

Loved it, Loved it, Loved it

There is something special about the London South course – undulating but runnable, a good mix of trails and forests (not endless Fields – I am looking at you South West!) and because it is near London, there are masses of crowds – 15,000 over the weekend I was told.

If you are looking to do your first 15km Tough Mudder – this should be the one to look at in the South (or North West if you are in the Midlands or further north!)

The post Tough Mudder London South 2022 recap appeared first on Wil Chung.

In Trail Pursuits own words “Trail Pursuit is inclusive for beginner & experienced trail runners alike.” However this was much further from the truth that MANY MANY people (including myself and my running buddy) found out

The (Half) Marathon Route

All the routes were changed just a couple of days before the race – in truth, I didn’t really take much notice, however I did find the original route which was 42km and a total elevation gain of 1400m. The new marathon route was now two loops of the half marathon 24km with a total elevation gain of 1700m – with two loops – 48km and 3400m elevation gain!

It took us 8 hours to complete the first loop (there was a 5 hour cut off to complete the first loop) and marshals were on course only for 9 hours. Maybe we weren’t experienced enough? Of the 100+ participants, only 27 made the cut off for the first lap and only 10 finished within the 9 hours time limit

For the half marathon, the final participant finished in 12:40:48 and for the 10km route – the final participant came in over 9 hours

Don’t believe me? You can check all the timings here via AV TIMINGS

Too challenging to be for “beginners”

Basically all the routes were FAR TOO challenging and even for a 5 / 10km route, this should have been more set up for inexperienced runners – no way should a 10km route take any more than say 3 hours and that is being totally generous – any normal 10km at walking pace can be completed in 2 hours.

The half marathon route which we took was also too challenging with very little “real” running – I would suggest around a total of 5km running across the route from the total of 24km. Too many steep uphill sections and even the descents were too technical to run safely, especially the final descent which was just loose shale. There was only one aid station at around 14km. Not a huge amount of food for selection (this is fine, we were told to bring our own). But the totally unhygienic way of filling water bottles (in a post pandemic world) was totally inexcusable – the volunteers were just taking the water bottles and dipping it (wrist first) into a large water bowser. Trail Pursuit could have at least purchased a few water jugs to help ensure fingers, hands or wrists into the large water bowsers

Positives of the route? Just a few I guess – The views! Absolutely stunning views across Buttermere and the Lake District. Secondly, I managed to bag my first three Waintwrights.

A bit about the festival

The festival area was pretty cool (note, I stayed in a hotel so didn’t camp or stay around in the festival too long) A number of food vendors, live DJ, Cinema, presentations and Yoga was all on offer as part of the festival.

The festival was part of the running ticket. Talking about costs, parking was extra – £15 for the weekend per car, camping and SHOWERS were £15 extra – even though these weren’t policed and basically anyone could shower. There were a number of complaints about the low number of toilets compared to participants – fortunately I didn’t need to use the facilities

Gallery – Stunning views of the Lake District

Final Thoughts – aka A Warning

Hopefully all of the above is very much a warning – its really worth checking out the Facebook and Instagram comments (although they have been deleting the negative comments!).

If someone had told me that the half marathon route was a great hiking route with stunning views, I would have really enjoyed this race. But it wasn’t set up that way – too technical and not enough running. The 10km equally so!

Don’t do this race if it’s your first trail run, no matter what the advertising puff says on their website. If you are experienced and love a good challenging route, then Trail Pursuit could be the race for you. However, for anyone else, I would suggest looking at other races such as Lakeland Trails and Love Trails.

The post Trail Pursuit – Lake District May ’22 recap appeared first on Wil Chung.

Toughest Race Malmo is based in Ribersborg, only 2km from the centre of Malmo. In terms of access, its very easy to get to by public transport or, as I did, use the e-scooters (plenty around!). Based on the beach, the terrain is very flat. The whole course took up only a few square kilometres, and the route was very much an zig zag affair. This had two main advantages – great for spectators to see (almost) all of the action whilst its very easy for participants to see where they are in the race compared to others.

The event village was small, just some sponsors’ stands and food vendors. I cant recall any changing facilities, but there was a small (un-manned) bag drop. Spectacular hype team to get participants going with small waves (around 50?) going very 10 minutes. The finish was the Super Ramp and made for an exciting spectacle for spectators cheering participants

Obstacle List

• Haybale Combo
• Bridge
• Wreckbag Carry
• Floating Bricks
• Bridge
• Traverse Rings
• Balance
• Gorilla Bars
• Log Carry
• Dragon’s Back
• Web Ring
• Bilia Car Crawl
• Liquid Tubes
• Dip Walk
• Worm Hole
• Heavy Balls
• Mudland
• Big Wall
• Spinning Wheels
• Power Push
• Haybale Pyramid
• Monkey bars
• Rings
• Rope Climb
• Incline Wall
• Floating Wall
• Irish Table
• Ninja Jump
• Super Slide
• Water Crossing
• Cod Ladder
• Super Ramp

Gallery

Final Thoughts

Well, I have booked again for 2023 in Malmo. Not really much more I can say in terms of how much I enjoyed the race.

If you’re a regular reader, you may have seen I am critical of some races based in parks – flat and boring. But with Toughest at Rigersborg, they have really made it into a spectacle. Mostly, I believe, its down to the sheer number of obstacles (30) within the relatively short distance (8km) – that’s around 1 obstacle every 250m. There was very little in the way of longer runs just to “make up the distance” and so the density of obstacles and short runs inbetween distracts you from the flat terrain.

If you have never participated in Toughest, I heartily recommend it (and if you havent, go watch the video!). All of their races are based in Scandinavia and unlike ones in the UK are always very easily accessible by public transport. Oslo – subway, Amsterdam – train, Malmo – e-scooter. London – erm Pippingford park… car… There is definitely something to be said for easy access events – see the vibe Tough Mudder Finsbury Park…. The other thing to note about Toughest is that there are no official photographers (for free or paid photos) on course and the only pic you will get is at the finish line.

Looking forward to Malmo 2023!

Travelling to Malmo from the UK

If you’re interested in visiting Malmo from the UK, its pretty simple – travel to Copenhagen, Denmark! Yes, sounds strange, but Malmo doesn’t have an international airport. The quickest route to Malmo is flying to Copenhagen (flight time of around 2 hours) and taking the train from the airport to Malmo Central Station taking around 20 minutes and costing around £8 each way. Lots to see and do in Malmo, but being so close to Denmark’s capital means you can explore two large cities over the weekend.

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I’ve been using the products for a few months now, whilst I was targeting Europe’s Toughest Mudder – an 8 hour Obstacle Endurance race, in which I was targeting 30 miles (6 laps) within the 8 hour time limit. My nutrition had to be on point if I was going to last the distance.

The range is split into different categories:

• Pre – Pre workout drink
• Energy – Gels, Carbohydrate drink & Oat bars
• Hydration – Tabs and powder
• Recovery – Protein powder

• PROJECT E2 Pre has a well developed formulation with a successful track history. It contains a fast-acting CHO blend combined with Arginine, Carnosyn, ViNitrox and caffine. I was given the lime and lemon version. One scoop in just 250ml of water gives a great boost before the race. Really tasty and easy on the stomach. I tried some before Newcastle 10km and it helped me to a course PB! The most surprising thing is that the mix turns a very dark colour when water is added!
• Hydro Drink – comes in both tablet and powder form (I was given the powder to try). It’s designed to offer users an electrolyte hit to keep their body from feeling the adverse effects of low levels in the body. It contains Cocomineral (a  trademarked coconut water powder which is a natural isotonic delivering natural sugars and salts to the body) magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium to ensure your body is fully hydrated with the right balance of minerals. I use this on day to day runs, but as they also have 100 calories per serving, I used it as my hydration for Europe’s Toughest Mudder as they assisted keeping my energy levels up
• PROJECT E2 Hydro Gels are a reincarnation of the award winning CNP Hydro Gel, featuring natural fruit juice, coconut water and B Vitamins, designed for those who may get stomach issues with normal gels. There was more fluid in these compared to the energy gel – helping you to remain hydrated on the longer sessions. Im not a fan of pineapple, but they were palatable!
• PROJECT E2 Energy Gels have been developed to offer a high CHO formulation for the longer duration sessions/events, with added electrolytes and other beneficial ingredients to promote performance over long distances. These bad boys helped me get through Europe’s Toughest Mudder. I used one for most laps as well as taken some on course at the half way point. Small enough to fit in the belt and the easy tear top made it easy to open especially when half the time I was wearing neoprene gloves
• PROJECT E2 Energy Bar has been developed to be reminiscent of actual food, not a sugary tough bar that you become sick of the sight of. I had the chocolate oat bars (250 calories per bar), and again helped me through Europe’s Toughest Mudder. When I didn’t feel like a gel in the pit, I ate a bar instead. They tasted great, very much like a real chocolatey flapjack. They are a little drier than the normal flapjacks, so I wouldn’t recommend eating and running at the same time. Would be good to use as a re-fuel snack when taking a break. The bars, as well as being a good source of carbs, also have vitamins B6 and B12 to help reduce fatigue.
• PROJECT E2 Recover is an advance recovery protein shake, formulated and designed to replenish glycogen stores, supply protein to the muscles and aid both repair and development. The ingredients include whey protein, a mix of electrolytes, vitamin c and DigeZyme to help the body make use of the shake’s nutrients.  This has been my go to protein shake for post workouts. The chocolate flavour is gorgeous, whilst the shake doesn’t sit heavy like some other protein shakes.
• PROJECT E2 Energy I have been so impressed with the products, I purchased this as part of my endurance racing. It has a blend of CHO, Electrolytes, and other performance ingredients designed for a longer duration session/race. With 300 calories per 500ml serving, the drink will help me keep going without the need for “food”. Energy contains Cluster Dextrin (This is a sustained-release CHO source, which has a fast gastric emptying allowing for a ‘drip-feed’ of energy, without the stomach issues). This was true – in my 3 hour practise run, the drink was perfect and not once through the day did I have any issues. Peak O2 (This blend of Cordyceps derived from mushrooms, shown to increase power output, elongate workouts, and contribute towards better performance, through better O2 utilisation. The only thing I would mention is that the blend is quite sweet and diluting will reduce the flavour – but also the intensity of the nutrients.

PROJECT E2 is a range of high specification, endurance specific, sport nutrition products, designed for the athlete invested heavily into their performance. The range is perfect for me, running several ultra trail races, and “double lapping” Tough Mudder weekends, the range will keep me going.

If it’s something you would like to try out, use the discount code 25425 for 25% discount at checkout.

More information about Project E2 can be found on their website – projecte2.co.uk/ whilst you can also follow them on all the social channels:

• facebook.com/ProjectE2nutrition/
• twitter.com/ProjectE2_HQ
• instagram.com/projecte2nutrition/

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Toughest Mudder is an Obstacle Endurance race from Tough Mudder. Participants run as many loops in an 8 hour time period from 12 midnight on Saturday evening through to 8am Sunday morning. Penalties are not included in the official mileage and anyone on course after 8.30am will not have those lap miles counted as part of the official total. A special patch is given to anyone completing 25 miles, whilst “Contender status” was given to males completing 30 miles and females completing 25.

Kit Choice

Kit was important and again, I had learned from last year that a back zipped wet suit wasn’t quite right and a front zipped shorty would be the way to go. This helped two ways – easy access to change and help to regulate the body temperature if I was over heating.

My kit included:

• Gul Code Zero shorty wet suit
• Enertor base layers
• Enertor socks (energy return for the night and recovery socks for the morning after
• Saucony Peregrine 7 trail shoes with Enertor insoles
• Nathan Strobe light
• Black Diamond Spot
• Project E2 nutrition – gels, energy bars, hydration fluids and recovery shakes (review to come)

I also had a back up pair of socks and trainers. Last year I took way too much. I decided I would run all of the 8 hours and therefore wouldn’t need any change of clothes.

Europe’s Toughest Mudder Course Map

The route is a 5-mile course around some of the Belvoir Estate (Leicestershire) overlooked by Belvoir Castle. It loops a very similar route to last year, with the first 3 miles on relatively flat terrain, before a long climb up towards Birth Canal and T-Boned and then back down the hill towards Mud Mile and the finish. The down hill was pretty treacherous as due to the rain and the sheer number of people running earlier in the day, the mud as almost as slippery as ice. Runners had to be very careful, taking slow steady steps, rather than enjoying a gallop down the hill.

The obstacles in order were:

• Electroshock Therapy (opened at around 4am)
• Pitfall – Long trench of water with random deeper pits
• Boa Constrictor – Crawl tube down into a pit of water, and another crawl up. This became increasingly difficult as the tiredness set in
• Funky Monkey the Revolution – A penalty loop for failure, whilst it was modified to “Spunky Monkey” around 5am
• BlockNess Monster – 2 revolving blocks in around 5ft of water
• Kiss of Mud – Barbed wire crawl with water ditches and hay bales to traverse
• Pole Dancer – Tricep dips over water, whilst the poles were wobbly and angled with an apex in the middle. Penalty loop for faiure
• Cage Crawl – laying face up in water, traversing around 20m. This was modified with 2 dunks for full submersion
• Swamp Stomp – a bit of mud
• Arctic Enema – Ice bath with 2 full submersions – closed around 5am
• Creek Crusade – wade through water
• Everest – Half pipe. The longest penalty loop for failure (around 500m with steep climb)
• Kong – Ring Traverse with penalty loop for failure. Closed around 4am
• Devil’s Beard – Cargo net crawl
• Long ass hill (not an official obstacle)
• Birth Canal – tight crawl under water bag
• T-Boned / Irish Table – a modified hero walls with ledge
• Down hill ice skating rink (not an official obstacle)
• Mud Mile 2.0 – a series of 6 mud trenches
• Operation – opened at 5am – Think electrified hook a duck. Penalty loop with sandbag
• Pyramid Scheme 2.0 – Modified with ropes

19 obstacles opening and closing over the 8 hour time period. All timings of opening and closing was approximate – out on my laps I just remember them being opened or not. The first lap was a “sprint” lap – with none of the major obstacles open. They were opened from 1am onwards, I do think by my third lap (around 2am) pretty much everything was open, apart from Electro Shock Therapy and Operation which opened much later in the race. What was interesting that all of the major water obstacles were in the first half of the race – pretty much a “get it over with” mentality before being able to stretch the legs out and do some running to warm back up.

Although the weather was “warm” (10C) it was raining through the night until around 4am in which it started to get light but more importantly dry up.

I ran the first three laps with Craig, who is also going to Worlds Toughest Mudder. Last year we ran ETM and managed the 25 miles. Unfortunately Craig swallowed a lot of water at Cage Crawl in the second lap. Something he didn’t really recover from and decided to drop out after the third lap. I carried on solo. We had a schedule (1 hour 20 minutes per lap) and I was happy we were in front (thanks to the Sprint lap).

I just had to ensure I kept to pace and I was happy I was averaging around 1.15 per lap which gave me time to pit and eat. Food was one of the learns from 2017 and I ensured I have my food (flat bread peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate crepes), gels and fluids all laid out for me. I was also very fortunate to run with the Solo Mudders, in which a pit crew was organised to look after the runners. I was able to let them know what I wanted for the next lap and at times, they helped me open food because I couldn’t! Pit Crew also ensured that everyone was keeping warm, getting out for the next lap if required and just generally ensuring everyone was well looked after

As the night wore on, some of the obstacles seemed to get more difficult (Boa Constrictor) whilst others became easier (birth canal, mud mile). Tiredness did wear on a lot of the participants with the field well and truly thinned out by 4am.

Lap 4 I changed my shoes and socks, there was so much sand in the socks and my Saucony peregrines don’t have as much grip as the Reebok Trail Attack. They were however more comfortable and whilst I had the Enertor insoles, the previous 20 miles had taken it’s toll on my feel.

Operation was a terrible obstacle this year, last year I did it no problem, but I don’t know what happened, but I hooked and lost 2 bands, whilst being shocked around 5 times for good measure. (Yes, that was the moment I was getting shocked).

Laps

I was lapping pretty consistently with lap 3 a little slower due to Craig suffering. Lap 4 and 5 I was feeling good, and even wondering if I could fit in lap 7 for 35 miles. However it all came to a bit of a halt at lap 6. My ham strings started to tighten and the ground seemed much harder when I was in the Reeboks. I decided that my target of 30 miles was good enough and walked/ran lap 6 as a victory lap. My total run time was 7 hours 10 minutes. If I competed again next year, I would need to keep a slightly faster pace, whilst pitting a little quicker if I am to make 35 miles and 7 laps. (And reduce my penalty count!)

All in all, Europe’s Toughest Mudder was a great race for me. My fitness and running has definitely improved, last year I managed 25 miles in a similar time frame. Whilst this year I felt fresher and stronger at every point of the race.

30 miles is in the bag, “Contender” status is achieved and now begins the hard training slog towards World’s Toughest Mudder.

Images taken by Epic Action Imagery on behalf of Tough Mudder

The post Europe’s Toughest Mudder 2018 Race Recap appeared first on Wil Chung.

361° Sensation 3

First of all – wow, the colour! They are certainly bright and pop out from the dreary black and whites of the trainer world. Putting them on, the light-weight upper certainly hugs the top of the foot whilst also being seamless to reduce irritation from friction, I think these are great for those who suffer from plantar fasciitis.’ The toe box is roomy (my feet are relatively wide), whilst the internal webbing helps to keep the foot in place within the shoe

Even with all the comfort, the Sensation 3 are still relatively light, coming in at 278g. It features a carbon fibre plate along the foot from forefoot to heel. This provides stability and therefore an amount of stiffness to support the foot for longer distance running. Even with the additional stability, the cushioning is something to behold and shows where the team from 361° have done more work. The QU!KFOAM sole along with the QU!KFlex offers unrivalled comfort (or especially against the Stratomics and Reebok Runners I wore previously).

Grip

Grip is very important, and none more so than on wet tarmac. However during the number of different surfaces I ran on, in wet and dry conditions, the Sensation 3 remained steadfast. At no point (including some wet up hill climbs) did I feel that the shoe was about to give way under foot. You can see the carbon sole plate (grey and black) to provide stability.

Style

The styling of the Sensation 3 is awesome, coming in very vivid colours in both Men’s and Women’s style. Small additional details include reflective detail (the S3 for example) to help night running and the very soft laces which seem to hug the shoe rather than clamp down.

Conclusion

The awesome looking, Sensation 3 shoe by 361° is a great combination of stability and comfort whilst being light-weight to be the work horse for the mid to long distance runners. The carbon fibre sole plate gives a great transition from heel to fore-foot and provides the stabilty required for distance running an training. My running shoe of choice and will take some beating to be removed from top spot.

You can buy the 361° Sensation 3 from Amazon or 361Europe priced around £120

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• Pick the right race – There is a massive amount of Obstacle Course Races available to people in the UK. From the well known Tough Mudder, Spartan Race and Wolf Run, to the more local Delamere Commando, Bog Commander and Ram Run. When selecting your race, think about the
  1. Locality – How far are you willing to travel to a race?
  2. Distance – How far are you willing to run/walk. Also see if the course is laps. X-Runner for example is 5km laps allowing people to stop after 5km or carry on for 10km
  3. Terrain – Where is it based, how muddy could it be? Would it be very hilly? The difference in terrain may make the obstacle course much more difficult.

Wolf Run is a 10km race in the midlands, very well organised and I think a great introduction to OCR. Tough Mudder is probably the best known, with a varying number of distances and some HUGE obstacles and lots of venues across the UK. Check out my DISCOUNT if you are doing your first Tough Mudder in 2018.

• Train – Once you have selected your race, you need to do some training. This isn’t necessarily about finishing in the top places and winning, but more about making sure you can finish the race whilst enjoying it, and not blowing out your a** and crawling across the finish line. As mentioned earlier, I had never ran since school, so a friend and me did the Couch 2 5km program in readiness. Be assured, that you wont need to run the whole distance (so you don’t need to complete a full 10km distance before your first 10km obstacle race – it will help though.) as there will be water/fuel stops and quite often when you’re going through/over/under the obstacles that’s a bit of active recovery. Depending on how busy the course it, there may be some queues too.  Having all round fitness would be useful – crawling, climbing and carrying are all part of obstacle courses, so “functional fitness” is the way to go.

• No Cotton – This refers to what to wear on the day. Cotton holds on to moisture, and you’re most likely going to get wet by running through some water or at least some mud. Synthetic fibres is the way to go. You don’t have to necessarily buy brand new kit for your first obstacle race – in fact, I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you do, then look at cheap kit from Sports Direct or similar. The less you wear the better, skin is so much quicker at drying  off than any clothes. Try not to wear full length leggings, shorts, long sleeve base layer and a t shirt over the top. This goes with trainers, if you are getting into OCR, I would start looking at more specific trainers, but your old running / gym shoes will be fine for your first time (you may find you will throw them away after your run). Granted you may slip a little bit more than others and you may find climbing slightly more difficult, but it’s not worth spending £40+ for just one use. Once you think you want to do more OCRs, then More Mile Cheviots are great value entry level OCR shows with decent grip.

• Photos – Oh yes, those all important Facebook brags! There will be photographers across the course. Depending on the race you may have to pay for them or you may get them included in your entry fee. However, whenever you see the photographer, give a quick smile (even if you dont feel that way) to make an epic profile picture

• After the race – Check out my post about kit bag here. Bin bag to get your muddy/dirty kit in and not get the rest of the car dirty. Couple of big beach towels to dry/keep warm. Set of clothes to change in to. Try baggy tracksuit/hoodie rather than hipster skinny jeans, hopping round the middle of a muddy field trying to get them on is not a good luck. Not all obstacle courses have showers (or even a cold tap) to clean off, so look at getting large beach towel sized wet wipes (Ive found them really useful and usually in B&M or Home Bargains). Get yourself to the concession stands and enjoy a celebratory dirty burger – you’ve earned it!

There are my five top tips for your first obstacle race – I am sure there’s plenty more tips and advice out there if you have a quick search. If you are new to Obstacle Course Racing, I would suggest joining the OCR Solo Mudders group on facebook. A friendly group who are at many races and happy to give help and advice.

Zombie Evacuation 2012

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