Survival of the Muddiest!

What a great race! Myself and a few other RAF triathletes (Greg Mc, Jase, Nick D, Paul F, Granty) turned out at the 'Mens Health Survival of the Fittest' race at the weekend, down in Nottingham. It was a real blast! 10 main obstacles to contend with over a 12km route through and around Nottingham. There were hay bales (first obstacle), army style assault courses, skate parks, football terraces, river crossings and more, with the final 'Wall of Fame' to conquer...it was muddy, wet and a bit tough!

Considering there were around 4000 on the start list, the RAF Tri lot did pretty well! Greg had a great run finishing 4th and apart from his known pedigree as a runner, he was like a flipping squirrel over the obstacles! I was happy crossing the line in 14th, having lost touch with Greg at the first major set of obstacles. Nick seemed to enjoy himself and came home in 23rd with Jase about a minute behind in 33rd. Granty finished 87th and Paul F 112th. The ice bath and FGS at the end were well deserved!

I would recommend this race to anyone who enjoys a run with a difference! I was aching all over for the next couple of days and my knees were battered, bruised and scratched...but I'll be back next year!

A Soggy End To The Season.

All the races I have competed at this year have been blessed with decent weather...until the Humber Sprint last Sunday!
It was a downpour from start to finish...I reckon I was drier in the pool than I was on the bike!!
It's not very nice racking your bike in pouring rain, having to put your shoes in plastic bags to stop them filling with water! I've never raced in the rain before and I hope I don't have to do it too often.

Having finished my 400m swim in over 6 mins I ran out into the rain for a 150m run, through the puddles to T1.


Once I got going on the bike, even though it was wet and windy, I wasn't as cold as I was expecting to be. It was a mistake putting shades on though...I thought they would help keep the rain out of my eyes but I could barely see the road and ended up pushing them down my nose like a pair of reading glasses until I needed them on the downhill sections, when I'd push them back up! There were also a lot of big puddles and rivers of water to contend with, which caused a few scary moments on some of the fast descents!



I was glad to get off the bike and into my running shoes, despite them being a tad soggy! The run was supposed to be 5km, but it clearly wasn't, as I clocked a time of 15:33 mins...I wish!




I finished 5th overall and 1st in my age group, which was very pleasing, but I took more satisfaction from registering the fastest run split of the day!









Looking forward to the 'Survival Race' this weekend with a few fellow triathletes, and to be honest I don't care if it rains at that race, it'll just add to the fun!!




Train well.