Challenge 1 - Hellrunner (26 Oct 2019)

The challenge - Half marathon through mud, water, wind and rain

I entered this event not quite sure what to think of it. On one hand, I felt that it was going to be fine...after all, I have run a half marathon before, and there is no rush to finish this. What could be so hard?

Well...

- Two days before the event the organisers sent an email stating they had to move the carpark due to flooding.

- One day before the event the organisers sent another informing participants that they had to close half the course due to high winds and bad weather.....uh oh.....

Jacket and blanket. This is meant to be an adventure right?

So I turn up not quite knowing what to expect. And indeed the conditions did not disappoint. Gale force winds, rain and true winter weather.

I tell myself that this is the point - "Its not meant to be easy, and more importantly, I am not meant to enjoy it. That's the personal growth bit!" ;)

So off I head trotting down the course...to the first puddle...

And then the second, third, fourth, and I don't know how many more....

Cold, wet, but happy!

And in-between the puddles....just mud and hills. In fact there couldn't have been more than a kilometre where I could just stretch out my running pace and relax into it.

After 12 km's I had completed the circuit. Participants were offered the choice of doing a second lap. But between me being in a late wave and missing the cutoff time by 5 mins (really!? 1 hour 35 wasn't so bad!) and feeling cold, tired and wet, that was it for me.

So in the end, I ran less than I expected, but funnily enough, the hills, cold and muddy conditions made it feel physically as hard as a half marathon.

First one (and scarily, I think the easiest of them all) over. Back to the training......