Two
weeks ago, I went down to London for The Nuts Challenge. As this was
my First Nuts Challenge, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I
knew was that it would be cold, hard and well….cold! On the morning
of the race, when I made my way from London to Gatwick Airport, the
weather was really bad; rain was pouring down and it was also quite
windy. I didn’t really feel like I wanted to run.
I
arrived at the location and there was a lot of mud to wade through,
which made it difficult to get around the area. I registered for the
race and went to the changing tent. I found a spot which was a little
less muddy. I then went to the briefing, where we were given
instructions for the race. I didn’t want to wander around, so went
with the first wave.
The
race started with some muddy fields and then some ditch crossing.
This was followed by mud pits, which were good fun! I crossed some
tires heap and found myself in the lead from my wave. The next part
was the OCR gym fun crossed truck trailer, swing tires, container and
wall – then container again. After the second container, I messed
up a bit – should have turned, but went straight instead. As soon
as I realised I was going the wrong way, I turned back. I finished my
OCR gym visit with climbing tires and rolling down the net. The next
part involved running down the river. It was good, but from time to
time, we had to jump out and back again. River bit finished with
climbing barrel tunnel. Then was up the net down the pole, rope swing
and more mud pits.
Next
up was some more running on muddy tracks. We arrived at the next
obstacles, where you had to jump over planks. It sounds like nothing
special, but it makes a big difference when planks are 1.5m of the
ground! My height came in handy for this and I crossed fairly easily.
A
rope climb and more running, crossing some small obstacles and then a
sand bag which we had to carry up a hill. The sand bag was quite
light but it was quite steep hill and of course muddy, which made it
more challenging. Then more running on muddy tracks. I started
thinking this would be fairly easy to finish, but then the race only
really began when we got to the first water obstacle! I crossed the
first one, but then there was another….and another. It was harder
than I thought! The tire carry was easy, but slippy. The water slide
was fun, but cold as hell! Then…you guessed it, more water!
We
crossed the pond twice and then headed for finish area. The first lap
was done, so I had energy gel and energy drink. I was keen to get
started again, so didn't want to stay at pit stop for long. At the
start of the second lap, I was already thinking about the water
obstacle. All other ones were fine. Second lap went very well apart
from the monkey bars where I slipped and fell down. Mistake was to
use sand on gloves. Done penalty loop and carried on with race. After
second time crossing the water, I realised it was really hard to warm
up.
At pit stop I had energy gel, packet of crisps and an energy drink. I changed my clothes as well and I felt that it really invigorated me, so I was happy to get going again. The running was easy because I knew I was doing it for the last time. Even the water didn't feel that bad! I finished quite strongly. At end I was checking the time and wanted to finish under 4h but didn't manage it. After I finished, I got a hot drink and just wanted to get out of my wet clothes as quickly as possible.
While
I struggled to get of my wet clothes, I heard top 3 of 3 laps and
there was a big surprise; I was in first place! I didn't expect that.
I made my way back to London and treated myself to a good dinner. I
was tired but still wanted to enjoy my wee victory! Overall, I didn’t
think the race wasn't hard but water made it really challenging. My
best tip would be to change clothes, as that really helped me to keep
going. All and all, it was good fun and a really challenging race.
Now my aim is to look at bigger and more challenging races.
