After the Langdale pudding race we thought it would be fun to do an occasional race elsewhere. Dave came up with The Beast; a crazy x-country double or quit adventure race around a equestrian cross country trial course. What were we thinking – perhaps that we are horses?

Unfortunately (or fortunately ) Fiona and I were too late to enter and the race was full, so only Dave and Pete got to race…

Ready to tame the Beast?

The expressions here show how apprehensive they were at the thought of the big jumps and water obstacles ahead!

Serious apprehension!

As the race’s start time approached, everyone was given a briefing by Gaynor, the organiser.

While the 200 or so horses runners listened carefully for any beta on taming the obstacles.

Pre-race briefing...

Spectators weren’t aloudallowed [Ed. typo, thanks Paul] on to the course to get photographs or cheer. So unfortunately Fiona and I weren’t able to capture the action over the many jumps, hurdles and water obstacles. Sorry!

But clearly it was a punnishing course – so much so that Dave injured his knee and had to retire! I could tell Dave was disappointed, but it was definitely the right decision to pull out. There’s no telling what damage could have been done if he’d carried on. Especially as the cold (waist deep) water at a couple of locations would have done a good job of numbing any pain and could easily have masked an injury that would have ruined the whole rock climbing season just around the corner.

Injured!

Pete was luckier with no injuries, but was definitely a light-weight and opted not to double, quitting after the first lap of the course. He looked knackered! But he collected his T-shirt and “goodie bag” to celebrate.

Knackered!

Dave received some complimentary physiotherapy for his knee injury. A nice touch to have these facilities on-site!

Complimentary physiotherapy for Dave's knee

After a change of clothes for the boys we all enjoyed the other facilities on-site, a beer tent and BBQ!

An entertaining day!

It was the first year for this event and there could be a few improvements for next year…

• Arrange for spectators to be able to get down to the main concentration of obstacles. It’d be great for photos, for the spectators to better enjoy the event and get involved with/close to the action, and for the competitors to get more of the crucial support from cheering friends.
• Wait for all the competitors to finish before starting the prize giving. It seemed a bit unfair to be announcing the winners and handing out prizes while some were still running in.
• Oh, and Gaynor please speak up (or get a much better loud hailer) to tell us what the spot prizes are for.