Oops. I guess life has got in the way recently and I haven't actually written any blog posts for a while. Got a few race reports to write up which happened weeks ago.
Anyways....
The Winter Nuts Challenge
I always get pre-race nerves. That tight feeling in your stomach, the feeling that you're gonna be a complete and utter failure, the 'why am I doing this to myself again?' thought. Well none of these compared to my pre-race nerves before the Winter Nuts Challenge. I made the error of reading people's race reviews on the Saturday and upon reading that several people (abit fitter and stronger than me) DMF after one and a bit laps, I seriously questioned my own sanity. I'd naively signed up for 2 laps of the infamous Surrey course (voted 'the toughest course in the UK' in the 2014 Mudstacle awards). I wondered why I hadn't have stuck with just 1 lap!
The Nuts Challenge is based at a permanent obstacle course in Surrey and the race runs twice a year in September and March. You can do 1, 2, 3 or 4 laps definitely on your level of 'nuttiness' (though 4 laps are reserved for those who have already completed a Nuts Challenge and know what they are letting themselves in for).
I'd wanted to do the Nuts Challenge for a couple of years as it is the most obstacle-dense course (100 obstacles per 7km lap) and I love obstacles, hate running. For some unknown reason I thought 2 laps would be fine.
Before the race I was in a mild state of panic as the Dryrobe I'd ordered never arrived. For those who don't know (or haven't heard me ramble on about the bliss which is my Dryrobe), the Dryrobe is a sort of outdoor dressing gown/outdoor changing robe/giant hug loved by OCR enthusiasts/swimmers/surfers etc. After dealing with mild hyperthermia after the Suffering race in November, I saved up for one (they aren't cheap!) and ordered a next day delivery mid-week before Nuts. I won't name and shame the company as I received a decent enough apology, but it never got sent. I faced the fear of the Winter Nuts challenge and the prospect of hyperthermia without the post-race warmth.
Nevertheless, I found the biggest hoodie I owned and packed my OCR bag and drove the 3 hour drive down to Surrey, giving myself the biggest pep talk I could muster as I pulled up onto the site.
The site was well signposted and it was a slick process to park and then pay for parking without stopping and queuing onto the site. The registration tent was easy to find and lots of registration desks made the process easy to do. You were given several numbers and QR codes to attach to various parts of your torso and a volunteer sponged a numbered sticker onto my forehead.
The changing/bag drop tent wasn't as well signposted but the lady on the information desk was very friendly and it was easy to drop off bags and keys.
Whilst awaiting the start, we had the pleasure of watching the race leader coming in for lap 2 (the very awesome and lovely Conor Hancock). For anyone 'nuts' enough to do more than 1 lap, there was a transition area were you could leave a change of clothes, food and drinks. I dropped off an energy drink, a bag of jelly babies and an energy bar.
After a slightly disappointing Zumba inspired warm up and a rousing pep talk and safety briefing we started.
The first 1km felt like an entire race in itself: tunnels, haybales, fences, mud hills, more mud hills, even more mud. I think it must have taken 20 minutes or so to clear the first 1km- welcome to te Nuts challenge!
The second km consisted of water and more water! In and out of streams, under logs/over logs, up cargo nets, into the streams again. It was here you felt the effects of the cold on your calf muscles. The water made them tighten up and it was important to keep moving. Luckily, unlike other events, there was never any bottlenecking at Nuts so it was possible to keep going. It was around here I really felt my training was paying off, I felt stronger and more able to handle the bigger physical challenges and my technique at 'getting over things quickly' was getting better (still a long way to go though!)
Back end of the 2km and into the 3km took you through a paintball zone (luckily no paintballs) but in and out of the houses, into a wooded section (my poor frozen calfs) and ono several cargo nets, more water and tunnels. Pacing is always the key to any event and I soon learnt that you cannot get any measure of distance at Nuts because it is so obstacle dense.
4km took on some longer races and a particularly long stream walk (luckily not too deep).
5km and 6km brought you back round towards the event village and to a tyre run up and down a very steep hill (luckily steep enough to slide down) and then back up and down steep hills and to the water slide (hilariously fun). The lap finished with a double, tall cargo net, logs to jump over, 2 tunnels, a lake swim and 2 water based obstacles to scramble over and then a run round the lake to the finish line.
Brilliant fun if you are doing 1 lap. You've finished. Get your medal and hot Ribena and go celebrate. But oh no, this idiot signed up for 2 laps and this idiot doesn't not quit anything.
There is no worse feeling than feeling so exhausted and achy and knowing that everything you've just done, you have to do again. Could have not done it but where's the fun in that?
One particular marshall, never knew her name, who was in the transition area, was my lifesaver. She came over and asked if I needed help changing. I said I wasn't swapping clothes just eating. She helped me undo the bottle lid and packet of jellybabies (as my fingers just weren't working). She also gave me a pep talk about being able to finish and to get the job done. And with that, off I went...
The course had changed so much since Lap 1- the muddy hills were virtually quicksand now and within the first km, my remaining energy was gone. The race became more of a mental game than physical. My brain had to consciously tell my limbs to move and pull and push, whilst my limbs screamed in pain. Seriously, if my limbs could speak, they would have formed their own union, voted for a strike and left. My body hated me. Still I kept moving forward, focusing on one foot in front of the other, consciously breathing and pushing through the pain. I love each and every spectator for their cheers and claps and the marshalls for words of encouragement and haribo (especially the ones with haribo!). One random spectator I especially remember, who ran alongside me as I clambered over the logs in the last km shouting 'go on muddy race girl' (I was representating muddyrace.co.uk with their trademark green t-shirt).
When I crossed the finish line, the same marshall who had given me the pep talk in the transition area was there and she gave me the biggest hug. The warm Ribena was the best tonic to the cold and I clutched my medal like my life depended on it!
It is important, post-race, to get out of cold and water gear as quickly as possible, which I did. I then got myself a post-race burger (best.food.ever) and got in the car to warm myself up. Then it was the 3 hour drive back to Nottingham when the shivering started and the heating was on full blast. Still, totally worth it!
I can see why the Nuts Challenge has it's reputation. It was a true test of physical and mental strength. Will I be back? Hell yes. It was my favourite course to date and a great experience. I want to do another couple of 2 laps and then aim for a 3 laps at summer nuts next year.
14km in the bag!
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