Extreme Sport 2: The Hills of Hell

A race isn't called Hellrunner if it's going to be a nice little trot through the forest and I knew we were under-trained for the terrain but even so - HOW HARD WAS THAT?!!
It started off quite well, although a rogue metal loop poking out of the mud almost took me out just past the start.  The first mile was undulating forest tracks but nothing too stretching.  Then we hit the first series of hills.  My strategy on hills is to keep going even if I'd be quicker walking (as my son shouts "that's not running Mum!").  If I have to stop, I've had it.  The nature of the tracks meant they weren't wide enough to overtake people.  Starting in the traditional Washlands position of at the back, we got stuck behind people walking up the hills.  This was not only frustrating but meant we got cold too, despite the mild conditions.
By approximately mile 4 (no mile markers) I was actually feeling quite fed up.  I'm usually a very positive runner who can motivate myself quite easily to get over down patches.  However I kept thinking all the walking was a waste of effort and I should have just been out on a 14 mile training run instead.  Going at a slower pace also tires you out as you can't get into your stride.  I knew I was only about 4 miles in yet felt shattered.  At that point I was doubting my ability to finish a marathon, let alone at an improved time.
Luckily, it was at that point we hit the first water obstacle, which really cheered me up.  It's strange how throwing yourself into freezing water actually makes you feel better but it does.  After all, it only feels cold for the first few seconds before you lose all sensation!  There's something very childish and rebellious about it - you know you shouldn't do it but it's fun!  Ruth had a bit of a bad patch here and we had the help of a valiant stranger (Runner 6161 - thank you!) to help her through.  

An easy hill towards the end

The long hills were very tiring but at least there was space now to go at your own pace.  The woodland boggy bits in the valley were lovely and I enjoyed running up the small stream, and clambering up the steep banks to get out.  The Bog of Doom was stinky but not too long, with some nice music there to keep us going and the Quarry challenge was a nice bit of variety at the end.  Karen had a sudden burst of energy about 1000m out.  We couldn't let her leave us behind so we ended up with a sprint finish over the muddiest finish line I've ever seen!
As you can probably guess, Hell in the Middle wont go down as one of my favourite races.  The main reason is that there was no support around the course.  We had got some spectators with us but there was no map of the course, so no-one ventured out onto it.  A bit of support would have made a lot of difference.
Also, from a race organiser viewpoint, I didn't feel there were sufficient marshals out on the course.  We passed one woman on the ground being tended to by another runner and asked her if she had help coming.  She replied that she thought so, and luckily we met a bike marshall at that point.  In the Bog of Doom, where tired runners could get into trouble, there was one marshall who stationed herself on the other side of the hillock to warn runners what was coming up.  There was no-one on the other side to check people got out safely. The same applied to the first water, where one marshall was stationed. 
It's one to tick off the list but not to repeat I think.

The Little Devils did amazingly well with Jamie leading the pack home - well done to all of you!
This morning my hamstrings were a bit sore after the hills.  The schedule set out a 10 minute run for this morning which we had a bit of debate about.  Some were up for trying to make up the miles 'lost' by doing Hell (10miles instead of the scheduled 14) but we decided time on your feet counted and we were out there for 2hours 50 minutes.  So it was a quick run round the block before breakfast and feet up for the rest of the day!