So this morning as I waited to start the Grim Original there was an announcement that it would start slightly late as the event organisers were breaking the ice on the various ‘water features’. It was cold enough waiting to start but once we hit the first bit of water we basically entered an ice bath – the first of many around the 8.5 mile course.
The course isn’t called Grim without good reason. Wet, slippery, hilly, rough terrain this was very different from a typical road race.
At one point on the course I was stuck in thick mud under a cargo net, an area of the course where several people lost shoes. All in all though it was great fun and something I would happily do again.
My official time was 01:18:40 – I’m pretty happy with that given the terrain.
Want to see a bit more of the course (including lots of people falling in the water)? Watch this little montage of video clips shot by my lovely wife. If you look closely you can see me towards the end.
As well as the Grim Original I also ran in the Facebook FiveK – slower than last month, but still a good time for my second run of the day.
Year Without Beer
The Olympics may be over, but my Year Without Beer isn’t! I am spending all 366 days of this leap year alcohol free in an attempt to raise money for 2 charities that are both very close to my heart.
As part of my running challenge I have completed a quarter marathon, a 10 mile road race (Great South Run) and an 8 mile off road challenge (The Grim Original).
In 2012 I was raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Cancer Research UK.
