I wish... I was a cross country runner (part 2)

We heard the screams before we saw the horror.

"Why are they screaming?" asked Jen.

"Somebody's throwing chocolate at them," I joked.

We were in the first mile of The Eliminator Race, a cross-country run designed to test entrants with thick mud, deep water and gruelling uphill scrambles. It didn't disappoint.

The screaming was from dozens of runners wading chest-high through a pond of dirty brown water with logs floating in it. It was excruciatingly cold, and I overtook a few runners to get to the other side as quickly as I could. It was so deep that Fran and Lizzi swam.

Up until that point we had been tiptoeing our way through the mud. Not any more. The gloves were off. I was wringing water out of mine and cursing that the tissues I had stuffed inside them were sodden. 

The terrain was incredible. We trudged along tracks shin-high in gloopy mud. We slid into rivers and hauled ourselves out the other side. At one point we scrambled up a muddy bank so slippery that I used tree roots like rock-climbing handholds and another runner pulled me up using a fallen branch.

It was a proper adventure. I loved it.

Photograph courtesy of Michaela Coatsworth

My teammates were awesome. Lizzi, who hates mud and stepped tentatively through it at the start, grew in confidence with every mile and got faster and faster. Stuart, whose chest was tight with asthma, showed real grit and determination by pushing on without complaint. I marvelled at Fran who gashed her leg in a water obstacle but chirped, "I'm fine", and carried on running. And Jen steadily picked up the pace and stormed up a hill. It was great to see.

Despite the intense cold and effort, we had fun. We joked around, sang songs and bundled each other into the mud. I felt closer to them as friends. It was, at the risk of sounding cheesy, a quality bonding experience. I recommend it to anyone.

In the final few hundred metres I splashed mud in my eye and blinked furiously through the last two ponds.

Photograph courtesy of Michaela Coatsworth

After which we regrouped and ran across the finishing line together. Team Sunrise!

Photograph courtesy of Michaela Coatsworth

We made it!

Our support crew - Andrew, Michaela, Fergus and Fran's Mum - congratulated us and took photos. Then we collected our medals and T-shirts, wrapped ourselves in foil like marathon runners, and munched on Michaela's delicious chocolate orange cupcakes. I could have eaten the whole tub.

It was over. We could relax. If only we weren't so wet and cold!

We dispersed to get changed. I stood on one side of Fran's car and pulled on boxer shorts under a towel with hands so cold they barely worked. It was awful. How I didn't drop the towel and cause more screaming, I don't know. 

Dry once more, Fran and I bundled into the car with Stu and Lizzi and we turned the heaters up to max. The thaw began...

Our next challenge is to collect the sponsorship money that has been pledged by friends and family, and pass it on to the Barnardo's Sunrise Centre. If you sponsored us, thank you! On behalf of the children and young people and their families who use Sunrise projects, thank you thank you thank you!

Do you wish you were a cross country runner? Or even a hard surface runner? What's stopping you?