So this was the Demon Run, a 10 mile run (there was a 5 mile
option) through Swindley Forest, Bracknell. I guess you would class it as a
cross county or adventure race as it had various obstacles and challenges along
the way.
First obstacle ... finding the bloody thing
Now I hold my hands up I took the directions from the
address on the website unfortunately there was an email sent out stating that
we should be using another entrance.
You’ve probably worked out by now we went to the wrong
entrance however we weren’t alone, there was quite a few people waiting at the
wrong place.
I have to say though you’re given the impression from the
email it’s just round the corner but it’s not and when you finally get to the
entrance, whah we see our first sign. However be careful not to blink you may
miss the A4 sign stuck to a post.
We managed to register with about 5 minutes to spare but
soon realised that it was going to be a late starter which was just as well for
us.
So we waited, then we waited, then we waited a bit more and
finally ....we can line up, 10 minutes to go. I think it was more like 20
minutes when we got going and I don’t know what time we set off but it must
have been pretty close to 11am which is an hour after the scheduled start. Now
things go wrong and problems do happen but there was a distinct lack of
communication as to why & how long.
To the run itself
It started in the usually fashion some trying to get ahead
early doors but through the woods and few ponds it was tricky.
Wait...We’ve gone the wrong way!!!
We were lost after just a mile or so, unbelievable so we in
the front runners had to turn around and go back the way we came.
I myself was just following the pack but the problem
occurred because you hit a T junction and there was no sign to point us in any
direction.
Once back on track we started to hit the obstacles but the
problem now was there’s a whole bunch of runners in a group because we had to
loop back on ourselves.
To make matters worse all the obstacles were single file so
we were all grid locked through the net, all the waist high watery bogs and
under a tunnel.
Eventually though we did get clear and had some clear running
space in fact we had quite a bit.
The route its self was very scenic and popular, you had a
lot off family’s walking dogs along with other runners and cyclists.
There were a couple of obstacles along the long running
stretch but we started to get back to the bulk of them about 2.5 miles out.
On a personal level I was flagging and have to admit for the
first time ever I think I hit the wall 2 miles out. It took me by surprise as I
did a half marathon only last month and my last run on Monday night was a hilly
11 miles. I must confess football on the Saturday afternoon and few bevys that
night probably wasn’t the best preparation.
However I think the killer was the lack of food in my
system, I was starving therefore my body had no fuel and I was running / plodding
on empty.
To compound this I took a wrong turning and then a group of
us got lost again. I eventually made my way through the woods and ended up in
the car park.
To say I was relieved when I finished was an understatement.
I was light headed and had spots before my eyes but I’ll tell you what, a
banana never tasted soooo good.
Conclusion
At the end of the race I was pretty p’d off and in the cold light
of day I’ve calmed down.
It still doesn’t really change the facts though that there
were quite a few problems but for me these were all avoidable.
Despite being emailed directions they should have been
prepared for people going to the venue published on the website. There was a
lack of directionally markings to the race. If you’re going to have a delayed
start we should have been informed. The route was not clearly marked out and
too many bottlenecks occurred plus there were and no distance markers. It felt
like it was designed by someone who hasn’t run a race of this nature.
On a personal level I would have preferred the obstacles
more spaced out say one ever mile and for them to be tougher.
The positives were I really appreciate other well organised
events and bananas. Oh and seeing a mate fall on his arse in to ditch before
the race had even started. It was then topped off with a young lady telling us
how fun it was to see it.
Ratings out of 5 for the Demon Run
Organisation
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Atmosphere
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Route
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Goody Bag
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Recommend
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OVERALL
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