Rock Solid: The Tab tries being a tough runner

Rock Solid Race claims it’s brought the pain to the South West by making its inhabitants the latest victims of the fast-spreading obstacle race fad.

The race, which took place for the first time in Ottery St. Mary’s Escot Estate on Saturday, saw hundreds of mad runners tackle either five or ten kilometres of mud-baths and dodgy-looking obstacles. The 5km promised ‘muddy good fun’ but claimed that, with its 27 obstacles, it would be far from easy. The Tab sent a reporter down to see just how hard it could be.

My nerves were eased slightly by the festival vibe on arrival. There were sponsor stalls everywhere – including Exeter Uni and Rampant Sporting – giving their support and music tents providing the entertainment.

But the relaxed vibe didn’t last long. Ten minutes before my race time, I was called into a warm up pen which was literally being run by army drill sergeants. Being mud-shy was not allowed; the warm-up involved rolling around and army crawling in the mud. Two Exeter Uni lads who had decided to run in suits were predictably called up and made to get dirty. The warm-up ended pretty abruptly with all the racers counting down before being set off to their awaiting doom.

The runners were released in waves, which meant by the time my race began all solid ground had been churned to muck and it was difficult to get any stable footing. People were flying all over the place as they attempted some very inventive obstacles, such as ‘Shawshank’s Escape’ which involved crawling through a water-filled sewerage pipe and ‘Shiver Me Trainers’, an ice-bath in a skip.

Jess, second from left, and her team

Of course, as you might expect from an obstacle race in Devon, the ‘Hurdles from Hell’ were fashioned out of gigantic hay-bales. Paramedics were on hand all day to help those who fell, including one girl who broke her leg.

They look like they’re having far too much fun

When I crossed the finish line over an hour later, I was freezing, muddy and bruised, but proud that I wasn’t a ‘Did Not Finish’ statistic (and had all my bones intact).

It was such a laugh but definitely not for the faint-hearted. Having said that, I’m a 5”3 average girl, so I think nobody has an excuse not to give it a go. As for the 10km, that looked horrific. Shame I’ll have graduated next year…

All pictures courtesy of dirtygreentrainers.com