No Cambridge junior parkrun at Milton Country Park today because one of the series of Spartan obstacle races took place instead. I’ve not seen any of the mud run/obstacle events before and didn’t think they would appeal to me. But I was completely won over. The people taking part had a great time and it’s a very entertaining to watch.
Despite an initial impression of lots of men in macho posturing mode, this quickly changed when I saw the effort required to negotiate the course and the number of women taking part. By the time the runners hauled themselves up this ramp, they were very wet, muddy and slippery. Not everyone could do it but they all tried it. They weren’t worried by looking undignified and they got a lot of cheers and encouragement.
This a small pond I run past when I do Cambridge parkrun. It’s stagnant, smelly and looks like a swamp. It is a swamp! It looks filthy and vile. As I watched dozens wade, swim and stagger across, I confirmed it was all these things. A big Cambridge triathalon has just been cancelled because of the degradation of the water quality in the Cam. Well, the Cam is like crystal clear mineral water compared to this mud bath.
No Cambridge parkrun at Milton Country Park yesterday because today’s Spartan race. Ms Alive and Running not able to accompany me to Wimpole Estate parkrun because she has joined a cult and is away for the weekend. But I wasn’t alone in the car. I gave my pal Kerry a lift despite his track record of being 2-3 minutes faster than me over 5k. This clearly demonstrates my current altruism, so different to last week when I had a nice collection of little dolls (which had surprisingly similar features to some of my faster friends) and a selection of needles. I’ve recycled all that paraphernalia now and turned to the mild side. I fully accept that I will be frequently beaten by chums and my mind is at peace (or piss as a European accent might have it).
They had a record 362 runners at Wimpole yesterday and I came in at 125th. Kerry ran a good race but his personal barcode didn’t scan which meant that he was regarded as an unknown when the results went online. There were quite a few unknowns sprinkled throughout the 356 and Kerry didn’t know his position number or his approximate time . He wasn’t an unknown unknown but a known unknown. Possibly he regarded himself as an unknown known. Who knows?Anyway, there’s a campaign afoot to change his status to to known known which I have contributed to. But wait! The text I received from parkrun central tells me I am second in my age range. If Kerry becomes promoted to known known, I am demoted to third in my age category (behind Kerry). This is a test of my integrity. My integrity remains intact. I spend most of the night tirelessly working on Kerry’s behalf to get him the justice he deserves.
Alive and Running 
Altruism always wins. If you let him believe you beat him he will try even harder to be faster than you! If you find his result and he was better, he might get a bit complacent and give you the opportunity to catch up. Or he might just be a better runner and you’ve got no chance. ☺️I was impressed and confused by the number of smiling faces on those people wading through the mud. I’m saving that information for assimilation at a later date. Good blog.
Thanks! Good news for you, though. There’s a Spartan race in Yorkshire on Sun, September 28 and it’s only 90% full. Can’t seem to find the exact location on their interesting website. Cost at this late hour is £150 (see their pricing structure). Yorkshire’s next door to you, isn’t it? So no excuses.I can see it’s a great antidote to stress as long as you don’t fall ill with a horrible swamp/rat borne disease afterwards. There’s no getting away from it. Kerry’s a much faster runner than me. As you so sensitively put it, I’ve got no chance.
£150! To run in mud! No chance! There’s plenty of mud on this side of the Pennines ( for free). Sorry to hear that Kerry is unbeatable.