Discussion
deadmau5 said:
Yup! IMO it is the only way to do it if you don't look like a jelly running on springs. You dry off so much quicker. The guys with the wet, muddy, gritty fabric rubbing against their bodies didn't look to be having a great time. I convinced both the other guys in our group to do it and they were thanking me the entire way round!
EFA.Started at 0840 this morning. A decent, tight-fitting baselayer beat topless for me, Salomon Speedcross meant no slipping at all, anywhere on the course, and a pair of MTB gloves helped protect my dainty hands.
I took the gloves off for the monkey bars and the climbing wall - and fell in both times; made it up Everest first time and then spent a good 15 minutes at the top hauling others up.
The Arctic Enema I could cheerfully have done without, and the first shock in the Electric Eel was a bigger thump than I was expecting, but otherwise it was all good fun. As has been said, it really is as hard as you make it: take a cheap stopwatch and aim to get a mixed-ability team round in under 2:45 to make it challenging.
Before:
and after:
I took the gloves off for the monkey bars and the climbing wall - and fell in both times; made it up Everest first time and then spent a good 15 minutes at the top hauling others up.
The Arctic Enema I could cheerfully have done without, and the first shock in the Electric Eel was a bigger thump than I was expecting, but otherwise it was all good fun. As has been said, it really is as hard as you make it: take a cheap stopwatch and aim to get a mixed-ability team round in under 2:45 to make it challenging.
Before:
and after:
Halb said:
deadmau5 said:
Yup! IMO it is the only way to do it if you don't look like a jelly running on springs. You dry off so much quicker. The guys with the wet, muddy, gritty fabric rubbing against their bodies didn't look to be having a great time. I convinced both the other guys in our group to do it and they were thanking me the entire way round!
EFA.
Seemed like every gym bunny in the country was there this morning, all flexing as if their lives depended on it.Finished it in around 3 1/2hrs yesterday (a couple of guys had really bad cramp and had to stop a couple of times) - Cage Crawler was by far the worst obstacle and probably the only thing that would make me think twice about dong it again.
It was a really well organised event and I would recommend anyone to give it a go - it seemed more of a mental challenge than a physical one (not saying that you could just turn up and do it without any training though!).
It was a really well organised event and I would recommend anyone to give it a go - it seemed more of a mental challenge than a physical one (not saying that you could just turn up and do it without any training though!).
Got round in 2hrs 34mins today, shame as I really wanted to be under 2hrs30mins but had to stop a number of times as one of our team members kept getting cramp - otherwise probably would have made it in 2hrs 20mins-2hrs 25mins.
All in all, a lot of fun. By far the worst part was the up-and-down hill runs. Worst man-made obstacles probably goes to the backwards underwater cage thing - wasn't very hard, but the water was super chlorine-y and kept going in my eyes/mouth/nose.
Monkey bars fell in half-way. No trouble with grip at all but just completely lost momentum and couldn't get anywhere so let go as I was just hanging there for ages
. Only obstacle I didn't finish!
Favourite obstacle was probably the arctic anema, as was really muggy this morning and going under the ice-cold water was 'quite refreshing'.
Well done to everyone who competed!
All in all, a lot of fun. By far the worst part was the up-and-down hill runs. Worst man-made obstacles probably goes to the backwards underwater cage thing - wasn't very hard, but the water was super chlorine-y and kept going in my eyes/mouth/nose.
Monkey bars fell in half-way. No trouble with grip at all but just completely lost momentum and couldn't get anywhere so let go as I was just hanging there for ages
. Only obstacle I didn't finish!Favourite obstacle was probably the arctic anema, as was really muggy this morning and going under the ice-cold water was 'quite refreshing'.
Well done to everyone who competed!
Hoddo said:
Question about photographs - are there people taking photos on the way round and are these included in the cost or is it like a theme park where they charge you £20 for a keyring with your picture in it?
Yes there are lots of photographers. I only realised afterwards that the number they assign you is for identifying pictures afterwards. I lost my number about 3/4 of the way round and didn't have it written on my forehead like most people. If you go on the TM website and go on 'buy photos' you can put in your name and number and then select the ones you want to buy. No idea how much they cost though.
dirty boy said:
I lost mine on the wall at the start!! did a commando roll over the wall and it ripped straight away so I just tore the rest off.
Like you, realised it was for photos....gutted, none of me....search for a mate though, if you're running with them you might find you.
Haha, that must be a record!Like you, realised it was for photos....gutted, none of me....search for a mate though, if you're running with them you might find you.
Yeah I had four others in my group and I was always running with at least one.
deadmau5 said:
If you go on the TM website and go on 'buy photos' you can put in your name and number and then select the ones you want to buy. No idea how much they cost though.
A huge amount of money. IIRC one photo was about £20! Obviously the more you buy the cheaper it is, but still.I know somebody is trying to make a profit but the prices for the official pics are beyond taking the piss. Especially when the official ones are no better than your mates will take.
fiatpower said:
I'm doing the north west one next week. Haven't done any training bar some footie here and there and injured my knee last week so could be interesting!
If you've got underlying fitness from footie, IMO you'll be fine.Pretty much all of us turned up on the day with injuries but managed it, just don't run off an idiot, pace yourself!
Running TM North West this Saturday. Really looking forward to it, however I have recently had trouble with my left knee. After 3k pain starts to gradually kick in the outside of my left knee and as I run it gets progressively worse.
I stopped my training and have been icing frequently. Plan on strapping it up and covering it in ibuprofen gel on the day. Any other recommendations or advice as I will be taking part and I will be completing the course.
I stopped my training and have been icing frequently. Plan on strapping it up and covering it in ibuprofen gel on the day. Any other recommendations or advice as I will be taking part and I will be completing the course.
Edited by Hoddo on Thursday 3rd October 11:07
Aim to finish the course as your number one goal and run at a pace that will ensure you manage that. If you go off too quick you'll either tire yourself out or, as in your case, your injury will flare up & stop you anyway.
I started off nice and easy and my 2 mates went off hell for leather although I always made sure they were never more than 100/200 metres ahead of me. At about 8/9 miles one of them had to run/jog/walk for a mile or 2 as his thighs were cramping up & that was with no underlying condition.
So like I said, just go at a pace that you know you could easily finish the course at with no injury and hope that your knee will take it.
The only obstacle I would say is likely to cause your knee any issues is the Hero Carry (200 metre piggyback) aside from that it's all crawling under/through/over stuff, but giving some heffalump a piggyback will kill your knee if it's not tip-top I would've thought.
I started off nice and easy and my 2 mates went off hell for leather although I always made sure they were never more than 100/200 metres ahead of me. At about 8/9 miles one of them had to run/jog/walk for a mile or 2 as his thighs were cramping up & that was with no underlying condition.
So like I said, just go at a pace that you know you could easily finish the course at with no injury and hope that your knee will take it.
The only obstacle I would say is likely to cause your knee any issues is the Hero Carry (200 metre piggyback) aside from that it's all crawling under/through/over stuff, but giving some heffalump a piggyback will kill your knee if it's not tip-top I would've thought.
Signed up for the London West event next year, can't see too many issues.
A few months ago I could barely walk up the stairs without getting out of breath, now I've lost just under 2 stone and have worked my way up to running 5k in one hit. 10k is the next goal.
Obviously still got a fair bit of time before the event, which seems to be more important to get you over the finish line. Endurance/overall fitness or does strength play a bigger part?
A few months ago I could barely walk up the stairs without getting out of breath, now I've lost just under 2 stone and have worked my way up to running 5k in one hit. 10k is the next goal.
Obviously still got a fair bit of time before the event, which seems to be more important to get you over the finish line. Endurance/overall fitness or does strength play a bigger part?
GuyWMD said:
Signed up for the London West event next year, can't see too many issues.
A few months ago I could barely walk up the stairs without getting out of breath, now I've lost just under 2 stone and have worked my way up to running 5k in one hit. 10k is the next goal.
Obviously still got a fair bit of time before the event, which seems to be more important to get you over the finish line. Endurance/overall fitness or does strength play a bigger part?
The only obstacle that requires proper upper body strength, or a good power to weight ratio anyway, is the monkey bars. Your pals can help you with that one.A few months ago I could barely walk up the stairs without getting out of breath, now I've lost just under 2 stone and have worked my way up to running 5k in one hit. 10k is the next goal.
Obviously still got a fair bit of time before the event, which seems to be more important to get you over the finish line. Endurance/overall fitness or does strength play a bigger part?
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