Shropshire Star

Over 400 line up for Buildwas mud run event!

It was certainly no leisurely Sunday morning stroll.

Published
Hundreds of runners set off at the start chatting to each other with smiles on their faces as the Ironbridge power station cooling towers provide the backdrop

Hundreds of competitors were caked in mud, ducked in pools and then hosed down with ice cold water for good measure.

The Buildwas mud run event saw more than 400 people line up to run 10km of muddy tracks interspersed with a series of energy–sapping obstacles.

Jamie Millis, from Telford, one of the event organisers from Kickass Endurance, said mud runs and obstacle events are increasing in popularity with more and more people signing up to test themselves against the military-style courses.

He said: "I think a lot of people see this as like the Army. They do these type of courses once a week and I think people are really keen to test themselves against that kind of endurance challenge."

Hundreds of runners set off at the start chatting to each other with smiles on their faces as the Ironbridge power station cooling towers provide the backdrop

The course featured a host of obstacles including water-filled trenches, pools with planks to duck under and barrels to jump over, as well as a final skip full of ice cold water to finish. Mr Millis said the event fosters camaraderie in its competitors, something he cites as one of the reasons for the rise in the number of people taking part.

Mr Millis also hailed the setting for the event in the Buildwas countryside. He said: "What a great place to do it and if you are doing it with or without your mates you are going to have a great laugh."

Ian Turner, 46, from Shrewsbury was the fourth to finish, coming home in a time of just under 50 minutes. He said: "It was absolutely fantastic. I have done quite a few mud runs and this is the best one I have done yet.

"The obstacles were fantastic and the course was really tough, it's one of the best courses in Shropshire." Mr Turner said he has taken part in marathons and road races, including the 50 mile Long Mynd Hike, but found the variety of the endurance events more of a test.

Paul Richards, 28, from Wellington, was the winner in a staggering 44 minutes. He said: "It was great, I didn't know what to expect, every corner you go round there is something different."

This is one sure way to wake yourself up after a night shift.

Vanessa Humphreys was one of 400 competitors taking on the Kickass Endurance Mud Challenge at Buildwas – but she was almost certainly the only one to tackle the 10km course straight from work.

Vanessa, 39, who finished the obstacle course in one hour and six minutes, said: "It is really good fun.

"I do half marathons where you are watching the time all the way round but this is just sheer fun. You are not worried about the time, it is just a laugh."

The Asda worker, from Ketley, had spent the night at the store before hot-footing it to the run, near Ironbridge.

The course included 10km of muddy tracks interspersed with energy–sapping obstacles.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.