Different Perspective Sports Magazine Issue 3 | Page 39

dropping. You could only laugh and smile at the craziness of it. Hell Runner had almost
become a Hell Aquathon and I loved it!
Exiting the water, trying to smile for the cameras and regaining focus on the running, the
loud beats of the music sound ever louder heralding the much anticipated finish line. At
this stage my calves and shins were on the verge of cramping and every uphill section was
particularly taxing to the point that I had to stop at times for a few seconds to let the pain
dissipate. Why had I allowed myself to get so unfit and put on 18lbs? For some reason the
loudness of the music lessoned which was disconcerting as I thought we were heading
for the finish line at this point. It turned out that we were actually heading away... More
ferocious, evil, slippery and painful hills ensued going up and down constantly. Oh for a flat
section please and that beautiful finish line.
I think the course organizers must have the best planning meetings ever. They can only
consist of dreaming up evil ways to make the race even more Hellish for the competitors
and then leave it to the Health and Safety team to implement. Can you imagine them
walking the course in the height of summer planning the route. Oh that hill looks nice, there
is a Bog - we must use that and it is really close to the car park and the runners will be
really wet, tired and cold. Lets not take them to the finish just yet though as we have called
the race Hell Runner so really need to ensure it is hellish. I know - lets add in another 3
miles and include a lake for them aft W"F