Hopefully you know I am an obstacle course racing (OCR) and long-distance trail running enthusiast. As a 361 Europe ambassador, I am happy to say that their trail shoes have been amazing, but not quite hitting the mark when it comes to Obstacle Racing. This isn’t a surprise as it’s a real niche area. But the 361 Europe Futura has changed all of that, and has definitely become a trail shoe that is now obstacle course ready! Here’s why: Gripping the Trails:Vibram® MegaGrip outsole: This isn’t your average rubber. The Futura’s aggressive lugs dig deep into loose dirt, mud, and even wet rocks, p ..read more

What a fitting way to end to 2023 Tough Mudder UK Season. Tough Mudder London South has always been my favourite venue. But they ave just changed it up enough this year to keep it interesting. The return of Walk the Plank was the coup de grace – who knew that walking off a ledge would be so much fun!     YouTube Video Tough Mudder London South 2023 Obstacle list 1 – Hero Walls (5km, 10km, 15km) 2 – Devils Beard (5km, 10km, 15km) 3 – Cry Baby (10km, 15km) 4 – Hold you wood (10km, 15km) 5 – Stairway to Heaven (10km, 15km) 6 – Human Gecko (10km, 15km) 7 – Texas Hold Em (10km, 15km ..read more

Light 16 - Part of the Dark45 Family Light 16 was my first race in Hong Kong and what a trail race it was. 1200m of total elevation in the 16km race. The event was organised by The Peak Hunter – Dark45 which was itself 45km race Light 16 ‘s route started at Shing Mum Reservoir taking on 3 peaks – Needle Hill, Grassy Hill and Tai Mo Shan. Stages 7 and 8 of the Maclehose Trail for those who know Hong Kong trails. No elevation training to speak of, so I managed to get through it, even with 70% humidity and 30°C+ temps! Loved the descent from Tai Mo Shan and would really appreciate it if I ..read more

Tough Mudder North West – What the hell was that Tough Mudder?! SO MUCH MUD! WOW WOW WOW I honestly do not need to say anything else…. Except, if you want the muddiest course on the Tough Mudder Calendar – world-wide – this is the one! Video is from the 11am wave on Sunday Tough Mudder North West 2023 YouTube Video Obstacle list 1 – Bale Bonds (5km, 10km, 15km) 2 – Swamp Stomp (10km, 15km) 3 – Devils Beard (5km, 10km, 15km) 4 – Just the Tip (5km, 10km, 15km) 5 – Island Hopping (10km, 15km) 6 – Hero Carry (10km, 15km) 7 – Pitfall (10km, 15km) 8 – Pole Dancer (10km, 15km) 9 – Hero Walls (10 ..read more

The Storm 3km Obstacle Race hosted by Forder’s Gym for British Obstacle Sports withh Dave Peters as the Race Director. The open wave course (which I ran) was the same as the 3km British Championships course in which Elite, Competative and Adaptive athletes competed earlier in the day. The only difference was lack of penalties for failure/non-completion. “Only” 3km in distance, but managed to pack a punch with a balance of intensity, strength and grip obstacles. Being hosted by Forder’s Gym, there were some “functional” strength aspects added (Sled push anyone?) and it was great to see the re ..read more

What is a Hyrox? Essentially 8 fitness stations preceded by 1km of running. All Hyrox events have the same 8 stations but weights are different for women/men and pro division. The 8 stations are: 1km Ski (on Concept2 SkiErg) 50m Sled Push: 102kg (W) / 152kg (M) 50m Sled Pull: 78kg (W) / 103kg (M) 80m Burpee Broad Jump 1km Row (on Concept2 Rower) 200m Kettle Bells Farmers Carry: 16kg (W) – 24kg (M) 100m Sandbag Lunges: 10kg (W) – 20kg (M) 75 / 100 reps Wall Balls: 4kg (W) – 6kg (M) In the doubles, both partners must complete each 1km run, but can split up the station however way they see f ..read more

South West returns to the Badminton estate, but it is only for one day as it is paired with Spartan Race which ran on the Sunday. However, this meant that the course was buzzing, with over 7,000 participants on the day through all the obstacles, and, with so many people, very few queues! I ran with fellow @UKOCR Who’s Hot presenter and elite OCR racer, Becky Neal – @therunnerbeanuk on Instagram. Now, if you have been following me for sometime, you may know that South West is one of my least favourite courses. The lack of elevation for one, but its becuase its always seemed like one ..read more

What can we say about Tough Mudder Yorkshire that hasnt already been said? Hills?  Mud?   Rain? As you may see from the video, the weather was really changeable (and very windy). Love the hills of Yorkshire (sort of) and Tough Mudder uses that one big hill probably little too much Welcome return to Tipping Point on course and it looks like lumberjacked and stairway to heaven now look like main stays. The mud? Oh my god, Kiss of Mud was just the beginning, but Mud Mile (from saturday afternoon and sunday) is just as sloppy, gloopy and slippy as always – which meant Hydrophobia (th ..read more

Tough Mudder once again returns to Heaton Park for Tough Mudder Manchester 2023. With the removal of the “city” events, Manchester and Finsbury Park remain on the calendar, whilst personally Heaton Park is a far superior event as compared to Finsbury Park. As always, the weather in Manchester was forever changeable – really did have 4 seasons in one day. Manchester Heaton Park is relatively flat, but Tough Mudder was able to find all of the bumps around the park, as well as eaking out all of the different bits of trail including a little bit of woodland and some nice trails.  Obstacle o ..read more

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