It was the morning of the Hell Runner run. My stomach churned from the prospect of completing a course on military training ground. Andrew Patterson’s soothing words to me 8 weeks back of “of course you can train in 8 weeks, there is plenty of time to get fit enough” no longer seemed so reassuring. I was part of a motley crew of 5 from the Running Shoos team waiting for breakfast in the Little Chef. There we strategically planned our run, surrounded by tables of sinewy seasoned runners from running clubs. We were a hockey player (kerri woodrow), a free diver (arnaud palu), a smoker (regis mosseron) and a frazzled mummy (me) and we were looking to our part-time marathon runner (eamonn haughian) for last minute direction and guidance. Our aim was simple: run as a team; to finish the run, and not to come last!
It took us an hour to drive a mile to the parking area from the A3. We fought our way against the tide of over a thousand runners who had started the race and ran half a mile to the Running Shoos tent to pick up our entrant numbers and clips.
The sky was blue and the sun warm, and the rolling hills and woodland of Longmoor military camp provided us with stunning scenery. Our strategy of walking up the inclines and running down on the other side worked well as we started to catch up with everyone else. When we reached the drinks station at halfway point after fifty minutes, the course and our competition were a lot less daunting, and we congratulated ourselves by high-fives; there had been lots of hills, but the ground was dry and the whites of our clothes were still pristine.
At the point where I thought we might be coming into the home-stretch, I even suggested increasing our pace. And then we hit the ‘Bogs of Doom’. [400] yards of freezing-cold black, stagnant, foul-smelling bog full of mud, massive branch roots and rock. I very nearly fell face first into the bog taking with me the unsuspecting runner in front of me. After the ‘Bogs of Doom’ came a chest-deep river and more steep hills. We stunk and our legs felt like lead from the shock of the cold water, but somehow we found our rhythm again until we reached the mile-long ‘Hills of Hell’, made up of never-ending sand dunes.
Yet the feeling of crossing the finish line can only be described as euphoria; the sense of achievement huge. The course had been challenging but fantastic fun, and running as a team had given us many laughs. Would I do it again? Without question!
Gwynneth Tan - Can ( A Very New Hellrunner ! )
Hellrunner Down South 2007
They did it!!!!! Crazy Crazy People!!
On a fine Sunday morning over 1800 runners ventured along the A3 to the Longmoor Army camp looking for a hellish time ... and they found one.
The Saab Salomon Hellrunner was back at Longmoor and the surrounding hills, heaths and bogs for the 4th time and it was more popular then ever. Word is getting around that Hellrunners brand of off-road adventure running is the muckiest fun you can have in a pair of XA Pros and the race had a full entry with runners coming from all over the country and many large groups travelling from distant running clubs, including 17 from our very own ‘Running Shoos’.
Some racers who had completed the harsh HH Adventure Race the previous week were back for more.
There were a few problems getting everyone in and past the security gate, with a queue back onto the A3 and a slightly delayed start a necessity. But this was not going to stop those die hards from Milton Keynes from catching up with the already left pack!!
Inside the camp there was a buzz of activity as everyone got ready to race and some took a look a the large area of nearby sand dunes and the taped section of route known as the ‘Hills of Hell’. The soft ground and hill reps were warning of what was to come but the weather this year had been drier than in the past and one large area of bog had been drained … but another had been found!
Once everyone was ready coloured smoke flares signalled the start, one on the back of the quad bike leading the way, and the race was on. Chris Smith lead the way in the early stages, but Rob Jebb of the Saab Salomon Adventure Running team was only a few paces back and later took control of the race. The first 9 miles of the course (approx 11.5 in total) was relatively faster going and the leaders kept a good 5 minute mile pace.
Then came a series of bogs, finishing with the deep channel of the ‘Bog of Doom’ and the ‘Hills of Hell’.
For the majority just getting round was the challenge, and perhaps the most memorable moments were in the ‘Bog of Doom’. This was in a narrow dip, almost a ditch and as runners piled in the mud got deeper and deeper, to the extent some were almost swimming in it! Even so there were relatively few mishaps, and amazingly only 12 DNF’s from over 1800 starters.
The full results are on www.hellrunner.co.uk and photos of all competitors will be on the sleepmonsters site in due course just use the race number below to search.
Running Shoos Entrants and Results are:
Raceahead Event Services
Hellrunner - Hell Down South
Race# Forename Surname Cat Pos Gun Time Pos Chip Time
3851 Paul Passey 534 01:43:45 766 01:41:24
3850 Andrew Allen 587 01:47:03 879 01:44:42
3834 Chris Jibb 591 01:47:23 892 01:45:05
3844 Iain Larkins 757 01:55:24 1200 01:53:06
3840 Thomas Smith 858 02:02:47 1405 01:58:51
3838 Jeremy Ellis 859 02:02:51 1407 02:00:33
3836 Debra Pothecary 157 02:02:51 1408 02:00:33
3852 Mike Farmer 9 02:07:08 1530 02:04:54
3843 Eamonn Haughian 918 02:08:20 1558 02:02:01
3841 Arnaud Palu 256 02:11:26 1611 02:05:06
3847 Tan Gwynneth 111 02:12:45 1635 02:06:27
3845 Kerri Woodrow 224 02:14:04 1648 02:07:45
3846 Regis Mosseron 946 02:15:32 1666 02:09:13
3853 Kunal Spratt 956 02:17:16 1683 02:14:58
3835 Clare Lord 236 02:18:50 1698 02:16:32
3837 Dominique Nahab 237 02:18:50 1699 02:16:31
3833 Andrew Patterson 962 02:18:50 1700 02:16:33
Individual office recollections to follow!!!
For a slideshow of more photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18575117@N02/show/
