On March the 8th I will doing another obstacle course race, called The Pain and Suffering. It is a 10 mile obstacle course race in and around the grounds of Rockingham Castle in Leicestershire. This will be the first 10 mile one that I will have done so I will probably be doing a bit of extra training to get used to longer distance running as it’s about 4 miles longer than obstacle course runs I’ve done in the past, I’ve done 10km obstacle course runs before which roughly equates to 6 and a quarter mile.
So that will be challenge one, being able to cope with the distance, I’ve not been a strong runner, until recently I used to get really bad shin splints which slowed me down a lot. Not to mention that up until christmas day just gone the longest I’ve ever really run continuously is about 4.5/5 miles. I don’t know just how much running will be between each obstacle but I hope if I do a bit more long distance running in order to get used to it anyway.
I think I may well and truly have the “obstacle course race bug” hopefully I’ll manage a few more in the next few years, it’s good to have a challenge and something aim for in fitness, it makes all the effort worth it. Plus it’s a lot of fun, the three I’ve done so far have been great fun to be a part of, the people doing them have been very friendly, so there’s usually a good community spirit to them. I’ve put in a video I found of the event, I know it’s an advert really but I think it gives a good sense of what is to come. I also now have a GoPro camera myself so hopefully I’ll manage to video it as a I progress round.
There is another part to this story and that is, I’m raising money for Mind, a mental health charity that supports people with a range of mental health issues, having had depression myself, I know how much having a good support system in place means. I think treating mental health problems is as important as treating physical illnesses. I will also be doing the race in memory of my Uncle David who sadly passed away in 2011. I have set-up a justgiving page with the aim of raising £500 by march, hopefully this target can be reached by then. The link is below:
Duncan Ainsworth 