Back 2 Black 2017 - Event review

"They are only puddles, just run through them!"

That's the first event of the season well and truly done, and I have to say it was rather enjoyable! Taking on a night run as the first race was a little daunting at first because of the mass start in the dark, but it was a laugh especially when one of the guys behind claimed he was going to follow me because I 'looked like I knew what I was doing!'

One of the errors I'd made in the build-up to the race was not buying a new headtorch, something that Ali had not been so slack in doing (although that was partially because her old one had given up the ghost and so she definitely needed a new one). Mine gave out such a pitiful light that when there was no one around I was struggling to see anything! Lucky for me the first mile and a half was spent running with a lot of people around so I was using all their lights instead! When we both passed the final couple of people who we'd been running behind I was certainly glad of Ali's super-bright torch and made sure that I was ahead to be able to see where all the roots and rocks were sticking up amongst the mud!

The event was held in Leigh Woods in Bristol and was all around the various footpaths and cycle routes in the woods, all nicely signed with reflective arrows and the odd flashing red light so that you knew there was a turn coming up. There were quite a few marshals around the course, although it was a bit weird as we'd been warned during the briefing of one particular area that was slippery and potentially dangerous due to the rocks we had to navigate down for five metres or so - yet there was no marshal at that point checking that people were getting down there ok!! Lucky for everyone there was a gate at the top of this section so meant that we all had to slow down anyway, and everyone was also making sure that all those around got down the section ok.

One of the amusing things was when we got to the first set of muddy puddles (about 300 metres into the run) and a large number of people seemed to slow and try and go round the puddle so not to get muddy or wet!! Ali and I, on the other hand, ploughed straight through the middle of them (much to the slight disappointment of the marshal who was stood just the other side of the water, who I heard voice his disappointment of his positioning when I accidentally gave his lower leg a bit of a soaking!) My thoughts were the fact that we were going to end up pretty soggy and covered in a decent amount of mud anyway, and as they are only puddles just run through them! The first lap of the woods passed pretty quickly, especially as we were all still in the middle of the group from the mass start, but as we climbed back up the hill to the carpark it was clear that a few people hadn't quite banked on this hill or had gone out a little fast from the blocks when we passed them whilst they were walking. A short stretch of car park/road later and we were back into the woods and mud again ready to take the second lap of the woods.

Lap 2 is where it was a load of fun - plenty of mud (some of it a bit deeper than first thought - see the state of our trainers!) and a nice rolling terrain which allowed for a nice little bit of time to cool off between the inclines. Because we'd decided to do the 5km route it meant that we were able to push ourselves a bit more than we would have done if we'd done the 10km (that would have been more about just getting around the course), and so each time we caught up another one or two people we were able to up the pace for a couple of minutes to get past before dropping back to a nice steady pace. It was just starting to rain again as we got towards the finish which allowed me to use my stellar motivational skills on Ali - "come on you're doing really well, only half a mile to go! Hurry, I'm starting to get wet now!" - completely discounting the fact that I was already soaked due to sweat, muddy puddles and the drizzle from the start! One final sprint up the hill, which went on for a bit longer than I first remembered but due to the rubbish headtorch couldn't see what was going on, I passed a few people also on their way to the finish line and back into the light!!

 Ali and I finished a respectable 24th and 21st respectively (out of 60-odd entrants), with times of 35:29 and 34:44 which were around 10 minutes behind the overall winner of the 10km race. This meant that we averaged a pace of 6:32/km (10:28/mi) although it certainly felt a damn sight faster than that when we were running, so it's pretty amazing how much the mud and terrain affects you especially when you are not checking your watch for the splits all the time! Ali did even better in her age category where she was 4th out of 23! I came 5th in my category, although there were only 9 entrants! I'm going for the fact that we're both doing well as we're in what most people would claim as the 'prime fitness' age group so are pretty likely to be running against the fastest people entering!!

Overall the event was great fun, and well organised - well-lit at the registration tent and no hassle grabbing our paperwork, number and timing chips! As I said earlier it would have been perfect if there was a marshal at the rocky point mentioned in the briefing before the start as it was highlighted as being potentially dangerous (especially as there was a marshal about half a mile beforehand and the next one wasn't until the finish), but due to the sporting nature of those taking part it felt safe enough going down there. I know that Wild Night Run has 7 other races in their series, and if they are all as good as this one I'd definitely recommend taking part - I'm certain that we're going to be looking at a few of them for the next year!

Here's a little tip for you though - if you ever find yourself at the race start and have to pin your number onto your front, but also have to wear a fluorescent waterproof jacket (and therefore don't want to - a go pro chest mount (because we all have one of them hanging around at race start right?!) is just perfect for pinning onto!! Although it's probably far easier to remember your triathlon belt or just pin onto your leggings/shorts!!

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