IronRun - Embrace the mud!

The New Year is usually the time for resolutions, embracing new experiences and challenges. But it was back in November we decided we wanted to do something different for 2014. We're all fairly active and outdoorsy individuals at Outdoorkit HQ (as you might expect really), but we wanted to do something a little different from the usuals of a walk or climbing a mountain. That's where the idea of entering a mud event came into play. We've got some avid runners in the office too, but the idea of throwing some obstacles and a whole load of mud into the equation was too much to turn down! We started doing a bit of research on some of the best events around, the top option being the well know Tough Mudder, which unfortunately would have clashed with quite a lot of our schedules, so after some more googling and research we stumbled across the IronRun. The strap line of "Prepare for mud, sweat and tears" was enough to catch our attention, excite us and fill us with a smidgen of fear, which sometimes isn't always a bad thing!

So with Christmas out the way and the majority of mince pies now eaten, it's about time we started training! We've been checking out a few regimes and training schedules that could come in handy. Of course you need to build up the core stamina to last the 12km of the event, but add into that lots of jumping, crawling and wading through swamps, every single one of your bodies muscles need to be prepared! One particular exercise that's been recommended for an all round work out is the 'Burpee'. It looks fairly innocuous, but after 5 minutes you really start to feel the burn. It used to be a favourite of a few past Football managers of mine during pre-season training to get you fit for the upcoming season, definitely learnt to hate them after a while, but you knew it was for the best!

The event itself is on the 29th March, the day after my Birthday, so that'll be an intriguing present! To make sure we all actually stand a chance of finishing, the training starts now and we'll be following everyone's progress to see how we're all getting on! One bone of contention in the office is whether we should follow the "never leave a man behind" policy, but certain members of staff are a liiittle more competitive than others and could well go all out for themselves, we'll see if that changes come the day of the race ;)