Text and pics contributed by Peter
A group of five hardy IOG members rolled up to take on the extended Boss Hog event at Wantisden Hall near Rendlesham Forest on an early October Sunday – a seven-mile muddy race with 40+ obstacles to make our way over, under, through and around. We joked our way through the warm up, trying not to think of the horrors that awaited. Our fastest group member, Sam, could not be held back and had sped on through the first hose-soaked muddy puddle before the rest of us could catch him …
Following doggedly behind, myself, Tess, Zheko and Lizzie followed in his tracks. There really isn’t any way to sugar-coat this event. As it was their first time, the others may still have held on to hopes that it probably “wouldn’t be too bad”. This wasn’t my first time, unfortunately, and I knew that as a permanent course, the organisers build on continually, making it bigger and more challenging every single year!
We slogged through tunnels of mud, climbed over walls and plunged into rivers. We carried tyres and climbed through spider webs of rope, ran up sand banks and along the top of bales of hay. We helped and cursed each other through the mud and the water, and then mud again. At one point, in a particularly muddy section, I ended up with mud in my eye that I couldn’t wipe away because I had literally no area of my body that wasn’t already covered in the stuff. I squinted grimly and staggered onward until we finally reached a slide into a muddy river, which cleaned me up enough so I could open my eyes again… and onward.
In the end, it took most of us two and a half hours to finish and claim our medals, only to find Sam already snuggled up in a blanket provided by the on-site medical team. Very comfy for some!
It was hell on earth. Who’s in for next year?
