Bedford Harriers A.C.


 

 

 

 

The Grim
(8-mile off road challenge)
1st December 2007

Race Photos
 

 

Official Result

Race Report:

Well….I guess The Grim name itself suggested this race would be a toughie, and certainly for one Harrier in particular that proved to be the case. The Grim is an 8 mile course on land used to test Army vehicles, and we were promised hills, ravines, puddle strewn paths, camouflage netting and plenty of water.  Oh goody !! The Harriers taking part today , were myself, Keith Gray, Andy Relton, and Alistair Vile. We travelled up (or is it down) and arrived in good time in a cold , and bitter Aldershot. Having participated in the recent Cardiac Arrest  , I was expecting a stiff challenge. The Grim like most races seems to be attracting plenty of masochists, and was being held on both days over this weekend. We were rather alarmed by some of the comments from the tannoy, it appeared that the bloke with the mike, was singing from a different song sheet from the rest of us, firstly by announcing that the race would start at 10.00 am (it was 10.30) , then stunning the vast majority of competitors by announcing that anyone who was wearing a race number of over 2000 had turned up on the wrong day. Cue  anxious glances to our own numbers and which , yes you guessed it were over 2000. We then looked around the crowd , only to see that the vast majority were wearing 2000+ race numbers. Keith did say that he retracted the announcement a while later, but by then, I was doing my best to ignore the idiot. So to the race , I had a quick look at the map/route and saw markers for` big hill`, I promptly stopped looking at said map and looked at my shoe laces instead. And so to the race ,  the first half was undulating slightly over tracks, gravel, and mud and er…water. There was a very small run through woodland to more water, and onto swampy mud into…er more water. I was waiting for the `big hill` but I guess the slight rise I had run through earlier was actually it. The route continued through streams and large water filled pits which reached about waist high, and were uneasy to judge underfoot, and continued over sand tracks onto a very swampy mud path that almost sucked the shoes off your feet. We crawled under camouflage netting, and continued running through bog like marshes until about the 5 mile mark. From here it seemed mainly on tracks that meandered around and we looped back down the course towards the finish. The last half mile we once again came to the water filled pits, where I came a cropper lost my footing and went under. The course just then looped back through one final water filled crater to the finish. Job done. I quickly changed , then went back to watch the others finish. First on the horizon was our driver Andy Relton, who, having suffered months of injury was doing is first race since the Sandy 10. Andy finished in a respectable time, and his long grey hair almost matched the grey pallor to his face. A few minutes later Keith Gray ran into the field , puffing like a train waiting in a station, tackled his last water filled pit and finished. But…hey, hang on, where was Alistair ? The last time I saw him, he was running well, and he started alongside me. I turned around to see a limping, crestfallen Ali waddle towards me with a grimace and a look of pain. He had pulled out after about 4 miles, after falling over, tearing a ligament in his left ankle.  Looking in extreme pain , Alistair said he lost his footing by the swampy mud path, and heard his ankle tear. He asked for a Marshall for assistance but was just pointed in the general direction of the finish line. Alistair had to receive treatment form the St Johns Ambulance , who gave him an icepack and bandaged the ankle. He was bitterly disappointed he couldn't finish the race. A little while later he removed the bandage to show an ankle the size of a cricket ball, I was half tempted to kick it the boundary and shout `4`. That skiing holiday in 3 weeks time is beginning to look a bit iffy. We returned to the car, and on the drive back to Bedford, we all agreed that The Grim was not as Grim or as challenging as we were expecting. Apart from the constant water slowing us down , I was surprised at the lack of other obstacles to tackle. As far as these type of races go, it’s a long way to go and very expensive(£24) to enter. If you are tempted by this kind of race then we all felt that the Cardiac Arrest had more to offer in terms of challenges, and enjoyment. Oh and its nearer !

Justin Openshaw

Home : Race Results : Runners Pages