This time last week I was already getting excited for Saturday 10th May. Some of you may remember the preview I wrote, around a month ago, about the No Ego Challenge.
AdvertisementWell, the time had come for our team, hilariously named ‘Powerpuff Girls’, to take on the popular South Preston mud challenge. I was running the course with my two brothers, one of my brother’s girlfriend, who I believe thought our team name would be hysterical, and a bunch of friends.
This was the first time I had ever done an obstacle course like this and all I can say is when is the next one? (Well, apparently August…)
It was like a giant playground. There were mud swamps, mud baths and my favourite, a muddy water trench, stretching 35 metres long. I am 6 foot tall and the water was up to my chest so when it got deeper I thought the 5-foot lady behind me, who jokingly said she felt like she was in Vietnam, was in trouble!
Within the first 200 yards we were already running through mud filled tracks before we reached the first small drop into waist deep water, where one guy did a run and jump ‘bombing’ into the water. It was even funnier because my older brother was already in the water meaning he was covered by the back-splash.
There were a mix of people taking it far too seriously and those who were clearly doing it for fun. A few of our team, including myself, were in the middle. We wanted to have fun but made sure we attempted every obstacle and tackled every swamp. There were times when we thought the mud was going to take our trainers from us.
The most difficult obstacles were not the 9-foot walls or crawling through stone-filled bogs, it was the climbing rope and swinging hoops, where hand grip was key. As you can imagine, we were damp and covered in mud meaning grip was non-existence. Ideally, I would have appreciated someone handing me a towel at these points but instead into the water we went!
As I mentioned earlier in this post, No Ego and Go Commando, the former Royal Marines that helped create the course, have already announced an August course for those brave enough to apply. I know our team is on board so if you fancy reliving your childhood by taking on a giant assault course or want to push your body to near breaking point I’d highly recommend it.
The added bonus is the fact it is a Preston event and maybe they will add ice-cold water and electrocution to the next one… oh wait, that is a different challenge altogether, where do I sign up?!
Did you take on No Ego? How did you find it? Let us know in the comments below