After sitting and watching last time
out (Tough Guy) it was time to get back into the saddle and see how far the
fitness has gone. It was never going to be pretty but the first step is always
the toughest and you’ve got to take it sometime.
No Rick this time as he didn’t fancy
the travel, plus he has the brutality of The Mighty Deerstalker in a few weeks
to train for. So just Nat and I braved the chilly air and biting wind of Avalanche - Chase the Yeti.
I’m going to spare you the suspense,
we didn’t catch him. Nevertheless, here is the latest instalment of Team
MUBU’s "Seriously, How Good Was That?!" Obstacle Course Race Review. The
scoring criteria and categories are covered in a previous post which is
somewhere on this blog (see bottom left in the Archive).
AVALANCHE – CHASE THE YETI
10km Obstacle/Mud Run
February 28th 2015
Market Harborough
Avalanche Adventure is an outdoor adventure
company based in Market Harborough. Think quad biking, clay pigeon shooting and
that kind of think. Every year (usually very early in the year) an event is run
on their land – this is Chase the Yeti.
General Event Organisation
Dead easy to sign up for and plenty of
information via email in the run up to the event. Not brilliantly signed posted
but, to be honest, the sat nav took us pretty much straight there. No
complaints, a slick and efficient operation.
8 – Very Good
Event Facilities
A couple of eateries and some (not enough
though) toilets on site. Plentiful free parking and a resident guy on the
microphone keeping people abreast of timings and such like. It was a pretty
small event contained in a small area so they were able to keep everything
running smoothly
6 – Above Average
Registration
Really simple and pretty quick. Everything was
inside the pack and there were no big queues or mayhem as there have been at
some of the events we have done.
7 - Good
Location
A reasonable drive from Manchester but it was
pretty easy to find and get to. Permanent facility so it allowed them to work
the course around what was there. Lots of spectator viewpoints on the early and
late stages of the race too.
7 – Good
On Course Facilities
A water station around halfway, distance markers
every 1km and plenty of marshals around to keep you pointing in the right
direction and looking after the major obstacles. Everyone was exceptionally
friendly and enthusiastic so it gets a bonus point for that.
8 – Very Good
Warm-Up/Pre-race briefings
Good solid warm-up which got us in the mood.
Also the timing was good so we were still warm when we actually started!
7 - Good
Variety of obstacles
Pretty standard really. Things to go over,
things to go under, things to go round, things to go through. Nothing
particularly “signature” but enough variety to keep all parts of the body
interested and warm.
7 – Good
Obstacle/Run mix
Some heavy running sections in the middle of the
race but generally this was a pretty good balance. We didn’t see too many
queues either so the mix must have been pretty good to keep it relatively
clear.
7 - Good
Terrain
Pretty flat this one. A few sections in the quad
biking area where artificially hilly but no real deviation from the flat. I did
struggle massively in the ploughed fields as every time my foot went down on
the uneven ground my ankle rolled. I know it is meant to be a muddy run but
these can be a touch dangerous at time.
7 - Good
Post-Race
Nice clean white technical t-shirt but
unfortunately no medal for this one. A can of lager/cider was provided though
as well as a decent goodie bag with some supplements, a drinks bottle and a few
munchy goodies. Oh, and a banana. I’m all about bling though so I’m afraid no
medal is a disappointment,
6 – Above Average
Difficulty
This wasn’t actually a very hard race, my
fitness made it feel like that but it is probably one of the easier ones I’ve
done. The course won’t trouble anyone with a level of fitness and even the
obstacles seemed “lighter” than some of the more brutal races out there.
Course: 5 out of 10
Obstacles: 6 out of 10
Overall Thoughts
I was (and still am) chronically unfit. I’m
probably in the worst shape since I started these OCRs but I still managed to
enjoy myself at this one. Having Nat around helped (though it was clear she
barely broke sweat). This was a nice, small race that I enjoyed a lot and I’d
love to tackle again when fully fit.
Overall Score
7.0 – As you can see from the rankings this was
a pretty consistently “Good” race. It wasn’t very expensive compared to
comparable length ones such as Spartan, SOTF and River Rat so I’d certainly
recommend it. Probably as an “entry level” one, the top end of the community
won’t find it too much of a challenge in it.
A reminder of the new system
10.0 Nothing will
ever get 10.0, you should always strive for better
9.5 Sell organs
AND children. And everything you own. About as good as it gets
9.0 Sell organs
and/or children to do this event every single time
8.5 Highly
recommended indeed, this gets booked as soon as it is released
8.0 A very good
event, only money or illness would stop this being a yearly thing
7.5 Definitely
one to recommend. Not much would keep me away
7.0 On the
list for another go, though not necessarily an automatic selection
6.5 Would
do this one again if the stars aligned, but wouldn’t break the bank for it
6.0 Was
fun but only a very cheap deal and a free weekend would tempt me again
below 6.0 Not for me
for one reason or another.
EVENT REVIEWS SO FAR
8.0 Tough Guy
7.5 Reaper Day
Race
7.5 Yorkshire Warrior
7.0 Tough Mudder
North West
7.0 Survival
of the Fittest Manchester
7.0 Spartan
Sprint Yorkshire
7.0 Total
Warrior Lake District
7.0
Avalanche - Chase the Yeti
6.5 Mighty Deerstalker
6.5 Pandemonium
Iced
6.5 Stockton
River Rat Race
6.0 Ram Run
Next up is Deerstalker
on 14th March. I just about survived the Mighty Deerstalker last year so this time I am going with the
shorter version of the race. We are mainly going to cheer Rick on though, he
got “diverted” doing the main one last year and has been absolutely chomping at
the bit to get this one in the back. COME ON MUBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!
Till next time,
DT
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