A Brit in the South

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

REVIEW: Firefight (Reckoners #2) by Brandon Sanderson (Book)

I’ve fallen slightly behind the pace of both reading and reviewing books this year. I’m still hoping to get up to 30 but I’ve got about 13 weeks left in the year and 12 books to read – so it is going to be tough. Luckily I’ve got at least two 10 hours trans-Atlantic flights plus a good few 2-3 hour train journeys so I should be able to rattle a few more off in no time.

Back to the reviews though and it’s another of Brandon Sanderson’s titles today; Firefight, book two of his YA Reckoners Series which focuses on Epics - regular humans who have been infused with special powers but who become more and more corrupted if they use these powers. The Reckoners are a group dedicated to taking out the Epics before they destroy the world.

Firefight follows on from the first book in the series via a novella (called Mitosis) which didn’t really do much except whet your appetite between main novels. You are quickly thrown back into the world of David and the Reckoners as they are picking up the pieces in Newcago following the overthrow of Steelheart at the end of the book of the same name.

The world and characters are instantly recognisable and we are straight into the action as before. It is different this time though, more measured. Steelheart was all about revenge, there was a singular goal and nothing, either in the narrative or the pacing, could take away from the ultimate confrontation that must come.

Firefight is subtler though, more layered. There is more time taken to delve deeper into the whys and wherefores of the Epics and their powers, they were just names to be taken out in the first book. We start to be shown them in more than just one dimension, start to understand that they are (essentially) the same as the rest of us deep down. The development of Megan particularly is interesting, her internal struggle tells us far more about the Epics and what potentially they are than all David’s research did in the first book.

Sanderson has begun to make you question the single-minded determination of the Reckoners to take them all down. He is starting to ask you not to judge them all the same and to make you ask what is behind it all, who/what is Calamity and how does it all hang together? There is something bigger here, but what is it?

This is a clever shift in approach, but not uncommon for the second book of a trilogy. Book 1 usually sets the scene and introduces the characters and narrative, Book 2 fleshes it out and starts to give you more depth (and often a different angle you didn’t see first time around), Book 3 ties everything together and often ends with a flourish.

So we find, as the book develops, a combination of action sections (where the reckoners are trying to take out a high-up Epic in what used to be New York) and slower, “brooding” sections where we learn more about the world both before and after Calamity and what affect it has had on the population (both Epic and non-Epic).

To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy the action bits that much – they felt very similar to the analagous sections in Steelheart and I just kind of flicked through them. This book wasn’t really about taking down an epic in New York though, it is much more about understanding the nature of the Epics, their powers and what that means for the future of the world.

Those sections captured my attention much more and I felt a lot of the other bits were “fluff”, it wouldn’t have mattered a great deal to the story if they hadn’t been there.

The denouement of the book was clever though and has effected a real shift in the direction the narrative COULD take. What will happen to Prof now he has been exposed to his powers? Is there anything that can be done to stop him turning? And (if there is) will it hold the key to understanding the Epics, Calamity and what can be done to return the world to something resembling what it was before?

Verdict: 4 stars out of 5 – This is not Brandon’s best work, certainly not his most epic either. But as a standalone series there is much to recommend it, particularly as a mind-cleanser between tackling some of the more “hardcore” stuff in the genre. It’ll be interesting to see where he takes us to in the end, he usually has a trick up his sleeve and never fails to induce at least one “oh now that IS clever moment”.

Keep reading.

Till next time,

Sunday, 20 September 2015

EVENT REVIEW: Tough Mudder North West

We are approaching two and a half years of challenges, something I didn’t think would be possible when I first started. Completing two and a half challenges would have been a decent effort but I’ve managed to surprise myself (and probably a few others as well).

CHALLENGE #29 (OCR #17)

Tough Mudder NW

11-12 mile OCR

September 12^th 2015

Cholmondley Estate

If I mention to any “regular” person that I do OCRs then the first question is often something along the lines of, “Oh, you mean like Tough Mudder?”. Love them or hate them (and there are people firmly at both ends of the spectrum), Tough Mudder did help to put OCR on the map. True, they are now getting prohibitively expensive and not overly conducive to a day out the way some of the others are (£12 to park, £12 just to watch). But they helped to kickstart this OCR revolution in many people’s eyes and they still have a part to play for me.

Pre-Race Day Organisation

Pretty good. I managed to get an entry for about £50-60 as a result of doing the survey after last year’s one so the cost was kept down a bit. I got one of those “general entries” which requires conversion into a specific race when the dates are known. To be fair to TM, it was slick and easy to change and they provided everything you need well ahead of time. Now about that price…..

8 – Very Good

Event Facilities

Decent facilities including plenty of toilets, a merchandise tent, beer tent and a Mini-Mudder for the little ones. The problems I have are (a) £12 for parking and a pretty big queue to get everyone in and (b) £3 for a bag drop. Yes it is for charity, and anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how much I like to do for charity, but £3 is a bit steep in my eyes.

7 - Good

Registration and Race Day Organisation

Slick and easy registration, very pleasantly surprised by this in fact. Was well organised and plenty of staff on hand to keep people moving. Race Day Organisation was a bit rubbish though, we turned up at the warm-up area at 1030 for our 1040 wave only to be told that 1040 was already in the second warm-up pen and the 1100 wave were being pre-warmed up! Doesn’t really matter with TM as no-one checks your wave but an announcement or two wouldn’t have gone amiss.

7 –Good

Location and Watchability

Only an hour from Manchester and pretty good (judging by the accents I heard on the way round) for the Merseyside and Midlands crowds. Three well marked out spectator routes for those who want to come and cheer you on, along with signposts to all the main obstacles.

9 – Excellent

On Course Facilities

Plenty of well-spaced water stations dotted around (I think I counted four or five) although only a couple of them had any refreshments beyond the “sponsored” water. Mile markers dotted around always cheers me up too (especially when it tells you that you are close to the end)! Lots of marshals around the major obstacles too.

7 – Good

Warm-up and Briefings

Despite the problem with the wave timings, the warm-up and briefings did the job satisfactorily, if not greatly. The pre-warm-up crowd surf was a new one on me and did plenty to raise everyone’s camaraderie and sense of togetherness beforehand. But like so many other races, the warm-up area was too small and the warm-up too far in advance of starting to be really useful. Briefing was fun as always and you never cross the start line at TM without feeling pumped up.

7 – Good

Variety of Obstacles

Pretty standard really, despite TM promotional adverts showing all kinds of funky stuff for us to take on. They had updated a few of the obstacles (arctic enema, mud mile etc..) from last year but nothing really jumped out and said “wow”. Bit disappointed with the lack of a Legionnaire’s Loop too.

7 – Good

Obstacle-to-run Mix

Plenty of running, but at 11-and-a-bit miles that is not unexpected. Only really had the one major queue so the balance must have been reasonable when you consider that people are starting every twenty minutes. Never really got bored during the running phases either so all-in-all, not too shabby,

7 - Good

Usage of Terrain and Nature

Not the hilliest place to stage an OCR but they still managed to introduce a few ups-and-downs. Most of the major obstacles were man-made but a decent fist was made of incorporating the available features and terrain.

7 – Good

Post-Race Pack

Tough Mudder don’t do medals, and for a while this year they didn’t plan to do T-Shirts either! A post-race bottle of cider and a non-tech T-Shirt felt like a pretty poor return, considering the phenomenal expense some people encountered for their tickets. Yes, you get a very funky TM headband to sport in work (or in my case two as I got my green 2xTM) but I’d like to see something a bit more lasting please.

6 – Above Average

Course Difficulty: 7

Obstacle Difficulty: 7

Not the most difficult course on the legs, though the sheer distance knocks up the difficulty a notch or two compared to your “typical” `10km courses. Obstacle wise there wasn’t much here that a seasoned OCRer would struggle with – I had the usual go at everything, with my equally usual fall off some things. It’s not a tough event in the grand scheme of things and most newbies would certainly be able to have a go at most of the obstacles, if not all.

Overall Thoughts

Just the two of us this time, and the second half of the race was spent minus Rick as I was running so slow that his knee was beginning to hurt from lack of pace! I really enjoyed the first 6-7 miles but struggled massively in the last few to keep going. Strange atmosphere on the course too considering the number of people watching, I didn’t hear as many people shouting encouragement as I have at other events. Overall I enjoyed it however, though it might be my last TM until the prices come down.

Overall Score

7.0 – As mentioned before I got this cheap, but for £100+ I don’t feel you get the greatest value for money. Some of the new obstacles being advertised weren’t around and it was missing that little something for me. TM events are well put on and professionally run though, so you will definitely have a good time if you take part. My advice: grab a bunch of you (6 to 8) and go for the banter and the memories!

A reminder of the 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 Dirty Weekend

7.5 Mudnificent 7

7.5 Yorkshire Warrior (Year 1)

7.0 TOUGH MUDDER NORTH WEST (YEARs 1 and 2)

7.0 Iron Run

7.0 Survival of the Fittest Manchester (Years 1 and 2)

7.0 Spartan Sprint Yorkshire

7.0 Total Warrior Lake District

7.0 Spartan Sprint Manchester

7.0 Yorkshire Warrior (Year 2)

7.0 Avalanche - Chase the Yeti

7.0 Deerstalker

6.5 Mighty Deerstalker

6.5 Pandemonium Iced

6.5 Stockton River Rat Race

6.0 Ram Run

Next up was supposed to be a repeat of one of my favourite events so far, Reaper. But shoulder damage incurred during a nasty fall off a wall at TM means I’m probably not going to be fit in time for that one.

So the honour of marking 30 challenges will go to Manchester Survival of the Fittest, the first three-peat OCR I’ve done and, interestingly, the first OCR I ever attempted way back in November 2013.

The sport has come a long way since then, as have I.

Till next time,

Thursday, 17 September 2015

Scaling the heights

An early start was needed on the morning of Saturday 22^nd August for the intrepid band of “mountaineers” preparing to attack the famous Yorkshire 3 Peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingelborough (723m). 2015's Simon Carves Engineering Charity Challenge was going to take stamina, strength and no small measure of humour to get through.

The path ahead

Ready to go

24 miles, over 5000ft of ascent and descent and somewhere in the region of 10 to 14 hours’ worth of wandering. 7am found us ready to go, outside the Pen-y-Ghent café in Horton – 9 humans, 1 dog and 1 lucky teddy.

With the café being essentially at the foot of Pen-y-Ghent it is not long before you are heading up towards the first summit of the day. Most of the route is pretty open until you reach the final “nose” where a bit of a tight scramble is required.

Decent time was made and the first pork pie of the day was keenly enjoyed ahead of the planned schedule – which wasn’t to last unfortunately (neither the pork pie nor the schedule in fact!)

1 down, 2 to go

Looking back to Pen-y-Ghent

A lengthy descent off Pen-y-Ghent is then followed by a 6-7 mile wander across the relatively low terrain in the direction of the biggest of the three peaks – Whernside.

The draw of the big one in the distance kept us going and we made decent time to the cafe by the Ribblehead viaduct.

A quick bit of fuel was taken on (and a change of shirt for some) before the challenge restarted.

Ribblehead viaduct with Whernside
in the background

A “saves on shoe leather” shortcut approach was taken up Whernside. Knocked 2 miles off the journey but the final ascent added a few years onto most!

Finally, the mist cleared and the views back into the Ribble Valley were worth the aches and pains that were starting to appear.

Down Whernside

A tough descent of Whernside follows. Slippy, steep and rocky this is not one to be rushed and not one that should be taken lightly (Scott’s missing chunk of arm is testament to this)!

Still it wasn’t long before we managed to find flat ground and take on some more refreshment supplied by our support crew (the ever-patient Elaine Holland).

Whernside had unfortunately taken its toll though and we were down to eight humans (dog and teddy still doing fine) with Steve’s knee forcing him toward the pub.

Ready to go for #3

Quick change of shirt again (and of course a selfie with the lucky teddy) as we contemplated wehat was left. Ingleborough - flat, foreboding and somewhere up there amongst the mist.

With one last big uphill push ahead of us (and time starting to run out in terms of getting round in the light) we took a big deep breath and started up.

The final peak looms

The gap between Whernside and Ingleborough is a good deal shorter then the gap between Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside so before we knew it, we were heading up again. The climb is steady but heavy legs and minds start to kick in at this point.

Now pushed for time and with the weather closing in, the group had become more “business-like” as we tried to hit the top of Ingleborough within 12 hours of starting.

Eventually, 11 hours and 43 minutes after leaving the Pen-y-Ghent cafe; 8 exhausted humans, one still enthusiastic dog and a slightly damp teddy made the final climb up to the top of peak #3.

Three down, none to go

Much relief was evident amongst the group, until we realised that we still had about 4 miles to travel to get back to the café!

Wind, rain and darkness were really closing in now as we began the drop off Ingleborough, it was going to be a race against time to get back before the worst set in.

We didn’t get any photos on the final drag back to Horton. It got wet, windy and dark very quickly and, in fact, the last few miles were completed in a thunderstorm with the lightning providing the useful function of showing us where the path actually was.

Despite a minor encounter with a few lost cows who were guarding a gate we needed to go through, plus James following someone who didn’t actually know where she was going, we all managed to return to “base camp” just over 14 hours after originally setting out. Bed was finally reached after a 21 hour day, but it was worth every ache and pain.

A fantastic £569 has been raised for LUPUS UK online (plus somewhere in the region of £150 worth offline donations which haven’t been accounted for yet), well exceeding our original £500 target.

If you want to get involved and help boost our numbers further then please head to the dedicated website https://www.justgiving.com/SCELY3PC.

I'd thoroughly recommend giving this a go if you have a weekend spare. The views are fantastic and the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction is second-to-none. Next time we'll sneak under the 12 hours needed to "officially" complete the challenge.

It is good to have goals.

Till next time,

Thursday, 10 September 2015

EVENT REVIEW: Mudnificent 7

This week’s episode of Team MUBU’s “Seriously how good was that?” OCR review is the first “Multi-Branded OCR” to ever hit the UK (or as far as I know, any) shores – MUDNIFICENT 7. Organised by Obstacle Race Magazine, this 7km race gave 7 race organisations 1km each in which to showcase their wares. Throw in a big OCR Expo as well and you’ve got a proper day out in the mud.

CHALLENGE #27 (OCR #16)

MUDNIFICENT 7

7km OCR

August 1^st 2015

Heart of England Conference Centre, Meriden

Nearly at the end!

7 OCR companies competing to put on the best 1km and show the UK what they are capable of. A wide variety of obstacles, concepts and plenty of surprises along the way courtesy of:

Aztec Warrior

Airfield Anarchy

Tough Guy Original

Bigfoot Challenge

Ram Run

Reaper

Bear Grylls Survival Race

I’ll deal with each “race” separately at the end – for now the marks are for the overall Mudnificent 7 event as a whole.

Pre-Race Day Organisation

No real complaints here whatsoever. It was a Trumin-based registration which can be a bit of a pain sometimes but on this occasion it seemed to work OK. Plus, we had 4 of us registered for four different wave times but I managed to get everyone into the same wave via a single email to OCR Magazine HQ (thanks Kevin).

9 – Excellent

Event Facilities

Loads of places to spend hard earned cash. The OCR expo bit wasn’t quite as large as I was expecting, and it would help if they took cards at more of the stalls, but generally there was plenty to keep you entertained both before and after the race. Ample parking, decent toilet facilities and a free bag drop for your valuables.

9 - Excellent

Registration and Race Day Organisation

Slick and easy registration which was good as the registration at Reaper – same venue – wasn’t quite so hot last time. Decent sized waves so you weren’t feeling too cramped at the start plus everything was signposted and easy to locate on site.

8 – Very Good

Location and Watchability

Bit of a drive for us from Manchester but as an OCR venue this is very good. Central location and plenty of places for spectators to mooch around and take in some of the action. Easy to get out of the venue at the end and a pretty much non-existent walk from the car park.

8 – Very Good

On Course Facilities

Each race segment had their own marshals and generally they were great. We managed to take the wrong route at the start of our wave (never follow someone who looks like they know where they are going!) but as a rule everything was pretty clearly marked out and easy to follow. Enough water stations dotted around to keep you hydrated as well, no complaints.

7 – Good

Warm-up and Briefings

Just your “typical” 2 to 3 minute warm-up before we got going. Nothing special but at least there was something I suppose, plenty of places don’t even do that anymore.

6 – Above Average

Variety of Obstacles

I expected there to be tons of different obstacles here and, while there wasn’t quite the range I was hoping for, it was still pretty good. The races seem to have done a reasonable job of getting together and making sure the zones were all different enough in their make-up. It would have been pretty rubbish with 7 x cargo nets, 7 x walls etc.. but in actual fact the duplication was kept to a minimum – shame the big Airfield Anarchy slide was “down” when we got there though.

8 – Very Good

Obstacle-to-run Mix

Pretty standard. There was never going to be loads of running with each zone trying to maximise what they could fit into it in terms of obstacles. A few boring sections and quite a few queues, especially early on, means the balance wasn’t quite as good as it could have been though.

7 - Good

Usage of Terrain and Nature

Reaper use this venue for their OCRs and they do a fantastic job of using what is presented to them. Pretty much all the zones did the same here, I especially enjoyed finishing (and cleaning) off in the surprisingly warm lake just before the finish line. The venue isn’t the hilliest but you still feel like you’ve covered plenty of miles and got a good workout by the end.

8 – Very Good

Post-Race Pack

Again this was pretty standard, a nice chunky medal and a decent technical t-shirt (though I’d like to have seen a few more of the race logos on the t-shirt). I think there were some goodies in the bag too but, to be honest, a t-shirt and a medal usually ticks the box for me.

7 – Good

Course Difficulty: 5

Obstacle Difficulty: 7

This wasn’t a particularly difficult running course, not if you are comparing it to something like Deerstalker, Tough Guy or Total Warrior Lakes. It is generally pretty flat and the terrain isn’t too energy sapping. Obstacle wise, there were a few hairy ones and a few that proved beyond my level of fitness and technique. But there isn’t much to worry the average person, and elites will have probably breezed through it.

Zonal Thoughts

Zone 1 - Aztec Warrior

Kind of disappointed with this one. Can’t really remember that many obstacles except for the wall traverse and the “tunnel of meat”. Suffered a bit from being first up and having the problem of queues due to the fact that everyone hadn’t quite spaced out properly. Overall though, I didn’t get a sense of what this race is about and was generally underwhelmed by it all

GRADE: C

Zone 2 – Airfield Anarchy

Didn’t get off to the best start, with the big slide being down due to pump failure and the first major obstacle after that suffering a substantial queue. It took is well over an hour to navigate this zone and by the end it was getting a bit frustrating. Still, some good obstacles and very friendly marshals on the way round, just a shame all their eggs were in one basket.

GRADE: B-

Zone 3 – Tough Guy

I was signed up for Tough Guy earlier this year but had to pull out through injury, so I was determined to see what it was all about. It didn’t disappoint with plenty of mud, confined spaces and even a crucifixion cross thrown in for good measure (don’t worry, you carry it rather than being nailed to it). Definitely one of the best zones.

GRADE: A-

Zone 4 – Bigfoot Challenge

To be truthful, I don’t remember a great deal about the Bigfoot Challenge zone. But I do remember we nipped through it quite quickly and I also remember some of the obstacles definitely stretching my limits both physically and mentally (though bear in mind I don’t have very big limits)! It ranks slightly higher than Zone 2 as we got through it quicker, but it wasn’t as good as Tough Guy or Reaper.

GRADE: B

Zone 5 – Ram Run

Plenty of running but, to be honest, I can’t really remember any obstacles of note in this zone. I do remember plenty of running through the forest trails but a general sense of being underwhelmed struck me as we left Ram Run behind us.

GRADE: B-

Zone 6 – Reaper

Being based on the same site as Mud7 you would expect Reaper to have an advantage over the other companies, but thankfully they still stepped up to the plate. A lot of Reaper’s obstacles are permanent so they didn’t have to build much to have the same effect. Thankfully what they did build was challenging and interesting (plus very, very wet in a few places). It has always been one of my favourite races and they certainly showed up well here.

GRADE: A-

Zone 7 – Bear Grylls Survival Race

Not long enough by any stretch of the imagination. You basically had a little skip through the forest and then across some monkey bars which were too low for my usual leg-dangling technique! The final bit involved a couple of swim/wades across the lake but there wasn’t enough here. Good potential though.

GRADE: B-

Overall Thoughts

Generally I really enjoyed this race. Unfortunately we lost Nat on the day of the race as our daughter was sick during the night and she had to look after her. The three of us enjoyed the format of the event and had a cracking laugh on the way round. Not the toughest race but, considering it was a first go, there is plenty to work on and I can see Mud7 becoming a very, very good event within a few years’ time.

Overall Score

7.5 – Despite a few very odd things (a tunnel of meat for one) this was thoroughly enjoyable. Some zones fared better than others but I’d be keen to give this another go next year as there is a lot of potential to improve on what was already a pretty decent event.