Following today’s surprise announcement about the delay to the Stunt Challenge, we caught up with Gary Connery one of the directors to talk more about what has happened and what we can expect from Stunt Challenge in the future.
Gary thanks for taking the time to talk with Muddyrace.co.uk today, a tough day?
It is absolutely. But we had to make the right decision for our customers & for us.
You’ve had to push back the date for the inaugural Stunt Challenge Event, can you tell us a bit more about why?
Unlike most events that cancel due to venue issues, we had this sorted, however we were keen to stay true to everything we had promised. Rather than deliver a mediocre first event in early March, we would rather deliver an excellent event later in 2015. You do only get one chance to put on your first event.
So can you confirm that the Stunt Challenge will definitely go ahead in 2015?
Yes, I am very confident it will happen in 2015.
Mud runs & obstacle course Races are popping up all the time, you have tried to offer something different. Has it been a problem securing the necessary insurances?
It was a challenge, it is hard explaining exactly what we are doing, we had to pay a premium but we had everything in place.
So dropping in that you were the Queens helicopter stunt double at the Olympics doesn’t help to cut through red tape?
Sadly not, despite the experience that Curtis and I have in this field we still have to cross the t’s and dot the i’s to ensure we deliver a safe event.
Changing dates presents problems for you and for your customers, what are your plans?
Unfortunately the date change does mean that we will have to change venue. We are already in talks with a number of venues and confident of securing something in the South to ensure the maximum number of our current entrants can still make it. Should the date or location not be suitable, any existing entrant can have a full refund.
A few people have suggested that you didn’t want to go up against the popular Nuts Challenge?
It is always difficult going up against an established race, however this difficult decision has been made to ensure the best possible experience for our customers. We are bringing something new and different to the field and confident that people will talk about Stunt Challenge in the future the same way as they do about Tough Mudder & Nuts Challenge today.
What is the obstacle that people will come away from Stunt Challenge talking about most?
Our finish line obstacle is going to be the talk of the industry….
Did you have enough entrants to hold the event?
Absolutely, our sales had actually exceeded what our contacts in the OCR industry expected - making it all the more important that we get the first event right.
A rocky start, what are your hopes for the future of Stunt Challenge?
We are going to put on a great first event in 2015. We will grow steadily from there, we don’t see ourselves as a single annual event in the future. This is going to become my day to day job.
We suspect that Stunt Challenge may not be the last event to face problems in 2015… as the market becomes more crowded and the top venues become more heavily sought after, just as the competition at the front of the races becomes more fierce so will the competition for customers hard earned money & the top locations/dates. Keep checking in with muddyrace.co.uk to read about the latest breaking news in the the obstacle Course Racing world!