Between all the pre-event hype online and the improvements suggested after Badass Mucker 1 I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect on the day I soon found that some things hadn’t changed, from the incredible scenery, including the brutal hills to the less than perfect admin.
I still left with my legs feeling beasted and a chunky medal around my neck, however with some concerns about number of marshals. There is a great framework and a fantastic location, but there still needs to be a few more lessons learned to make this event truly “Badass”.
Pre-race & event village
Having once again driven through snow it was a pleasure to find the car-parking just a bit wet, muddy and only £3. Thankfully it stayed dry whilst I stood in the queue for 35 minutes waiting to get my signup pack and race number. I chatted with Stephen Bowes who, having reviewed their first event (read Stephen’s review here ) had come to spectate and see if any of his suggested improvements had been addressed. The event village was limited and very separated, so as we queued outside the admin tent the food and drinks area was 100 meters away. There should have been some music playing, but the generator hadn’t survived the night and wasn’t rebooted till just before the delayed start. This then meant that the promised chip timing didn’t materialise, but as there were less than twenty of us in the “Elite” wave I guess that didn’t really matter.
Course
With the generator fired up and the PA system back on line we were sent off into the hills of the Halton Estate. An initial dash through a stream sucked the life from my legs before heading up onto a bridge to cross the river. A flat run across a field warmed us up as we nervously glanced up at the ominous hill that awaited us. Having crested the first brutal hill looking out across the beautiful countryside I’d have been happy not to see another hill all day, however Badass made great use of the natural terrain, including some out and backs where you run down hill knowing you have to turn round the flag and head straight back up the same hill. It wasn’t a course well suited to those with short sight however, as whilst there were some big flags there were also large chunks of the course marked only by wispy bits of tape. Overall they made great use of the natural environment, including some fiendishly difficult bogs and a couple of water crossings (this despite the absence of the river swim due to high water levels).
Obstacles
Having seen the pictures from Badass Mucker 1, including the half pipe, plus all the online hype before hand I had high hopes for the obstacles. Unfortunately these hopes were not realised. The hill log carry was well set up, but the skip of water next to it barely went past my knees. There were a number of crawling obstacles; cargo nets, a dark tunnel and a pipe, plus some stuff to climb over ranging from gates and stacks of tyres to a well built, fairly high double climbing wall. There were also a number of manufactured walls, though the only one of a good height was placed directly after the lake crossing which made it hard for some to get over and the inverted wall was a small and flimsy construction. There was one obstacle I hadn’t seen before “The Coffin”. This was a trailer filled with a maze of tyres, then covered to make it pitch black inside. It was an interesting obstacle but when I went back to check out the course later on it had clearly become a bottle neck, and some competitors worried about getting cold skipped it and headed onto the slide….
The slide, marshals and more
The slide was an eventful obstacle for them on the day. Initially constructed between two walls of hay bales, a lady just two in front of me hurt her arm going down when it snagged in the poorly secured tarpaulin. Having decided to skip it and run down the hill I found her being cared for by her sister. There was a lack of direction from the marshals, who had called the ambulance, but done little to look after the injured party who was now lying on the floor shivering. However they had gone back to the slide to modify it and ensure it re-opened.
Having seen the lady safely into the ambulance I headed back onto the course for the last mile back to the start/finish line. By the time I’d changed my t-shirt the ambulance was already heading back to the slide to pick up another injured party. I jogged back to the slide to find that they had re-made it in the more conventional style of a flat tarpaulin held down by some tyres. Judging from the photos & videos I captured this was a great success, but I don’t understand why it was built with walls originally, or why it was allowed to continue operating after the design was shown to be dangerous.
Also a high risk obstacle like that should have marshals stationed at it with at least basic first aid training. I know Badass had been let down on marshals just prior to the event and this was evident on the course, however it was good to see that those in attendance were enthusiastic and situated at key points (like road crossings). There was a general lack of organisation at the finish with it being easier to join the queue for a beer, soup or sausage than it was to find a foil blanket or bottle of water for those who needed it. This would also have been an ideal time to re-use some of the now largely empty admin tent to provide some form of shelter from the occasional hailstones and to allow people to change out of cold clothes somewhere more shielded than the car park.
Bling, T-Shirt & Goody Bag
A heavy cotton t-shirt, Badass temporary tattoo and a yummy Battle Oats bar made up the goody bag, with a very decent weighty medal waiting for us at the finish line. It was a shame that neither the t-shirt nor medal ribbon were dated. It was a nice idea to be able to make a small donation to the North West Air Ambulance and receive a Badass Mucker Buff.
Summary
This is terrain that deserves a fantastic race and whilst Badass Mucker have already announced learning’s and improvements from today to be used for Badass 3, of the improvements Stephen recommended in his review of Badass 1, the only one that seemed to have been dealt with this year was handing out medals at the finish line, as there were still issues with obstacles, course marking and finish line customer care. However as before, they have the makings of a fantastic event – the location is stunning and challenging and they have the energy and passion to succeed, there were some improvements today so hopefully it will be 3rd time lucky for this growing event and Badass Mucker 3 will pull it all together.