I have missed out on several Brutal runs this year due to other commitments, which has been galling as they are not only fantastic events but are also my “home” races. I had thought I would miss out on this one too – my parents-in-law were coming to lunch and I had been warned (on pain of removal of parts of my anatomy to which I am more attached even than my Inov-8s) that I was not to be either away from the house or wet, muddy and groaning when they arrived. Imagine then my ecstasy when I was offered the chance to run the course with Colin and Dave, the Brutal organisers, when they went out to check the everything earlier on the morning of the race.
My dog and I often run together when I am not racing, but I have never “Canicross” raced with him and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce him to a marked course – when we arrived Colin and Dave were still busy so I headed out with mobile and dog to recce the course.
There is some debate as to whether Long Valley or Bagshot is the wettest Brutal course – with the recent rain, Long Valley can definitely be crowned the Wettest Brutal of 2014.
The course begins with a gentle, falsely-reassuring trail run with much of the first kilometre being up a slight incline before you hit the first real hill. My pride was well and truly stung at the top of this hill - as I came onto the summit I saw 4 pairs of boots attached to 4 Royal Marines with their rifles trained on the path I had just run up. I know it’s their job, I know I wasn’t looking for them… But they weren’t cammed-up and they had bright yellow blank-firing attachments on the end of their SA80s. If nothing else I should have spotted the yellow as this usually means Mudstacle members are about somewhere!
The Long Valley course can be loosely grouped into 2k sections – the first is a wooded trail run with some hills, the second is the wet section. And it is wet – ranging from knee-deep to armpit-deep (perhaps waist-deep if you’re over 6ft), the next 2k loops around a former quarry bed with pockets of swamp, streams, pools and lakes through which the course meanders and ploughs. There is a certain amusement in following one of Brutal’s easily-recognisable way markers into a body of water which has a life ring and permanent sign next to it saying you should definitely not go in there!
I decided against running through the largest one – I have been through it before and know it’s not really a problem, but it seemed a bit silly to be carrying my dog through waist-deep water with no other runners or marshals about and when the mist means you can’t see the other side. I was, after all, supposed to be home in time to help with lunch!
The next section is mostly sand – but before you think of cocktails and surfing, this is wet sand mixed with mud or clay and frequently covered with wet chestnut leaves. These hills are typical of the Brutal ethos – you run up one, you run down one, you run around the base of one but you are never on the flat for long.
The water station at the halfway point was unmanned when I passed it – I think Colin had driven the Land Rover up there then run back – and after descending the course changed to the mud-and-bog-trotting stage, which was slippery enough that even the 212s were tested.
I thought they had missed out a particular hill this year – then came upon it. A staple of Brutal training days as well as races, the path leads you alongside (or over) a brick wall before looping back to a hill which rises out of the valley floor at the 8k mark. Caesar’s Camp Hill and Brown Loaf (“Heartbreak”) hill are well known, but according to Colin and Dave this hill is unnamed.
We need to name it. It might then have less power over us. Most of the names I have come up with are not fit for publication so feel free to post suggestions below!
The remaining 2k back is up a more civilised incline – although wet and boggy – before looping around a small reservoir and back through the woods to the finish.
Running alone on a marked course was a new experience – although it gave me an insight into what Jonathan Albon must feel like when he is running!
The course, as always, was inventive and used the natural obstacles and challenges to great effect. I am reliably informed that the marshals who were out later did a fantastic job and that the terrain made this one of Brutal’s slowest 2014 10ks as well as the wettest.
In case you were wondering - I made it home in good time, was scrubbed in time to help set up and was dressed appropriately in time for the arrival of my parents-in-law.
My dog loved being out on the course with me, so much so that I suspect his Christmas present may be a Canicross harness in time for the next Brutal at Longmoor Camp on 27th December.