If you’ve read some of my reviews before or know me, then you’ll know I’m a great Wolf Run fan having run every one of the courses. These guys and girls started my whole obstacle racing journey back in September 2011 with their first ever event. Naturally, I wanted to share my Wolf Run obsession with other people. So after booking onto my 4th Wolf Run of the 2014 OCR season, the second ever ‘Winter Wolf’, I noted that a friend, Becki, had just completed her first ever OCR at Rock Solid Race. Becki had previously mentioned about doing a Wolf Run but hadn’t committed. However, after catching the OCR bug at Rock Solid, she was in! Together with her husband Steve and her friends Emily, Sion and Kulvinder they were about to dispose of their Wolf Run virginity. No longer a lone wolf, it was great fun running a course with some new blood!
So who better to review the 2014 Winter Wolf, in their own words:
Kulvinder
In a nutshell, it was an awesome experience. As a relative newbie to these challenges it was just the right level of toughness and left me eager to do more. I would’ve done the Wolf Run again once I’d finished. Great team spirit and the obstacles were a mental and physical challenge but without a doubt one to do again.
Emily
I loved the Wolf Run experience! It was well ran, lots of fun with enough of a challenge to make you feel proud for completing it. My only other muddy run experience has been with Mudderella, which is rather ‘girlified’ compared to the Wolf. I had my first post Wolf Run running session on the Sunday morning which seemed so dull after Saturday’s experience that I’ve booked myself onto Chase the Yeti and the Reaper early next year. I love #wildrunning!
Steve
It was a really slick, well organised event which was great fun. The course was challenging enough without killing the enthusiasm of our mixed experienced team and I can’t think of any race or other sporting event where all the team would have happily gone again! The added bonus was obviously the wind turbines!
At this point I will point out the defining random statement of the Winter Wolf whilst running across open terrain was from Emily when she just came out with “I love wind turbines”! You had to be there…
Sion
From arrival you could tell this was a slick, well-oiled machine. From the car parking attendants to the people giving out number packs to the girls scrawling numbers on people, everyone was so friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. The event itself was unbelievably well thought out - every obstacle different from the last but better at the same time, and the marshals on each were brilliant: encouraging and full of tips on how to tackle it. We genuinely didn’t stop smiling and laughing the whole way round and we all agreed at the finish that if we could somehow wangle our way onto the start line, we’d happily do it all over again! Friggin’ awesome event!
And last but not least……
Becki
My very first Wolf Run and I choose Winter Wolf! A few people raised eyebrows, others just muttered good luck and something about a freezing cold lake. I was just very excited about it. The week leading up to Wolf Run, I did start to worry about the infamous lake swim and the weather, but the day turned out to be sunny and mild
We were in the first wave and had just enough time to get registered, browse round the event village and get the adrenalin going. After a fun warm up, we were off and pretty much straight into a lake crossing. That set the tone for a very wet course, although a beautiful one, set in the woodland and grounds of Stanford Hall and it was nice just running through the woodland areas. The obstacles were challenging, fun but most of all achievable, which made sure you felt a massive sense of pride when completing each one. The water slide has to be the best obstacle ever and I took the marshals at their word when they said run and jump! I went speeding down the hill screaming with delight and laughing my head off. The lake swim was not as bad as I feared and the water was not that cold once you got over the initial shock of getting in. The last km marker was met with groans of disappointment; we all wanted to carry on for the rest of the day. Crossing the finish line, we felt a huge sense of pride and achievement. I’ve never completed a race and said “I want to do that again” and meant it. More still, I’ve never wanted to do one again immediately - until Wolf Run. If I had one word to describe it, it would be ‘amazing’! I will be back in the Spring.” So there you have it folks, the Wolf Pups have now become fully fledged Wolf Runners and will be back.
Keep an eye out for when entries for 2015 go live. Spring Wolf – 11th and 12th April 2015 (Warwickshire) Summer Wolf – 13th and 14th June 2015 (Leicestershire) Autumn Wolf – 5th and 6th September 2015 (Warwickshire) Winter Wolf – 7th and 8th November 2015 (Leicestershire)