Muddy Duck OCR at the Dash of the Titan

A selection of images from Team Muddy Duck from last weekends Dash of the Titan event.

Mudstacle at Dash of the Titan 2015

A selection of images from the people of Mudstacle from last weekend's Dash of the Titan event. 

Team Ram at Dash of the Titan

A selection of images from Team Ram from Dash of the Titan. A big congratulations to Monika for showing everyone how it should be done and being first to complete 3 laps of a challenging course.

Team Muddy Race Photos from Dash of the Titan

Thanks to our Friend Winnie who had my DSLR on Saturday we have a large selection of images from last weekend's Dash of the Titan event at Thoresby.

Here's a selection of Team Muddy Race Images. Feel free to post the images elsewhere but if you do use them on blogs etc please provide a link back the the Dirty Muddy 30s blog.

Dash of the Titan 2015 Review- Bramble Warrior

Jemma Takes on Dash of the Titan 2015 at Thoresby

A tough start- Jemma carrying a heavy tyre

New Month and  a nice local event which we've been keen to test out as last time it clashed with a Spartan race.  This race is so local it took less 15 mins to get to the location which is pretty rare for us and a definite bonus. 

I saw Dash of the Titan advertised as a lapped event of up to 15 miles and thought it would be perfect training ready for the upcoming Dirty Weekend, as I need to get my distance up.  I planned to do two laps at 10 miles and after the Deerstalker event I have been putting in lots of training so wanted to see where I am at.  

Initially it took us a while to find the entrance to the event just after the Thoresby Hall Spa on the left two banners were placed by gate posts but we didn't see any other signs beforehand. (good job I am local ).  After our initial faux pas of overshooting the turning like a number of cars behind us we made our way to the car park along a farmers track. Check in was easy and there seemed no issues for me and everyone pitched in to get everyone checked in and marker penned their number onto faces. 

Watch Jemma's event footage below from Youtube, 

Jemma Training for Dash of the Titan and Dirty Weekend

After last months exploits at the Mighty Deerstalker the events are starting to ramp up a level in terms of distance and potentially difficulty. The Deerstalker was a tough run but falls into the training plan of building distance with Jemma's next two big events ahead- Dash of the Titan and the Dirty Weekend at Burleigh House.

This weekend's upcoming Dash of the Titan is a local event that as racers we feel it's only right to support. Last year's running of this relatively new OCR event in the heart of Sherwood Forest was greeted with mixed reviews and there's a new team in place to hopefully put it firmly on the OCR map. It's also a qualifier for the National OCR Championships for which Jemma is hoping to qualify.

The qualification element of the Dash of the Titan is the first 5 mile lap, the hope is to finish within the top 10 of her age group to qualify for November's National Champs which will be a real achievement but one we're hopeful Jemma has the capability to do. This year might be a little early in her development but Dash will show the level she's now performing.

The plan for Jemma is to run through the finish line after lap 1 and continue for a further 5 mile lap. 10 miles seems a good step up after 14.5 or so racing kilometres at last months Deerstalker and will help in her build up towards the big one- Rat Race's Dirty Weekend in May where the full event distance is 20 miles so the training has to reflect that.

Last Saturday we headed out (Jemma running, myself on the cyclocross bike outside for the first time since breaking my leg so it was going to be a test for me too) for a long run as training for Dash of the Titan and with the view of taking steps towards the 20 mile race distance of the Dirty Weekend. The forecast wasn't brilliant but it looked from the news that we had a good window until around 10.30-11.00 before the rain was due. Armed with a Kalenji running hydration park and her Inov8 Terrafly 277's we tentatively headed out hoping to miss the rain

Jemma running through Bestwood Country Park in her Terrafly 277's

Jemma's First Goal for 2015- Qualification for the UK OCR Championships

We had some great news this week when it became apparent that one of our local races will be a qualifier for the UK Obstacle Course Racing Championships so Jemma has a new target on the agenda- Qualification for the 2015 UK OCR Championships. Roll on the Dash of the Titan. We'd not spotted that it would be a qualifier before entering but it's a nice bonus and helps Jemma with a great target for early 2015

The 2015 UK OCR Championships will be held at Nuclear Fallout in Essex, November 2015. Yes it's a long way to travel but if Jemma can qualify it will definitely be worth it. And would be an amazing achievement to go from overweight and unable to run to a national championship field. within literally 3years

A Little Video From Last Year's Dash of the Titan

Dash of the Titan (Although plural on the OCRAUK website in error) is on April 4th at Thoresby Park near Ollerton in the heart of the legendary Sherwood Forest. From the reports we've heard it's previously been more of a mud run but the soundings coming from Dash of the Titan is that they have a new team in place with the aim of creating a much better race for 2015 so it's definitely one to look forward to- especially on our doorstep.

Jemma's looking for a position in the top 20 women to qualify for the elite National championships or a top 10 in her age category (30-39) to compete in the senior wave.

Training is going well. We're seeing PB's in the gym so lets see what happens!

Liam and Jemma looking far too clean before a Spartan Race event

And my role at the Dash of the Titan? You'll likely see me on the site, I've offered my services to the race organisers as a marshal for the day so whilst Jemma has her fun on course I can still immerse myself in OCR in a different way. Plus as a nice bonus Dash of the Titan will offer me a reduced price entry to one of their future events which means I can enjoy the race in future as a racer when I'm back up to fitness.