Heartbeat

Grim Challenge Has Cheerful Outcome

When West Sussex businesswoman Sarah Adams registered for her first ever running race it was to be a real baptism of fire.

She didn't enrol for a gentle 5k fun run or even a 10k jog on the flat. Instead she threw herself into the deep end - quite literally! - with a gruelling 8mile off-road challenge which saw her wading waist-high across water-filled ravines and crawling under camouflage nets.

Sarah, who runs Emsworth Car & Cycle Ltd, and Chain Reaction (Bognor) Ltd. and her friend Pauline Nelson, of Rowlands Castle, completed the Grim Challenge on Sunday December 7th in aid of Wessex Heartbeat.
They completed the course at the Army's vehicle testing tracks in Aldershot, Hampshire, in 1hour 52 minutes and 54 seconds, and hope to have raised about £250.

"The description of the event really didn't do it justice - although it is very aptly named," said Sarah, who lives in Hambrook, West Sussex, with her husband Roger and their three sons. "And it was so cold, that they drove a Landrover around the course to break the ice! In fact the water bottles halfway round had lots of ice in them!"

Sarah added: "At about the five mile stage the marshal warned us that it would get a little muddy. We were knee-deep in mud that was the texture of cake mixture! If you stood still that would have been it. In fact the ambulance sank and had to be pulled out!

Before setting off on the Grim Challenge, Sarah had trained by running at Kingley Vale nature reserve near Chichester; using a treadmill and cycling between 20-30 miles a week. Added Sarah, "All in all it was a wonderful race, I only fell twice on the ice, and have the bruises and cuts to prove it. We were aiming for two hours and managed to get under that. We came 1833 out of 1900 - not bad for a first ever run."