Anyway, here's why I volunteered with my friend from Bootcamp at The Nuts Challenge near Holmwood.
A couple Wednesdays a month, I've joined Aimy, Ikin, Phillip, Ant, Simon and Ryan with Aimy's fitness instructor mum, Claire for her Bootcamp in the park where we all do supersets for an all body hour long workout together with body and resistance techniques. I aim to go once or twice a month since I juggle my gym membership at the Pavilions In The Park whilst this year been taking one week off a month to chill and work on things.
So last year whilst getting to know them all, they mentioned that they do a similar Mud Run like Tough Mudder, only this one is cheaper and after what I saw on the volunteering day, it looks more tougher and well worth it!
I couldn't join them last year so I decided to join them this year as a new course to conquer and get down n' dirty with new people (that doesn't sound right...)
But first, most of us decided to volunteer at the Winter event near Holmwood so that we'd get a big discount on the Summer one in September.
Our early Sunday morning rise at 5:00AM was tough for me to get up to but I managed and was scrubbed and had extra layers and wellies on to be prepared for the worst of weather. Claire arrived at mine at 6:20AM with Ikin, Phillip and Aimy ready to head off for our day of helping people get muddy (Simon had fallen ill and Ryan was getting a tattoo done).
After arriving at the event on someone's land in Holmwood, the dark clouds clashed as the man upstairs turned on his shower and boy did it come down! I was relieved that I wasn't doing it with them this time and that we were luckily gonna be in a tent for the day doing Administration together.Iain and Daniel (Claire's friends) met us there and we all lined up behind a long bench in the big white tent by 7:15AM, ready to begin as people took shelter in the big white tent.
Our main instructions were: when people come to our number point e.g. 4500-5000 (people's registration numbers), they give us their number and we find their paper document for them and ask them what their T-shirt size is so that we can give one to them.
Then we ask them if they have done Nuts Challenge before, if they haven't then we explain it to them (if they have then we don't need to explain the details). Inside their document is a sticker sheet, a big number for them to put on their torso and 3 small square stickers to put on their centre shoulder and top of chest (these will help cameras and photographer identify their number for people to look for their pictures on the website).
There is also a sicker for them to put on bags if they wish to leave them in lockers in the other white tent outside. They can help themselves to a Nuts Challenge Green Band beside me and we have heated changing rooms if people need to clean / warm up afterwards. Other than that, enjoy themselves and do their best! There was even a Pink Bunnyman... yeah! |
| Claire and the others doing The Nuts Challenge, last year |
Plus in honesty, you get a medal at the end - compared to getting just a different coloured headband and finisher t-shirt at the end of a TM. Plus TM is way more expensive than Nuts, so do the math.
The morning started off wet, loud and packed but the job became easier as time went on. People were polite and gracious with our service and it was interesting doing my first customer interaction like a retailer since I've always worked behind the scene in warehousing.
We all had Bacon Butties for Breakfast and Ikin and I were working together for the first couple hours (we'd take in turns with fetching he t-shirt and telling the info to the runners).
By 11:30AM, it had quietened down so Claire suggested that Aimy and Ikin to take me a bit round the course to see what it's like. Since the sun was out, it seemed more easier to take in besides wading through the thick mud and huge puddles across the land. So many people were coming back coated in greenish / brown dry mud but many were also escorted by Paramedics and helpers because they were suffering with Hypothermia. Several people had space blankets and teammates were supporting them back to the main tent, I guess this event is way more intense than I'd imagined and the weather didn't help either.
Claire came out to join us shortly whilst Aimy and I were reminiscing Chesworth memories that I pointed out as well as learning and sharing thoughts on someone close to her who was suffering with similar bowel disease to what I have. I explained my limits, history, medication and foods that I have learnt that set me off quicker like a laxative sometimes.
I'm looking forward to doing this with these lot because it's something new and with great company!
And after thanking everyone for that productive morning, I relaxed on the Sunday and ended up having a 3 hour nap before 6:00PM ha.
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