So, it’s been a while since I wrote one of these and it’s nice to have the time to do so again. South Wales was brilliant and from my perspective, couldn’t have gone any better but for some reason, I didn’t manage to write a blog each day so hopefully, I can make up for that on this build.

As with the start of each build, we start with the ground works and bring in the excavators, it’s one of my favourite times, when else do you get the chance to orchestrate the sculpting of hundreds of tons of earth into evil and slippery shapes? I spent quite a bit of time checking we could get water to them and it reminded me that the whole team is looking forward to getting the big pump going for this build, in Wales we had to use the little pump but at London East, we’ll be pumping a ton of water a minute, that’s right, a minute! I’ll always remember ‘Danger Jonny’ (my cousin) trying to hold onto the end of the pump one day and he went from dry to wet at the flick of a button, it was like something out of Jackass.

We’ve also booked the excavator for an additional day this year because we really want our last race of the season to be super muddy. We’re known for big obstacles rather than for being a mud run but as we get bigger and I learn more on each race, I like to start pushing the boundaries and mud is my latest fixation. London East will be a fast and wet course again but this time, I’m hopeful people will remember the muddy sections. I feel like a big kid making mud pies!

Thanks for reading!

The Beard