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MAY 2019 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK 027A participant’s favourite
obstacle can be a race
organiser’s biggest
technical challenge
‘We have invested a lot of
research into developing
our water slide into one of
the best-known obstacles
in British OCR. But it
wasn’t a success in the
beginning. The first version
was made from a plastic
sheet. One marshal held a
hosepipe while another
held a bottle of washing-up
liquid. The sheet ripped,
water couldn’t flow through
it quickly enough and the
field underneath it was
uneven. It was bumpy and
water ran off to one side,taking the runners with it!
Surprisingly, they were
having so much fun that
none of them noticed.’Strange materials are used
‘We used to use children’s
plastic balls – the ones
with holes in them – to
filter mud out of the
water-slide system.’Our scariest obstacle is...
‘...Black Out. Participants
have to hold their breath,
swim under a log into a
pitch-black tunnel and
under another log at the
end. But the person who
finds this claustrophobic
might have no problem
tackling a five-metre-high
cargo net on top of a hill.’Camaraderie exists in the
absence of timing chips
‘At our first event, there
was a ditch at the end of a
lake crossing. By the time
500 people had passed
through, it was so slippery
that anyone who went
in couldn’t get out. One
runner was grabbing
people by their arms
and hauling them out –
he didn’t care about his
finishing time. That’s when
the penny dropped: the
Wolf Run is more than just
an individual challenge.’Runners move in
mysterious ways
‘The Mudsucker is a
sludgy, chest-deep bogFor more information on The
Wolf Run, visit thewolfrun.comthat can only be tackled by
walking, crawling and
swimming. I spotted one
guy trying to backstroke
over the top of it!’Less than one per cent
of participants visit The
Wolf Run medical tent
‘Our course is designed
with safety in mind. In
addition, members of the
British Red Cross and
military-grade doctors are
on standby at our events.’Former England rugby
player Neil Back once
tackled a telegraph
pole...and lost!
‘The Nut Cracker is a series
of tall telegraph poles,
each one covered in mud
and separated from the
other by a broad gap.
Usually, participants
clamber over them
cautiously, but Neil Back
decided he’d try something
different. He sprinted over
the top of it; and just as he
reached the second-to-last
pole, he tripped up and
narrowly missed knocking
his head. Although Back
landed in a heap on the
floor, he rolled over, stood
up and kept running.’Things can go wrong
and not everything
can be predicted
‘Take our first event in 2011,
for instance. A participant
who arrived at the start
with a virus contaminated
the medical facility before
the race had even started.
At the same time, a goat
escaped from a nearby
field and charged at
spectators. I remember
when the showers broke- at England's muddiest
race! That’s why it’s
important our team can
deal with situations as they
happen, improving the
function and safety of the
event, and, ultimately, the
experience for runners.’
THE SECRET LIFE OF...
THE OCR
DIRECTOR
Broken showers, furious goats
and overconfident rugby stars:
Will Moreton, director of obstacle
course race (OCR) The Wolf Run
says the road to success has not
always been smoothWolf Run director Will Moreton
(left); and (above) sparks fly
as work begins on another
fiendish obstacle