#beastrun

On 22nd February 2015, 'Smiler' Gemma Tuckwood took part in the Beast Race on behalf of 'Always With A Smile'... This is what she had to say:

The Beast Race is a double or quit, one lap (5 miles) or two laps (10 miles), event based at an equine cross country course, and I wanted to take on the challenge as a new event for the 'Always With A Smile' foundation.

The event, given the time of year, is guaranteed to be a cold one...  and whilst scraping off the ice from my car windscreen on the morning of the race, I wondered (quite reasonably) whether there would be a layer of ice on any of the water crossing which we were told littered the course... and after making the trip from my home in Nottingham to to the event in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, I can assure you there had been little change in the ambient temperature!

The warm up did little to warm up my tiny frozen feet and, as spectators were not allowed on the course, we set off with a wave and cheer from the (more-sensible) supporters who were watching.

I think as we made our way over the first you hundred metres, the thoughts of all of the crazy likeminded people taking part lay ahead to how chilly it would be through the water.

It was easy to lose count of how many huge trees I had to climb over, as this course is usually used by horses so each  ‘jump’ gets higher and wider, and some obstacles were even balanced over ditches!

There were also plenty of steep hills and lots of slippy mud to lose your footing on, as the bruises on my legs can testify!

And the water?... Oh the water!

Sliding in to the icy depths of each pond literally took my breathe away, leaving my body numb and my trainers frozen sodden.  

Getting over, under and through these large obstacles wasn’t the most elegant or graceful act I'd ever performed, for I'm quite short, but it was fun and with true AWAS spirit not once did my smile slip... I even got a clap from a race marshal on the way round for my cheerful approach!

I even got a ‘Joel Hicks is a star and so are you!’ heckle from one lovely gentleman as I made my way around the course - and it was such a lovely boost to know there are many more 'Smilers' out there and that I'm a part of this wonderful organisation! (It turns out that he had taken part in Tough Guy earlier in the month and had since seen the now infamous YouTube footage!).

On crossing the finish line, instead of a medal I was awarded a rosette in keeping with the equine theme. It read: ‘I tamed the Beast!'