Rough runners

Probably a year ago my sister mentioned that she fancied one of these barmy obstacle course/run things, and then my super-fit cousin who I haven't seen for a ridiculous number of years got all enthusiastic about it and attempted to rope in a few other members of the extended family.  In the end it was just the three of us who spent today running around a rather nice estate in Oxfordshire in the sun, and climbing over, swinging from, falling off and mainly getting wet tackling various obstacles.  No electric shocks involved, it was fun rather than masochistic and a very friendly and non-competitive atmosphere.  It was loosely inspired by the TV show 'Gladiators' and the final challenge was a travellator.  I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, it's the sort of climbing and playing that we do as children and for some reason 'grow out of'.

It was great to catch up with my cousin Rich and to hear about his recent year of 30 challenges to mark his 30th year and to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust - he has raised £20,000 so far and is aiming for £30,000.  His sister is an oncologist and so he has personal contact with some of the patients who will benefit from his hard work.  Some of the things he got up to were really mad, like running all the way along Hadrian's wall and finishing by doing the Great North Run.

The first thing he said that he has learnt from all of this is that it is all in your mind.