Run U-Battle 7.5 KM
Date 23 June 2019
Difficulty (what’s this?) T1
Rating Highly Recommended

About a week ago, we participated in the U-Battle Run with All Terrain. This run takes place in Den Bosch, so it was close to home, for a change. In total, we participated with about 15 people. I ran in one of the two teams: “Small Terrain plus XL” (a.k.a. Laura, Steffie and me plus Ludo). The run itself was 7.5 km long. It was about 30 degrees that day, with a strong sun. Luckily some people were better prepared than I was, and brought sun cream. Also the organization of the run had provided enough cooling: we had to cross about 20 ditches throughout the run, and next to that there were several extra drinking spots. Therefore it was not too hot, luckily, even though we started the run at 1.00 PM. The water freshened us up, and rinsed us clean a bit, which was nice, because well, imagine getting dirty, right?
I really liked the run, and also the level of the run. The obstacles were very diverse and original. There were all kinds of things: balance obstacles, monkeyhangs, several swing-overs, bridges, combis, etc. Apart from the many water passages, I came across several obstacles I had never encountered before. The highlight of the run has to be the supping: in a small lake, they had build a small floating dock, where you had to take over a supping board and a peddle from another participant. In the lake, you had to make a round, while trying to keep your balance, and then return. Really cool and really different than any other obstacle! Furthermore, there were several challenging obstacles, such as a long steep monkeyhang up to a tree, where you had to go around the tree, and then continue with another piece of moneyhang. Luckily we were able to help and support each other a bit as a team. Also in this run, it was quite striking how many inexperienced people participated. We came across several people who got some enlightening insights at the combis: “Maybe it would have been nice if I had tried that foot knot before the run already”.
Our whole team managed to get to the last obstacle with their wristband, thanks to some attempts and determination, and a few long rows. Unfortunately, Laura and I still lost our band at the last obstacle. This obstacle consisted of a combi, and I couldn’t manage to get across the first part. After about 4 attempts, I had hurt my hands pretty bad, as the wood scraped off some skin during each try, and also my arm strength was pretty far gone, so I decided to call it a day. I found a very nice run, not too difficult, and luckily, thanks to the organization, also not too hot. I would really recommend this to all people who have their basic skills on point. It is not too full of swing-overs and strength-requiring obstacles, but has a lot of variation, which makes it a good run for both starters and more advanced people.

~ Hilde