Past years have seen us brave zombie apocalypses and get up to our eyeballs in mud but this year the theme of the race was inflatable.
In true Mojo tradition, as the days got brighter, it was time to lace up our running shoes and take on some kind of timed race. Past years have seen us brave zombie apocalypses and get up to our eyeballs in mud but this year the theme of the race was inflatable. Over at Leicester Race Course in Oadby a 5k course filled with towering inflatable obstacles had been set up and we were ready for the challenge.
Opting for the bright and early start, we all arrived in the car park at 9am looking sharp eyed, due to the copious amounts of coffee. We headed over to the starting line and PureGym were there to help us get warmed up and ready for the race. Not knowing what to expect, we hesitantly took a position a little further back from the stage. Rightly so we did, queue Call On Me style warm up with a touch less spandex and a lot less coordination.
With our muscles warmed up and ready to go, we headed to the start line. Everyone who was at the start line stood as one, all eager to take on the course. Minds set on nothing but conquering this array of complicated children’s bouncy castles. The first wave set off and we were close on their heels, the sprint to the first object was like a survival of the fittest test, each man for their own and the objective was simple: up and over.
The race was on and we had 9 other inflatables to conquer before we could cross the finish line. There was a mixture of different obstacles ranging from army style crawling spaces to towering climbing walls with awkwardly spaced foot and hand holes. Matt embraced his inner gazelle and went bounding over the hurdles with ease. Meanwhile the rest of the team, consisting of Emily, Sally, Mich and Dane, looked a lot more like a pack of OAP dogs. You know the kind, looks a little confused, slightly out of breath and definitely not capable of keeping up with the pack.
As Matt lead the team to victory, the rest of us valiantly threw ourselves at every obstacle in the way. With numerous trips, slips and face palms, we made it to the final hurdle - the decision. Would it be a slippery trip down the plummet slide? Or a goose bump inducing leap of faith? Either way it was one last jump to the finish line. Sally, Matt and Dane chose the plummet whilst Emily and Mich took the thrill seeking option of the leap of faith.
After sliding or screaming our way over the final hurdle, we ran the remaining 100 meters to the finish line where we were greeted with water, milkshakes and pictures with our well earned (if slightly sweaty) medals. After a hasty photograph of the team and a quick breather, our stomach’s all started to rumble which meant one thing - it was time for brunch.