The Terminator 28th feb 2010

This race has been on my calender for the last 6 years only missing once due to injury.This is a testiment to the addiction of The Terminator. It was the first truely difficult, muddy and wet race I'd ever done and started me off on my determination to seek out mud and hills! Not happy with just putting myself through this torture I have over the last 2 years lured some other innocents into this Fun Fest. Carl, John P and Alan H (for the second time) came a long for the roller coaster of a run. (Tina would have come for her 3rd attempt....She'll be back!) The Terminator lives up to its name! Posted by Jo

A view from the rear! Posted by Alan H
This is a superb race and I would recommend it to all club members, just bear in mind the phrase "No pain, No gain" and keep repeating it to yourself for 11ish country miles. The race takes place in the County of Wiltshire and to get there we left the warmth and comfort of Hay and Whitney at 0710hrs on the last day of february and although the weather forecast for that day was terrible the enthusiasm of my fellow runners kept me warm with anticipation. I was well aware that I was in the presence of superb athletes Carl, John P and Jo and there was no way that I could keep up with them so at the start I took my place well to the rear of the pack and that's where I stayed for the duration of the race.

The firstpart of the race is fairly gentle with only one stream, one very deep and smelly bog and several other minor swamps/bogs to negotiate, after about 4 miles you encounter the first of the hills and at this stage of the game it begins to dawn on you that these hills are serious as there are knotted ropes provided to assist you in climbing the first one, after that, it is a long trail of hills both up and down and following either ridge line or the valleys in between. There is some serious mud on this course and even though I am a mud devotee the recent rain made the going very difficult, in fact compared to the Terminator the Muddy Woody Six is like a stroll in the park. A mixture of earth and Wiltshire chalk turned the tracks and rutted trails into a glue like substance for the vast majority of the course. However, at about one mile before the end the organisers had arranged for the course to do a detour through a small river to ensure that your trainers were clean for the finish. I eventually managed to stagger over the line to be greeted by the other three who had been back long enough to have a shower, at least two cups of tea and several pieces of cake. I was severely harangued for keeping them waiting and after a lightning shower bundled into the car and off to lunch at a delightful pub.

Dear reader, don't let me put you off, the Terminator is a first class event, it is a hard run and a great challenge that all runners of all abilities should aspire to compete in, come on Hotfooters give it a try in 2011 and if you come first or last it doesn't matter, it is the taking part that counts.  


The Terminator Posted by John
Remember those days (not so long ago surely?) when puffs of dust used to fly up as you ran along? Nowadays it is just mud, mud and more mud – and none more so than at the Pewsey Vale RC “Terminator”. This was 11 miles (or thereabouts) based around Pewsey taking in the Wiltshire Hills – and was “hardcore” in the extreme. Apart from the first and last half miles on road it was all muddy fields, muddy tracks, muddy gullies and steep hillsides (less mud here - but there were four completely un-runnable hills). In one place we had both a steep hill and mud – so the only way up was to haul yourself using a knotted rope! Highlights (!) included a veritable “mud swamp” (which smelt as though it doubled as the outflow from a slurry pit); fall in here and you would emerge (if you were lucky) in a few months time as an “ork” (think Lord of the Rings). Then there was the “Gully” (a long steady slog up a narrow gully which doubled as a stream) followed by four visits up steep hillsides (where, once on the top you came straight back down – and then had to start up again). In most places the mud was deep and “goey” (a mixture of chalk and clay) - so that to keep any forward momentum at all was a cause for celebration.

The final insult (to the great amusement of the Pewsey crowds) was almost total immersion in a river (where at least you cleaned your shoes). Add to all of this the wind, rain and cold – and (as you may have guessed by now) this was not a pleasant experience. Eleven miles in 1 hour 54 minutes tells its own story – and at the end I was as tired as I can ever remember after a race. However, the race was superbly organized - with great refreshments and enthusiastic marshals – and, of course, wonderful HH company all day (apart from when it was really needed - during the race itself). Will I do it again? – you bet I will!


A view from the front Posted by Carl
Jo and John suggested I provide a front runners perspective of the Terminator so here goes: being close to the front (well I could still see the lead runners ahead at the 3 mile point) allowed me to avoid most of the mud which would churn up nicely after 600 runners had trudged through. To be honest it was still very wet, deep and sticky when I got there! However, with fewer runners in front I did manage to leap over the stream before wildebeest gap, without getting wet and then finding a firm route beyond without sinking waist deep in very deep mud. To dispel any Hotfooter misgivings that I breeze through these type of runs as if I am flying along on a wee magic carpet I can categorically state that

a) the Terminator hurt like hell b) my heart and lungs were burning at the end (though I am still recovering from food poisoning and a cold – oops I sound like you know who!) and c) Ange standby for this, I walked up 3 hills!! In summary The Terminator really is like running The Muddy Woody twice but with no trees. The only downside of the day was the drive to and from Pewsey although this was made more bearable by the banter in the car. At one point though the banter did stop momentarily when I conducted a perfectly legal, well executed and above all safe overtake of 4 vehicles on the A40 – John may dispute this, however, he does drive a 20 year old 1.2lt Golf and hasn't been over 30mph for some time! Finally, if ever you are south of the M4 (junction 15) then pop into Silks on the Downs; great pub and fantastic food.