The day started with the meet at HMS Forward, at 0800 in the morning (which itself took mental strength as some were unaware this time existed on a Sunday morning), and the team were presented with race numbers before being split into vehicles to travel to the event.  The journey down was a quiet one...aside from occasional temperature updates (-1ºC), which led to the only other real sounds being made: “What a stupid idea this was.”

Upon arrival, the realisation of what we had let ourselves in for started to hit home, especially as the route to registration took the team past some of the water obstacles, which at this time were coated in ice, and past the “Tigers Tail” - a 160ft x 45ft x 20ft mix of wood and cargo netting.  The atmosphere at the start was brilliant with many of the 3400 competitors in fancy dress, including tuxedos, skull facepaint, clowns, and even one particularly committed entrant dressed in a bright yellow mankini.  OCdts Wray and Gunn excelled here with brilliant JD and Turk (from Scrubs) outfits.

Eventually, after a failed attempt to start the race with a cannon, the less exciting firework initiated a mad sprint down an outrageously steep hill to attempt to gain position, and the race was underway.  The first 5 miles or so was actually not too bad, with the team taking advantage of previous assault course experience to make mincemeat of the 6ft walls and step obstacles.  The first water obstacle felt glacial, but with nothing above mid thigh depth, the progress was good.  The course designers did the word “tough” justice with a difficult slalom taking runners up and down a long steep hill ten times.  However, the fun was just starting.

From here onwards, the course really did push every competitor both physically and mentally. The height obstacles themselves were not too bad, with the highest being a 50ft “skywalk”, as these were more a case of mind over matter.  The water obstacles were undoubtedly the worst, treating everyone to an experience of cold most had never come across.  Any time the water rose above waist height the cold was painful, and with the water tunnels requiring a full head dunking, “brain freeze” was like nothing that I’d ever experienced, and the “Death Plunge” really did take your breath away.  Add into this jumping through fire in the “Battle of the Somme”, getting shocked by the equivalent of a horse fence at random intervals along the course, crawling through the pitch black “Torture Chamber”, the feet of mud, the pain of the “Vietcong Tunnels” and the general physicality of it all, the last 2-3 miles were the definition of the word challenging.  The last push to the end was certainly the hardest, and by this point cramp, hypothermia and fatigue were making our bodies scream to quit, but all from the squadron pushed through this to reach the end.

After being presented with foil blankets, iron horse medals and cups of cocoa (which proved impossible to drink with such shaking hands), the changing barn was filled with a strange mix of crying, laughing, shouting, and utterings of the phrase: “There’s no way I’m doing that again.”  However, in the oddest turn of logic possible, there is something about the challenge that really does draw competitors back, and despite the cold and the pain, already at least 5 of Team Taurus have committed to doing it again next year!

Team Taurus pulled out some excellent performances with times ranging from 2.11.15 to 3.41.43 (see below), and considering that at least 50% of the entrants from Taurus completed the course in CS95s and boots, the times attained when compared to the general competitors were very respectable. Hypothermia and general injuries reportedly claimed 600 of the 3400 competitors to mean that only around 2800 entrants actually completed the course, so the fact that Taurus Squadron had a 100% successful completion rate is fantastic.

The team has raised £2580 for the Fund for Heroes Sanctuary, and the Military Patients Fund with more donations expected to come in over the next few weeks.  All in all a successful event...bring on next year!

The results are as follows: