*** The Stampede Brisbane 213 *** The Stampede Brisbane, Sept 14th and 15th Woodfordia – Woodford, Qld Distance options: 2km (Stampede Junior), 5km or 10km 30 obstacles in the 10km event Terrain: hills, flats, rocks, a little water crossing…a little of everything. Congratulations to everyone that took part in Stampede over the weekend and a big thank you to the Volunteers for helping keep us all safe and well hydrated during the event. Registration/Festival area: 9/10 I was really impressed with this event, from the parking through to the showers at the end. We had no delays in the car park at all upon arrival or exit. It was a comfortable walk from the car park to the event with a table set up just before entry to fill out any waiver forms that may have been forgotten (great idea to reduce registration queues) The spectators were well looked after with plenty of opportunities to view participants completing obstacles, run over the finish line or just watch them move through the course on their way to the end. The course was well separated from the spectators and I didn’t find any cases where spectators where hindering the flow of the participants. If you wanted to sit back and relax there were a few tables set up with umbrellas for spectators to huddle around and enjoy a beverage alternatively there was plenty of space on the hill to throw down a blanket. A jumping castle was set up and well used by the children waiting for mums and dads to cross the finish line. It would have been nice to have the porta-loos in a couple of locations instead of only at the entry however there seemed to be enough toilets to accommodate everyone. The Course 9/10: Registration was simple and fuss free. We were given our bibs and picked up some pins so we had nothing else to worry about, no ‘show bags’ or shirts to find homes for before the event. The surname lines were well spaced out and I didn’t see any major queues during my time at the event on Saturday. At about 9.50am we headed over to the start line ready for our 10am wave. There was plenty of room for us all to fit in and join in the ‘warm up’ fun. Take off was good there was room for everyone to move onto the course before any bends or hills slowed the group down. The first obstacle (about 1km in) stopped many in their tracks, “Stuck in the Mud” is literally what happened yet all I heard was laughter from participants as their shoes ripped off or their legs were held hostage by the mud. This was also the first of many welcomed drink stations. The organisers took note of last year and improved on the already awesome ‘slip and slide’ by adding more lanes to stop the bottleneck we experienced last year. The Tyre Tumble was a variation I had not seen before and I really enjoyed the additional hurdles introduced during this obstacle. There really weren’t any queues that caused major concerns. The two obstacles we queued at were ‘highs and lows’ and ‘cable chaos’, there probably could have been a couple more see/saw beams however this obstacle was more about mind over matter – participants were cautious about how they approached this obstacle trying to stay on board while the beam dropped – I didn’t see anyone fall so something was working! Overall I believe the obstacles were really well done, with something for everyone and you choose how hard you went at it. I was most impressed by the walls having supports on them. Those who struggle with upper body strength could still give these a red hot go without needing too much help to get over whilst those hard core wall experts could leap over the walls without hesitation. We were never alone on the course, there were volunteers spread well throughout the course, plenty of water stations a number of first aiders and even music on the course! The one thing we really didn’t like was having the ‘mud buffet’ as the last obstacle – yes it is fun, yes it is great to watch the participants slop around in it but having to collect your shirt/ grab a drink/grab your bag from the cloakroom all whilst covered head to toe in crusting mud isn’t much fun. The queues to the showers were probably the only long queues all day as everyone had to shower to wash off the muddy fun. There were plenty of hoses and the water pressure was fine yet getting the mud off was hard as it was so thick and had started setting whilst waiting in the line. I would have liked to have seen the skip bins filled with the water like they had in 2012, a quick dip in these helped get off the drying mud while we waited for a shower last year. Overall: 9/10 It was disappointing to receive the shirt at the end of the race whilst absolutely covered in mud however the shirt was in a bag so it was safe from becoming mud soaked to quickly. Like all OCRs the quicker you sign up the cheaper it is, you definitely get your money’s worth with Stampede a very well organised event with plenty of interesting obstacles and plenty to keep the spectators entertained. This event had something for everyone with the introduction of Stampede Junior (7rs -14yrs) and the 5km or 10km leg from 14yrs to over the hill. A reversed course, new and improved obstacles, plenty of water stations, music on the course, course integrated into the spectator area for great viewing and a number of photographers set up throughout the course...it was hard to come up with anything that was disappointing about the day! We ran in a team of 10 with 5 first time OC participants and the highlight of my day was watching these people run further then they ever have before and take on challenges they could not have imagined doing before #thestampede The vibe amongst all participants I encountered on the course was positive and energetic and I did not hear anyone once complain about any part of the course (oh except for having to go up another hill lol). We had a wonderful day and looking forward to next year!! My girls met me at the finish line with….’mum we are doing this next year’!!! Kelly :)
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 07:58:12 +0000
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