Nathan: Hi, I’m Nathan from the DVCC and today I am speaking to Lucy about the recent 5k mud run she did, called the Warrior Adrenalin Race, as part of a 30 man strong DVCC team. First things first Lucy, can you please introduce yourself?
Lucy: Hi, I’m Lucy.
Nathan: And how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking, Lucy?
Lucy: I am 28.
Nathan: Awesome. And do you have any children?
Lucy: No children, no.
Nathan: What do you do for a living Lucy?
Lucy: I work for Mercedes Benz, so it’s a pretty standard 9 to 5 administration job.
Nathan: Awesome; and what exercise experience do you have?
Lucy: Well I have been training with the DVCC for about a year and a half now, and occasionally I will do a little bit of running as well.
Nathan: Ok, how far do you go when you run?
Lucy: Typically I will do around 4.5 to 5k; usually that’s what I do, I very rarely do distance runs.
Nathan: Ok, would you say you are a confident runner?
Lucy: I’m not really built for running so it’s always a struggle; but yes, I get by
Nathan: Do you enjoy running though, or do you just do it because…?
Lucy: I do enjoy it – I like kind of the theme where you just put your headphones in and you go; it’s not my favourite way to exercise, but yes, it’s alright.
Nathan: So looking back, say a year ago, do you think that you would have been sitting here, being interviewed about doing a mud run?
Lucy: No – I have had the intention of doing one for a long time, and I have always been too nervous. I started doing the ‘Couch to 5k’, so I could build my ability to run, because I really wanted to take part in one, but I knew my biggest challenge would be the actual running part.
Nathan: Ok – so you did the ‘Couch to 5k’ to practice; I didn’t know that, I just thought you enjoyed running around on a Saturday afternoon! So that’s cool – good from you, well done – I’m glad you’ve done that extra training to get involved. How did you feel on the morning of the race - were you nervous?
Lucy: I was terrified. Gareth and I drove there together and I just probably whittered on in the car about nothing just to pass the time because I was so frightened.
Nathan: Which is understandable; when I first did my one I was quite nervous. Ok, so what were your expectations of what you were about to do on race day, when you arrived there?
Lucy: Well I knew it was going to be hard and I knew it was going to be cold and I knew it was going to be muddy. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I probably didn’t expect to feel the way I did when I finished. I didn’t have any other real expectations; it was just nerves and fear!
Nathan: How did you feel when you finished?
Lucy: I felt fit, I felt strong, I felt probably the best I have ever felt, like I could take on anything. I have never really known anything like it.
Nathan: It is a real rewarding sense of achievement isn’t it when you’ve finished; it is awesome. How did you find the atmosphere on the day?
Lucy: It was really good fun, actually. Being part of the biggest team made me feel like I was part of something really special, and I am. And it was just a lovely atmosphere, everybody was in it together. But then the wider group that took part, I assume there were thousands of people, and everyone was in good spirits; there was no bad feeling, there was no pushing, there was no shoving; everybody was there to help each other.
Nathan: Did that surprise you?
Lucy: It did, because I thought it would be more competitive than it was because I know some people take it really seriously, but ultimately it’s just a group of people having fun in a field on a Sunday morning!
Nathan: Yes, they can be competitive, but normally I think the competitive people will go for the slightly longer distances and go from there. Which obstacle was your favourite?
Lucy: I liked the one with the tyre – where we had to pull the tyre in and then we had to drag it back out; that’s kind of reminiscent of the stuff we do here! There was a lot of water ones that I actually quite enjoyed, apart from the water one at the end, when you go in it’s a shock!
Nathan: I might have to send that photo in so everyone can see, because it’s an awesome picture of Lucy jumping into a very cold skip full of water! Did you imagine that you were going to be running through rivers and stuff?
Lucy: Yes, I had a rough idea of what was going to happen; I didn’t know there would probably be as many water ones and as early as the ones there was; we were in the water within the first kind of 100 metres it felt like, we got wet pretty early, but I enjoyed it!
Nathan: I enjoyed it as well, running through the rivers; I always get a bit nervous beforehand but, yes, I have kind of come round to them. So did you complete all the obstacles?
Lucy: I didn’t, no. There were some that I knew I couldn’t do; I found that I was struggling with the ones where it was pulling your own body weight kind of from a height above your head. They were the ones I struggled with, which is actually quite good because it’s given me a little bit more of a focus of what I want to work on going forward. But there were some that I knew I would probably hurt myself if I attempted; so I did what I could within my limits and pushed myself out of my comfort zone a bit.
Nathan: Apart from me saying you can do this, did you feel that there was any pressure?
Lucy: No, no pressure, not from anybody else; but I knew that if I didn’t do it I would be disappointed in myself.
Nathan: But there was no disappointment from anyone else?
Lucy: No.
Nathan: There was no one saying, “Come on, you’ve got to do it”?
Lucy: No, not at all; everybody was fantastic and if I said I couldn’t do a certain obstacle, I wasn’t pushed to do it; I knew my abilities and people were respectful of that.
Nathan: Which is good. So I suppose you felt safe the whole way round in that sense then?
Lucy: Yes, completely.
Nathan: Do you think the training you have done at the DVCC so far, or the training you have done in the past, has helped you with some of the obstacles you did on the day?
Lucy: Yes, completely, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, I don’t think, had I not been training here and pushing myself to my limits every day – it made it easier to push on the day.
Nathan: Good from you. And was there anything that you were nervous about doing beforehand, or that you came across that you kind of feel like you conquered one of your fears, maybe?
Lucy: Well I’m not really very good with small spaces and there were a couple where it was crawling through tunnels. The first tunnel one I didn’t do, I backed out and then after that I thought, “Now come on you’ve got to at least try”; so there was a couple where there were tunnels that really frightened me, but I did them. And heights – I’m not a big fan of heights!
Nathan: Yes! Tunnels are a bit nerve wracking for a lot of people actually; I did one once that was really, really tight, so I can understand why you’re a bit nervous. Then the second one you did so that was very good from you, very well done. What advice would you give to someone that wants to do a mud run but is maybe too nervous about doing it or maybe worried that they won’t be fit enough, for example?
Lucy: Don’t underestimate yourself; you can do it. And there are people – everybody runs with somebody; nobody gets left behind. There’s always somebody to run with you, always somebody to help you and encourage you. Just take a chance and do it, because it’s the best feeling in the world!
Nathan: It’s an awesome feeling. So, last question is, are you going to do the next DVCC team run?
Lucy: Absolutely!
Nathan: Awesome – and I’ve got that now in the recording so you can’t back out! I’m sure you won’t, but should you get cold feet then I’ve got that in the recording! Awesome – I hope if you’ve been listening to this interview today, you’ve found it interesting, and Lucy, I would like to thank you for your time; have a good day.
