SOLDIERS, police officers, lifeguards and fitness fanatics came together at the weekend to take on one of the most challenging runs of their life.
Nearly 400 people braved the mud, water and obstacles at Fullers Wood Lane, Redhill, for the Back2TheTrenches 5k and 10k runs.
The event is the first of its kind to be run by Priory Events and was, according to organisers, a great success as participants battled through the course with a great team spirit.
"We've had some brilliant feedback," said Neil Goode, who runs Priory Events. "It was our first race and we got just shy of 400 people turn up. I think on a scale of one to ten it was off the Richter scale. We've hosted runs here for the past six years but never under a particular brand. We decided it was time to do it ourselves. We know what people want and everyone was amazed at the way it came together.
"Now we're looking forward to the next one on June 23, and we're hoping the numbers go up and we get the same atmosphere. It was a big help that it rained a few days before.
"We were like 'it's fantastic' and then it didn't rain on the day which was even better."
The race was split into two categories. A 5k race and a longer 10k trek through the trees, mud, rocks and challenges like jumping over bonfires which a few chose to brave.
The best recorded time for the men's 10k was 50 minutes 13 seconds, and the 10k women's one hour, 11 minutes.
In the 5k race, the fastest man over the line took 27 minutes and five seconds, with the fastest female clocking a time of 37 minutes 43 seconds.
