Adrian Hall discovers chocolate isn’t just for Easter.
Chocathlon 9K: Saturday 9th April 2016
Well done everybody who ran this weekend in Manchester, South Shields or elsewhere, weathers been great. I did a charity run in Marsden, West Yorkshire, the Chocathlon 9K. I didn’t expect much of a challenge, but it actually was the hardest charity run (or ’10k’) I’ve ever done.
After a 2.5hr train journey I arrived and thought I was ready to go, until I tested my blood.. 20mins before kick-off my level is a critical 3.1! Oops 
Munching on dextrose and cereal bars, I managed to recover, line up and my head soon regained focus. A run with chocolate stations along the way now felt pretty useful if my dextrose ran out.
The race was mainly trail, with several muddy stretches. The hills caught me by surprise, really steep up-hills and down-hills, I had to walk a few. There were two water/chocolate stations along the way but being the competitive runner I had to just grab fluids and continue on, but I did get my chocolate fix at the finish 
Adrian in action
I really enjoyed the race despite the slow muddy declines and painful inclines. I definitely recommend it if you fancy a challenge in the hills with gorgeous views.
Team OA have other runs you might be interested in, including the Pieathlon 6K with 3 pie stations. The Wineathlon has numerous runs throughout the UK, a 6.5 mi one in Durham with three wine sampling stations. New to Team OA is the Aleathlon 13K race – also a trail run in West Yorkshire with feed stations including nibbles and some of Yorkshire’s best ales. There’ll also be an after party for those who wish to celebrate (and drink) till late.
I finished the Chocathlon in 45:09, 8th place out of 215, I might have been faster with my trail shoes. Sure feeling the aches on the legs today. Here are links to all the events I’ve mentioned:
Chocathlon: http://www.teamoa.co.uk/
Pieathlon: http://www.teamoa.co.uk/
Wineathlon: http://www.wineathlon.co.uk
Aleathlon: http://www.aleathlon.co.uk
Adrian
Full results can be found here.
2 Responses
Fine report Adrian, and I was really pleased to read you recovered in time to complete the race.
But it appears what the organisors give with one hand, they take-away with the other: multiple chocolate stations together with steep hills. Talk about heaven
and hell 
Thanks David, the first chocolate station certainly would of been more handy at the bottom of the hill rather than halfway up!
I forgot to mention I finished a slightly wobbly blood sugar of 3.9. Next time I’ll fully utilise all chocolate stations!