At Selwood we love a challenge – but it doesn’t usually involve hurtling down a watery 120ft slide or struggling up a climbing frame as the wet stuff hammers down from above!
These were two of the punishing obstacles 12,000 participants at the Total Warrior Great Northern Mud Run had to take on during a mud-filled, fun-packed event at Bramham Park, Leeds.
Selwood’s pump rental teams were proud to be a key part of the day by supplying pumping equipment to help power the two watery obstacles.
“Slideaway” is a giant, wet 120ft slide which participants climb a steep hill to reach, and then hurl themselves down on their back, front or knees before landing safely in a muddy pit. Our teams supplied the slippery stuff by using a Selwood D80 high volume drainer pump to transport water from a pond 90 metres away, push it up 3.5 metres to the top of the slide and pouring it down through a 1-inch pipe.
A second D80 was installed as a standby just in case it was needed, and a third was positioned so it could drain the pit if water levels in there needed to be reduced. Neither was needed.
On the ‘Waterfall’ obstacle, participants attempt to climb up and over a huge A frame while getting hammered with water spraying down on them from above. This was provided thanks to a pipe with holes drilled in it and the flow was powered by a 110v two-inch submersible pump supplied by Selwood to create the cascade.
Selwood helped the Total Warrior team develop the solutions for the event, ensuring a setup that was entirely Covid-secure and enabled social distancing, and could work in all weather conditions. The pumps were installed on site a week early so they could be extensively tested, ensuring there was no margin for error over the weekend.
Organisers fed back that they were thrilled with the Selwood solution, including the reliability of the pumps and the water flow, and would like support from Selwood in future events.
They even provided members of Selwood’s team with tickets to take part – and Framework Manager Craig Middleton took on the challenge, taking on and completing the 12k course in 1hr 16 minutes. The event was good training for Craig, who is taking on the York Marathon in 2021 in support of the #75for75 fundraising campaign to mark Selwood’s 75th anniversary. More on that here.
Adam Dickinson, of Total Warrior, said: “We’re delighted with Selwood’s support for the Great Northern Mud Run and for the team’s attention to detail in making sure the water obstacles on the course performed reliability to challenge thousands of competitors over a brilliant, muddy, wet weekend!.