The International Forwarding sales team is used to negotiating tough hurdles, such as tight deadlines and sending cross-border freight, but they really had to get their hands dirty with their most recent task.
In June, two IFL sales directors took on one of the most hardcore off-road challenges: the Wolf Run. This quarterly 10k wild run takes in trails, lakes and streams, and combines it with a man-made assault course of obstacles to climb over, under and through – including monkey bars, rope and wall climbs, and a 100m water slide.
With clean teeth and trainers, International Forwarding’s Network Development Director Nigel Parsons (pictured above right) and Sales Director Andy Grubb (left) joined a group of friends for the race start at Stanford Hall estate, Leicestershire.
Here they are, looking slightly nervous, pre-race…
Three hours later they looked like this:
Image: © Wolf Run
Mud glorious mud
One of the event’s more notorious obstacles is the Mud Sucker – a waist-deep bog of thick, wet, sludgy mud.
“Definitely the worst bit was going through all the mud. It was horrific!” said Andy, who’s known for his love of the gym, running and cycling. “Nigel was absolutely covered – he came out looking like a marine. I think he was pleased to see the finish line.
“Doing something like this is not just a physical challenge, though. It’s also a tough mental challenge, especially if it’s the first time you’ve done an event like this.”
“The best bit was going through the challenge as a team,” said Nigel, whose idea it was to enter the race. “There was a group of us running and we made sure we finished the course together, which was great. Of course, I had to keep waiting for Andy to catch up as he’s not an experienced athlete like myself…”
Afterwards the runners celebrated with some well-deserved pub-based teamwork.
More challenges to come
This isn’t the first race IFL has entered – in 2015 they ran to raise funds for cystic fibrosis– but it is surely the toughest and dirtiest. So what’s next?
“We will probably look at doing another Wolf Run or Tough Mudder later in the year, raising funds for cancer research,” said Andy. “Of course, we’ll be sure to wait until the heatwave is over and the ground is a proper river of mud – we don’t want any newbie IFL entrants to miss out!”
