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Mar 24, 2024

Muncaster Castle celebrate ten years of Race the Tide.

Muncaster Castle has celebrated ten years of hosting its annual challenge – Race the Tide. Over the weekend hundreds of people braved the rain and tackled the 10km obstacle course following a route

Muncaster Castle has celebrated ten years of hosting its annual challenge – Race the Tide.

Over the weekend hundreds of people braved the rain and tackled the 10km obstacle course following a route through mud and rivers, while surrounded by stunning views.

The celebrations began on Friday as many runners who chose to arrive the night before and camp were welcomed with live music.

People of all abilities came to take part, from athletes to families. In total 264 people took on the challenge as well as their dogs, 60 marshals plus an army of spectators who turned up to watch their friends and family take part.

With a boom of the cannons, Race the Tide 2023 began. The fire service and Cumbria Search and Rescue set off their sirens and sprayed jets of water down the hill as runners scrambled up the banking.

After crawling through a series of scaffolding obstacles along the terrace, racers met a 20ft high cliff ladder that took them to Deer Park.

Runners faced a 10ft “Hadrian’s wall” and then ran alongside the river before diving in off a plank. Once they’d swam across the water, a muddy bog swallowed people up to the waist.

Muddy footprints showed the way up to the tarn where runners were forced to go over and under a row of obstacles. Next, they faced a “total wipeout” style of floating tractor tyres, which bobbed over the water before having a go on the “Tarzan swing”.

For a grand finale, a steep ramp stood in front of the castle. To claim victory over Race the Tide, runners had to scale the ramp and touch the top.

After the race, Muncaster threw a party for Race the Tide, with a celebratory dinner as well as a traditional Ceilidh. Live music played and the day concluded with singing “Happy Birthday” and cake.

Ewan Frost-Pennington both organised and took part in Race the Tide. He said the weekend was a 'big, big, success. Challenging and stressful but worth it.'

The obstacle course took 'a lot of work and planning' to design, build and make sure they were safe for people to climb.

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