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Essex LifeYou are in: Essex > Features > Essex Life > Mud, Sweat and Fears  Stuart ponders the wisdom of saying Yes Mud, Sweat and FearsStuart Woodward With only a couple more weeks to go until he makes his debut in the Mad Maldon Mud Race, Stuart discovers at first hand the dangers of getting fit, and visits Maldon's Promenade Park to see exactly what he's let himself in for. Well there’s only a couple of weeks left until the big day, but there's been plenty of drama recently as I prepare to take to the shores of the River Blackwater at Maldon and plunge into the chilly waters. Now, you might not think that you would need to use your fingers very much when you're running, but believe me if anything happens to them, it can severely alter your training pattern! Alas, I found this out the hard way when I dislocated one finger and fractured another whilst playing football a couple of weeks ago.
It wasn't especially painful when it actually happened, but still looked particularly impressive. Having never had any serious injury before, the sight of one of your fingers pointing up instead of down was slightly disconcerting, along with the little finger swelling up dramatically as well. The pain was just starting to set in by the time I got to A+E, but it was nothing compared to the shock I got when they put the finger back in place. I've never felt a pain like that before – I couldn't possibly write on here the words I was shouting out but I certainly didn't learn them from my parents! As a consequence, my training in the gym has been affected slightly – there are now a few machines that I'm unable to use as I can't grip on to them properly, but other than that I'm still able to go on the treadmill and the bike as well.  Race veteran Ray Clark shows Stuart the fast route Sadly I'm banned from contact sports for the next few weeks whilst my fingers recover, so my weekly night of football is currently on hold. The race must go on, however, so I went to Maldon a few days ago with BBC Essex Breakfast presenter Ray Clark to witness the scene of my hypothermic onslaught. My first thoughts were that it didn't look as far across the river as I'd previously thought, but then again I wasn't stood in the mud at this point. The mud itself looked pretty thick and squelchy, and with Ray reassuring me that I would be in there up to my waist, I'll admit that I was starting to think twice. However, it’s for charity and I've trained long and hard for it now, so do it I shall! Sponsorship is going well, around £180 so far but with a couple of weeks left, there's still time to fit some more names on the sponsor sheet. Fingers crossed (well, on one hand at least) I'll be there on the start line on the 30th; here’s hoping it’s not too cold.... Help playing audio/video The Mad Maldon Mud Race gets underway at 11am on Sunday, 30, December in Promenade Park.For more information, or if you'd like to sponsor Stuart, call the BBC Essex Helpline on 01245 348 348.last updated: 11/12/2007 at 14:14 Have Your SayHave you taken part in the Mad Maldon Mud Race? Do you have any tips for novice Stuart? Peter Martin Chris Rush SEE ALSOYou are in: Essex > Features > Essex Life > Mud, Sweat and Fears  Get the full picture with our 360°s shots of Essex |
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