Fast-forward thirty-seven days and Sarah was standing on the start line with her husband (who had agreed to join her for the race). The race itself takes place in Perton, Wolverhampton, and around 4,000 entrants from around the globe compete every year. On this particular occasion, the temperature was just above freezing, the lakes were covered in ice and the typical British grey clouds hung in the sky. Within five minutes, Sarah found herself waist-deep in a muddy ditch being leant upon by a large middle-aged man (who, for the record, apologised). The six mile run consisted of scrambling up and down a steep, muddy hillside which contained twelve undulations in total. However, aided by the hill training from Sunday morning circuits, Sarah was relatively unfazed, as she covered the ground with gazelle-like strides. The assault course comprised of a series of fences, ditches, cargo nets, barbed wire to scrambled under and rope walks which dangled over freezing ponds. Two particular obstacles which stand out are ‘The Torture Chamber’ and the ‘Bear Pits’. The first is a sequence of dark tunnels, partially flooded and filled with hanging batons and electric cables which produce a full-body electric shock on contact. The ‘Bear Pits’, ten of them in total, are a series of freezing, muddy water ditches into which the contestants jump, only to be greeted by a six foot vertical embankment on the other side. Despite the name, there were no bears involved (although, at this stage, you wouldn’t be surprised…) What did strike Sarah was the enthusiasm and zeal of the other competitors; when she felt tentative about a plunge into the freezing water, it was them that spurred her on, and when she reached the six foot climb out the the Bear Pit, it was Klaus, the young, bare-chested German dressed as a character from ‘Bay Watch’, who hauled her out each time.

Ten minutes from the end, both Sarah’s legs seized up with incredibly painful cramp.  She was approached by a marshal who offered her a blanket, a warm drink and a ride to the finish line. However, she declined and showed superb mental determination to go all the way, a fantastic achievement given that one in four contestants fail to finish. When asked whether she would compete again, or even if she would recommend it, a three word answer sufficed: “No and no.”Yet it is this “never say die” mental attitude which TLA thrives on and makes it so unique as a group of individuals.