Not too many of my friends would immediately say yes to this request, however, luckily Leah was completely game. I think this might have had something to do with the fact that neither of us knew exactly what we were letting ourselves in for.

The London River Rat Race takes place around London’s Excel Centre and includes numerous obstacles as well as a few dips in the Thames and a mini kayaking stint. We met up with Emma and her friend Becs to take on the little adventure.

The course starts within the Excel centre; we climbedover barriers, through a lorry and over blockades, before heading downstairs and outside.

Wearing a Rat Race t-shirt, Aldi shorts and Decathlon Kalenji trail shoes – luckily this worked out to be the perfect outfit.

This was our first dip in the Thames of the day, ‘swimming’ under these two inflatables. It was horrid, cold, smelly and murky.

Looking like drowned rats.

Note to the organisers for next time- it would have been really nice to have had a cup of water after coming out of the river to rinse out our mouths and throw over our faces! Ok thanks!

The route took us up and over a large bridge, before hitting a few more obstacles before getting back into the River. It involved a bit of a swim, followed by a scramble over some rubber rings then launching ourselves onto some floating pads. I wish I could work the video from the GoPro to upload an awesome video of Emma jumping!

After this little swim, it was time for the 20ft jump!

There was the option of doing the smaller jump but I’m really proud of our group that we’ll all managed the 20ft drop. Emma was especially impressive, she just got to the top and stepped straight off, no messing around!

It’s worth mentioning though that all of the obstacle courses could be avoided if you really wanted to, if there was something you are particularly keen not to do. There were plenty of marshals along the course helping us up, over (and importantly down) from the obstacles.

One of the most fun but scary was the slide, that launched you into the water faster than the 20ft drop! Like a water park, but a little more disgusting.

Our last few obstacles were very soggy, in particular the ones that involved us crawling on our hands and knees. We finished the race launching ourselves over a couple of walls (with help) well and truly earning our medals and Mars Bars.

Although the course could have done with more water along the way, it was really enjoyable and would be a lot of fun in a big group. Some of the obstacles were harder than we were anticipating, but actually could be tackled by a range of fitness levels if you’re willing to give them a go!

To enter any future Rat Race click here–www.ratrace.com 

Thanks to London Rat Race for complimentary race entry, and for Leah for being mad enough to spend her Saturday jumping into the Thames with me!