← Ox Races
Brief Review
The Ox 12 hour race is part of The Ox Races , a series of trail races held over weekend that consist of a day time and night time 10km, half marathon, 50miler and a do-as-many-laps-as-you-fancy 12 hour event for teams and solos. With about 500-600ft of ascent per 10km lap this is far from flat. However the scenery makes up for the relentless rolling route. Stunning forest and woodland floor provide the canvas for bluebells and wild garlic. White Star Running events appeal to all. From speedsters who want to test themselves at the front to a more relaxed, fun, everyone-welcome friendly party to the back.
Not so brief review
It’s 7:15am on a dry but cold and blustery day in May, I’ve just parked up in an immense hill top field after winding my way through the seriously long driveway of the historic Rushmore Estate. This is the stunning Dorset countryside setting for the Ox races by White Star Running (WSR).
The build up to the Ox races had started way before race day. If you enter any WSR events i suggest you also join their Facebook group. The buildup to the events by participants is relentless and helps fuel the excitment for race day. I’d entered the 12 hour event. Start at 8am and do as many laps as you like (or as many as you can tollerate) by 8pm. My primary goal was a marathon with anything beyond that a bonus. I’d seen the route profile ahead of the race so i’d already assumed this was going to be a tough day at the office. But since not running further than a marathon this year and doing no specific ‘slow’ running i was in for quite a shock as to how hard I would find this event.
A Mexican theme was the order of the day and at the race village the fiesta was in full effect. There were some seriously cool costumes on display with a good number of people making a fantastic effort with their ‘race’ kit. Personally I’d opted for more traditional clothing, knowing that deviating from my tried and tested kit could well end in chafe driven tears several laps into what could potentially be a long day. I know......party pooper 
At 8am Andy, Race Director come luchador, sent us off on our merry little 12 hour way. In the emailed race instructions he said it was at this point he was off to have a beer, I suspect this was a joke since the race organisation was second to none and that only happens with dedication and dogged determination from the race director and his awesome crew!
Anyone part of the relay teams had to carry their baton, a foot long squeaky cow, whilst they were out on the course. Squeaky cow imitating birds imitating squeaky cow. Squeak Squeak cuckoo squeak squeak became the soundtrack of the woods.
The laps consisted of fantastic woodland and forest trail. Fortunately there had been no recent rain and the route was bone dry. Given the amount of hills this was a blessing since rain would have turned a hard route into a nightmare swear fest. As it was the atmosphere was jovial with plenty of people to chat to and lift your spirits on the tougher parts of the route. The lapped route meant you were never far from someone to chat to should you be in need of a little company. As always with WSR events everyone is friendly and in good spirits which makes these events welcoming to all regardless whether you are there for 1 lap or 10, charging round chasing a PB or having a nice walk in the woods soaking up your surroundings.
Half way around the loop, music, partying, a glimpse of an orange tent in amongst the trees. You could hear it before you saw it, the now, most likely world famous, Love Station. A staple of the WSR events and a highlight for many a weary runner, an aid station like no other. Water, squash, cake, BOOZE, dancing, hugs, BOOZE, sing song, it’s all part of the Love Station treatment. The main problem though……you don’t want to leave. Luckily enough, this is a lapped event so if you are going for another circuit then it’s only 10km until you return back here for a repeat the craziness.
Love Station Baby!
The route was far from mountainous, it’s the Dorset countryside after all, but it was challenging nonetheless. Whether steep sharp climbs or long gentle uphill drags, they took their toll. For someone tackling 1 lap as their first 10km or someone attempting a challenging 50KM+ run this was no walk in the park. But hey, isn’t that part of the fun? Who wants a boring old flat route anyway 
Once you’d decided enough was enough, it was simply a case of cross the line, weigh yourself down with the massive medal and collect your goodie bag of beer and biscuits before sitting in the sun to cheer on the crazy folk going out again and again.
You’ve got to hand it to WSR, they put on awesome races! The Ox races were supported by nutrition specialist and local endurance sports store Xmiles (www.xmiles.co.uk) who were providing Mountain Fuel at the start of each lap. This was a nice touch allowing access to more specialist fuel if Love Station fayre was not on your race day nutrition plan. They were also offering click and collect service for pre-orders and collect on race day. Anthony the shop owner was blasted around 50km, no doubt going fast to ensure his mobile store wasn’t unmanned for too long. That’s dedication to customers, punishing his legs to be back in time to keep the rest of us fuelled.
I completed 50km before retiring and stuffing my face with food from one of the food trucks on site. Chilling in the sun and marvelling at the determination of others pushing themselves was a fab end to a great event.