Super-fit men and women will attempt to complete a gruelling half marathon today by carrying a barrel of beer around Bewl Water.
Up to 10 teams will leave the Greyhound pub in Wadhurst at midday to try and conquer the 13.5-mile-long course weighed down by a 55kg keg of beer.
But the greatest challenge facing the competitors could be the weather, with torrential downpours forecast, which will make running round the slippery edge of the giant reservoir hazardous.
The fifth Bewl Barrel Race will be officially started by the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Cllr Leonard Price, at the pub in St James Square.
The teams, normally made up of four to 10 members, will come from the Royal Marines, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Tonbridge School, Eton School, as well as a few private teams.
The rules of the race state that a barrel of beer must be carried around Bewl Water, the biggest open stretch of water in the South East, without the use of motorised or wheeled transport.
It will follow a route from the pub in Wadhurst into Blacksmith Lane, on to Pell Farm, to the edge of the reservoir, turning left to the visitor centre , over the dam, down the side of Bewl to Rosemary Lane, where it will turn back on to a path to The Bull at Three Leg Cross, then back to Bewl Water and round to Pell Farm and back to the Greyhound pub.
Organiser Lee Henderson said: “It will be good fun, lots of like-minded idiotic people doing a half marathon around a reservoir carrying a 55kg barrel of beer.
“The weather forecast is for rain, rain, rain, which will make it very hard, we will be sliding about all over the place.
“We normally get good crowds out for the race. It can be difficult to watch the route at the side of reservoir, apart from at The Greyhound, the reservoir visitor centre, and The Bull.
“We find a lot turn out to see us off and then come back to see the finish.”
The barrel race was dreamt up by Mr Henderson and friend Neil Carver during a winter evening in the Greyhound pub.
IT director and part-time firefighter Mr Henderson, 44, from Wadhurst, said: “We decided to do something for charity and Neil told me about one of his friends carrying a barrel of beer from one pub to another which had run out, as he wanted to keep drinking there.
“We came up with the idea of carrying a full barrel around Bewl Water and the first race took place in November 2007, which the Royal Marines won in a time of three hours and 10 minutes.”
One of the winning team of Marines was Dominic Crisp, who died in a climbing accident in Portsmouth in 2008. Since then the race trophy has been named in his honour.
The race has been held twice a year, in May and November, since then, with Mr Henderson’s team Hendo’s Hags winning the second and third event, and the Autobots winning the race in May this year.
This was particularly important to Autobots member Tom How. As well as the winning team getting the Dom Crisp trophy, a barrel of beer, which contains 72 pints of ale, and the right to choose the charity for the next race.
Mr How chose The Pickering Cancer Drop-in Centre as his mother, who died last year, was a regular user and loved the place.
Mr Henderson said Tom was desperate to win the last race so the cancer centre would be benefit and this is fitting as another member of the first winning team of Marines, Will Scott, is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Teams pay £50 each to enter the full barrel half marathon. There is also an empty barrel race to Bewl Water visitor centre and back, which costs £25 per team.
Team members also collect sponsorship money and an Auction of Promises takes place in the Greyhound tonight to raise more money. The star promise is a trip up the inside of Big Ben in London.
For more details on the barrel race, which will become a yearly event taking place in May after this weekend, call Mr Henderson on 01892 785742 or visit the race website www.bewlbarrelrace.co.uk
POSTED: 14/11/2009 10:00:00
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