Having really enjoyed competing in Toughest events this year I couldn’t wait to take part in Oslo, especially as this race was taking place in my new home country of Norway. Toughest Oslo was set to be pretty epic for many reasons but the finishing straight was by far a highlight. The course would be the usual 8km of intense obstacle packed racing but the finishing arch is located on top of Holmekollen ski jump! This meant the last 200m of the race climbs something like 100m up the ski jump!

The toughest season had taken a break over the summer months so I was looking forward to see which athletes had improved. Toughest are also doing a great job of attracting new athletes from different sports so there would be many new competitors to shake up the results.

Heavy rain in the week prior to the event and rain throughout the race played havoc for the organisers but they did a great job of getting everything ready.

Toughest races are always intense and fast, a far cry from the ultra running I have been used too lately. With the majority of my races over the summer lasting well over 5hours I was by no means confident this would be an easy day.

As the race started I managed to rev my legs up and keep them churning over right the way too the bottom of the final climb up the ski slope. Thankfully I had amassed a minute lead by then and could therefore take the ramp at at a steady pace holding in mind what lay before me the following day.

Crossing the line in 46 minutes 54 seconds this was my fourth win in the Toughest Mini Tour giving me maximum points for the chasing start final in Gothenburg. I didn’t have much time to celebrate though as I was soon on my way to Slovakia and the Spartan European Championships to be held the next day, check back to see how I got on in what must have been one of the longest Spartan Beast races ever.