With weather forecasts of floods and gusty winds our Hayley, Andrew, Giles and Will did what all sensible folk do on a Sunday morning and headed outdoors to the Derbyshire countryside to take part in the 54th Dovedale Dash.

Each year the arduous Dash attracts scores of competitors of all ages to pound the leg-zapping terrain during the 4 ¾  mile course . Some people even bring their dogs to take part which in hindsight is a very crafty plan for those lung busting hillclimbs.  We heard there are no prizes for first dog round so we guessed that meant none for first bear either. grrr

Eager to get going we arrived a little early and had a warm-up consisting of pushing stuck cars in the muddy field then scooting back to the shelter of the car. Not a great omen of things to come and the mists looming over the peaks began to look a little menacing….

Just after 11am the race kicked off and off we all went dashing down the ravine and straight into the river crossing. There’s nothing like soggy shorts and squelching shoes to get you fired up at the start of a race.

After all the rain the going was so slippy it was hard to stay on your feet and Andrew managed a personal and team best of 6 glorious wipe-outs.

One disturbing thought knee deep in the boggy fields was is this cow poo or mud? either way caked in it we made it to the finish line panting and growling.

A big hand to Will our new go bear recruit who had no idea what he was letting himself in for and for that Will you’re definitely our BEAR of the day!

If you took part in the dash or any other outdoor event at the weekend send us your stories and pics. Join our family newsletter and follow the bear on twitter to keep up to date with what the team are up to and join in with the next Go Bear event.

If you know another quirky or fun event the BEAR team should try give us a growl.

The muddy crew from left to right: Giles, Will, hayley, Andrew