THERE are races which you run to achieve a personal best time, and there are others which you compete in possibly because for the few you have a chance of winning something, but for the majority an opportunity to improve on a position from the previous years. Of course there are races which runners line up for through the sheer beauty and spectacle of the location, and then finally, there are events for which the run is a personal challenge.

The Terminator, by its very name, is not a race for the faint-hearted. Sure, some events conjure up a terrifying name and the race is nothing more than a gentle jog up a few hills. But the Terminator, based in Pewsey in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, is as fearsome as the name suggests.

This is an 11.6-mile race along some testing terrain, along footpaths and tracks, and lung-busting climbs up hills where you are reduced to getting on your hands and knees to reach the top.

Heavy rain the night before had reduced many of the tracks to nothing more than a quagmire. Even the most advanced multi-terrain shoe could not prevent the occasional triple salchow or double lutz as you picked your way through the glutonous mud.

After leaving the local school, the route follows the muddy towpath which lines the Kennet & Avon Canal. It took considerable effort to keep your footing to avoid an embarrassing slip into the cold waters of the Kennet & Avon canal.

Runners the set off on a gentle run across farmland and then a testing which took in the muddy Gully. It was here that I landed on my backside, slipping and sliding in the mud, and then I tumbled right over.

Onwards and downwards to The Coomb, Dodge Sh**ty, Terminator Hill and The Sting in the Tail, which was a murderous climb up a searing hill which lay beside the familiar Vale of the White Horse.

A run in towards the village of Pewsey followed, but not before the infamous Shoe Wash which consisted of jumping into the waist-high freezing waters of the River Avon, three steps and out.

I ached as we headed towards the finish. My back hurt through the monster climbs, my knees ached, and my feet were laden with mud. But what a fabulous race, and to finish was a wonderfully rewarding experience.

My time was nothing special - 1hr 52min, which is a snail-like 10 minute mile pace, but I was so pleased to have come and conquered The Terminator.

Thanks to Ian and Rob from Southampton Running Club who were such great company round the course and to the marshalls - if ever there was a prize to the friendliest and cheeriest marshalls at a race in the UK, then the volunteers at Pewsey Running Club would win hands down. They were stuck in bleak, windswept hills, yet their encouragement resounded unabated and proved a great source of inspiration.