Yesterday Sam did her second Wolf Run of the year.
A Wolf Run is a 10k cross-country obstacle course.
To be clear, it’s not a race (there are no ‘places’), and it’s not really a competition (there are no timed sections, and nothing is against the clock).
The entrants are just competing against the course.
Which, to be fair, is no mean feat.
There are four Wolf Runs a year (one for each season), and entrants who complete all four in a year are entitled to call themselves ‘Alpha Wolfrunners’.
Wolfrunning is a popular pursuit.
In this weekend’s run there were >8,000 entrants (the run was spread over both days).
It’s a big weekend and, by and large, well organised.
There are food stalls, entertainments, amusements for non-entrant members of the family, evening activities and camping available.
There is a doctor and first-aid/medics on site, there are ambulances on the course, and there are swim-qualified helpers in the various water hazards.
I am immensely proud that Sam has completed two Wolf Runs this year.
I’m also very proud that Sam did a mini-Wolf Run today, one day after she did a full run, as she accompanied her daughters on their first 3k Junior Wolf Run.
These are stunning achievements.
But because I’ve got an enquiring mind, I thought I’d run some numbers (and some of these numbers are best/worst-guess) on this weekend’s Wolf Run event.
There are some estimates in here, and I’ve also left some number out (most noticeably Merch, which is probably hugely profitable), but there are also some hard numbers which would stand up to scrutiny.
| Expenditure | Income | Balance | |||
| Land | £10,000 | Entries | £400,000 | Profit | £241,400 |
| Security | £10,000 | Merch | |||
| Toilets | £10,000 | Pitches | |||
| Marquee x3 | £5,000 | Parking | £25,000 | ||
| Generators | £1,500 | Bar | |||
| PA/sounds | £1,500 | ||||
| Course design/build | £14,400 | ||||
| Course breakdown | £14,400 | ||||
| Staff/event crew | £16,000 | ||||
| Tool/machine hire | £800 | ||||
| Legal | £10,000 | ||||
| Admin | £10,000 | ||||
| Competitor goodies | £80,000 | ||||
| Set up time | 8d | ||||
| Break down time | 8d | ||||
| Total: | £183,600 | Total: | £425,000 |
Multiply these number by four and you get an approximate average annual income from the four Wolf Runs.
Well done to Sam… and to the girls.
Never been much cop at running, myself. Even when I could run, I never enjoyed it. And nowadays I get out of breath just running to the loo.
Unfortunately I can’t run; bust up my left knee properly a bunch of years ago. So I am just a keen observer. I do think their achievements are brilliant. But bonkers. Obv.