We endured Endure 24, Reading, 2026 - Again!

“This year, Endure24 looked a little different for me. There was considerably less running involved, which meant there was a bit more spring in my step and significantly less suffering in my legs. I’d registered the Profeet team, so apart from a single 8km run-walk at midnight, my main job was pretty much done.”

Endure24 2026 Race Report by ‘Profeet Pro’, Paul

It’s taken me 50 years to know my limits.

Arriving at Wasing Park on Friday to set up the Profeet stand felt remarkably familiar. The weather was perfect. The campsite was filling up with teams, solo runners and support crews. As more people arrived, the music got louder and the atmosphere built. It had that festival feeling again: part endurance event, part family gathering, part excuse to spend 24 hours making questionable decisions.

The beer tent was busy, drinks were flowing a little too easily for some teams, who would undoubtedly regret that in the morning. The Endure party had started and, in fact, it didn’t really stop until around 11:30 pm. We know that because I was trying to get some sleep.

Time to get some zzzz’s

Trying to look forward to the day ahead, I eventually drifted off around 1am. Then, at 3 am, I was abruptly woken by what can only be described as monsoon conditions.

Not rain. Not a shower. Not even “a bit wet”. A full-scale assault from the skies.

The PTSD from last year immediately started creeping back into my head. It was the sort of rain that makes you question whether you’d pitched your tent in Berkshire or accidentally booked a weekend in the Amazon rainforest.

And it just kept coming. Hour after hour.

And then there was the wind, with the Endure team advising everyone to make sure their tents were properly secured.

Next morning…

By breakfast, the good-to-firm underfoot conditions had started to get boggy. By lunchtime, the course was turning into a mud bath. By the afternoon, runners looked less like athletes and more like drenched muddy extras from a zombie film, marching onward no matter what.

The rain and wind continued relentlessly until around 7:30 pm on Saturday, leaving thousands of runners, supporters, marshals and exhibitors wondering what exactly we’d done to upset the weather gods this year.

Frazer and I were manning the Profeet stand throughout the weekend. Well, I say Frazer and I.
In reality, Frazer spent most of his time actually manning the stand, while I spent much of mine getting distracted by shiny objects, interesting conversations and whatever else was happening around the event village.

One of the advantages of not running much this year was that we got to interact with far more entrants than usual. It quickly became apparent that a surprising number of runners were completely unprepared for the conditions.

Not just underprepared. Completely oblivious.

Many seemed genuinely shocked to discover that running for 24 hours through mud, rain and standing water might present a few challenges for their feet. In some cases, it appeared their friends had signed them up without fully explaining what Endure24 actually involved.

Sanctuary

Fortunately, the Profeet stand became something of a refuge for these unfortunates throughout the weekend. We spent much of our time helping runners with blister advice, taping jobs, chafing issues and the occasional footwear emergency.

Recovery became a popular topic too, with plenty of interest in OOFOS recovery footwear. We also found ourselves discussing everything from Gabel walking poles to trail shoes and, at one point, even sold a pair of our display shoes to an underprepared runner in desperate need.

While many competitors were battling footwear issues, the Profeet team had no such problems. This wasn’t our first rodeo.

Planning pays off

After last year’s soaking, we’d learned our lesson and arrived with enough footwear options to cope with whatever the weather could throw at us. Road shoes, trail shoes, spare shoes and recovery shoes. We had a solution for every condition.

Once again, Team Profeet did us proud. We put in a proper shift, completing 25 laps of the 8km course, a total of 200km (124 miles), with an average lap time of 58 minutes. Considering the weather had transformed large parts of the course into a mud-wrestling arena, that was an impressive performance.

My own contribution was a single lap at midnight.
Just the one.

The rest of the team spent the weekend running multiple laps, battling the elements and pushing themselves to their limits. I, meanwhile, carefully timed my appearance to maximise the ratio of glory to effort.

Technically, my lap probably dragged the team’s average pace down a touch. On the other hand, it did give everyone else someone to overtake, and something to laugh about when I managed to trip over my poles on a particularly flat and otherwise uncomplicated section of the course.

I’d like to think my appearance on the course lifted morale for all entrants. If nothing else, it reminded everyone that no matter how tired they were feeling, at least they were moving faster than me.

Hopefully, we’ll be back again next year and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get a sunnier day to endure. And if you’re thinking about taking on the challenge, Profeet will be here all year to help you prepare for Endure24 2027.

Just don’t forget to pack a few extra pairs of shoes!