The Great Brook Run is an annual mile-long cross country run which this year takes place on 28 December in Chadlington,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a fun run event and all proceeds go to local charity, th
Oxfordshire Association for the Blind
The course, which starts and finishes at th
Tite Inn
is wet and muddy as it traces a path along the Coldron Brook (a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

in the village) and passes through a 3-foot tunnel under a bridge.David Cameron runs in charity mud race

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(2009-12-28). Retrieved on 2009-12-28.

History

The event was devised by Adam Engberg and James Kelly, and it was first held in 2006. The event has a fictional history which involves

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

s who attempt to invade the village in the year 1066, but find themselves thwarted by the brook. The course begins at the local

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

– a 17th-century building calle
The Tite Inn
– and sets off for half a mile in the brook before looping back and finishing at the same point. Entrants, who donate £5 to take part, are encouraged to wear suitable clothing, although many fun-runners opt for fancy dress. People of all ages enter the competition and every competitor receives a medal, regardless of performance. Around seventy people competed in the first race in 2006 and this had increased to over 100 by the third edition. Davidcameron

The first edition of the Great Brook Run was featured on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

South Today ''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. The service is produced and bro ...

'', a regional news programme. The race received nationwide media attention following the second race owing to the participation of the Conservative Party Leader and future Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, who was then Member of Parliament for the village's

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

(

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

). He acted as the race starter in 2007, and has taken part in 4 races, including in 2014.Prime Minister David Cameron runs in charity mud race

. Retrieved on 2014-12-29. He finished 25th overall in 2008, beating a man dressed as

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

to the finish line. Sponsors for this year's event includ
Chadlington Brewery
an
Brittania

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteOfficial event page
on

facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

The Friends of Chadlington School websiteThe Tite Inn websiteChadlington Brewery website
Cross country running competitions Sport in Oxfordshire Athletics competitions in England Charity events in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 2006 Mile races Events in Oxfordshire 2006 establishments in England Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom Annual events in England Cross country running in the United Kingdom