Stay low. Head down, hips down, chest brushing the dirt. Move forward in a straight line. Keep your core braced, and your glutes pressed down; the moment you lift your backside, you snag the wire above. Breathe steadily and pick a sightline a metre ahead so you don’t gas yourself craning your neck up.

Build the engine with bear crawls, mountain climbers, and dead bugs to wire in that cross-body coordination. Add forearm planks, side planks, and hollow holds to develop the core and shoulder endurance you’ll need to stay flat under fatigue. Practising actual low crawls on grass or in a park beats any gym substitute; your forearms, hips, and the insides of your knees need to get used to taking the load.

Q: Why does my whole body burn so much after such a short distance?
A: Leopard crawling loads muscles you rarely use in isolation, shoulders, forearms, hip flexors, and deep core, all at once, while keeping you in a constant compressed position. There’s no rest phase like there is in running.

Q: What’s the biggest mistake people make?
A: Lifting their hips. The instinct is to get on all fours and scuttle, but that gets you caught on the wire and adds metres to your distance. Stay flat, even when it feels slower.

Q: How do I stop mud and grit getting in my face?
A: Keep your head slightly turned to one side rather than pointed forward, and exhale through your nose if you’re going through wet sections. Sunglasses or clear eyewear help on dusty courses.