I never realised it but you could do a Cool Runnings scene of your own in Bath. Located at the University of Bath there is a partial replica of the bobsleigh track at Salt Lake City. To my surprise all sorts of people turned up for the event - from the young to the old, from the slight of size to the big and brawny. We thought we'd be the only ones going for it but in the end I think there about 20 of us.
There are two things that you need to know before you even consider going to the track - 1. You will get very hot because you will do a lot of sprinting (you'll do about eight runs) and 2. You will get very cosy with your fellow team members so either go as a group of four or be prepared to get up close and personal to a few strangers! My bro and I were very lucky to be grouped with a couple from Essex, Sandra and Aaron. They were really lovely and friendly and it was clear from the outset that we all worked very well as a team and the other teams actually had us pegged as the ones to beat!
As it is only a partial replica of the Salt Lake City track you don't actually do a full proper bobsleigh run with the activity mainly based around the push start. To be honest once you're in the sled you don't even realise where you are on the track - all the hard work is in the start. Surprisingly it is a lot easier to get into the sled than you would think though some of the other teams, in particular where the team was all big burly guys, had a bit of a struggle to get in. I think our combination worked quite well - so well that we won the time trials! and we were the only ones to break the 9 second barrier (twice) so I was pretty happy. read more