An extreme fix

In 2018 I fell out of love with running. Since I was a small child I remember running with my Dad and family dog, as soon as I could legally run my first half marathon at 17, I did and continued to run them every year after before eventually making the inevitable step up to marathons. However by 2019 I had lost the love of road running, I wasn’t training, I was pushing for times and I was getting injured. Although I didn’t admit it at the time I was also in a bad place mentally. I had very much become a typical middle class British male “stiff upper lip and emotion is for the weak”. Running had been my escape valve but with that now closed I found myself slipping into self-destruct mode – over partying and drinking being the obvious answers while continuing to throw myself into work to reduce any spare time to think about it all.

It feels weird writing the above, now over half way through 2019 I can confidently say I am in a stronger physical and mental place than I have ever been…although I am definitely not at the end of my journey. The answer for me came in the form of re-falling in love with running again, but this time on the trails - Ultra running.

After starting with the Lulworth Cove and round Isle of White Ultras I completed my first 100km Ultra at the Lakeland trails, which started at midnight….I managed to complete it and finish 4th place! The run totally exceeded my expectations, both the highs and lows I experienced at different times (at one point calling up my, already long suffering, girlfriend Anna in tears because I got lost!) along with the competitive finish. But reflecting back on the year, something I don’t do enough, I have logged 1,280km of running with 19,290m of elevation gain over 115 hours – I guess the old moto of the more I practice the better I get has some weight!

My next event starts on 26th August being the Fire & Ice Ultra in Iceland, the logistics getting there are bad enough – flying to Reykjavik on Friday 23rd, on Saturday we then fly up to Akureyri in the North of the Island to complete our registrations, kit checks etc., Sunday we get 4x4ed into the middle of the Island to our first camp ready to finally start running on Monday 26th! The race itself is 250km over 6 days carrying everything I need (other than a tent/ extra water) on our backs i.e. food, clothes, sleeping bag, first aid kit etc. It will be beautiful running through the wilderness of Iceland but equally tough!

As well as wanting to embark on this journey for my own self-improvement I also wanted to try and help support a couple of charities. I have picked GOSH and CALM. GOSH saved my life when I was 6 and in their intensive care ward for almost a week, they continue to do amazing work in pioneering medicine for children (just search for their work on separating conjoined twins for instance) and therefore a very easy cause to get behind. CALM was a new charity to me, but one I found when searching for charities supporting mental health, particularly in men (to my point made above). CALM are doing amazing work in trying to reduce male suicide, which is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK…a crazy statistic. See both their websites below if interested in further information and also my virgin giving site – if you would like to donate I would be very much appreciated and it will act to further motivate me. It’s worth saying at this point that all my entries and travel are fully self-funded (several thousand pounds!) so that all money raised will go directly to these good causes.