Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 14

Continued > Photo: Rat Race Adventure Sports/Leo Francis. 33 To set the scene, Race to the Wreck is a 300km bike ride and run across one of the most sacred parts of the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia. Less than 70 people have ever crossed the 200km of peaceful, emphatic rocky farmland using fatbikes over 2 days, before running 100km across 20 of the highest sand dunes on earth, in 2.5 days, all in temperatures up to 41 degrees. Dramatic solitude never looked so incredible. Focusing on one event for 15 months (with the London Ultra Duathlon as a warm up event) was one part of the mental challenge, another was working to raise £12,500 for Children with Cancer UK, who my friend and I were ‘racing’ for in support of dear friends who’d lost their daughter to leukaemia. Oh, and there was also supporting said friend who’d never ran any race in his life. If there’s such a thing as a deep-end in sport, I think this might go beyond it! IN SHORT, HERE’S HOW EACH DAY WENT: Day 1 – 92km bike ride over sand plains and gravel roads, through rocky mountain gully’s and huge white quartz fields. Frozen-on brakes for the first 55km to get to the onsite bike mechanic isn’t always the best way to start an event! Day 2 – 108km on the bike, or 20km in my case as a spasming lumbar spine (which had first appeared 10 days before the event – my only injury all year) led me to make the choice to throw the bike in the support vehicle, and boost a lift to be a supporter at the pit stops. Day 3 – 38km on foot in the first day through the big dunes. Training (and the rest day before) really paid off, keeping the heart rate low, the power-hiking cadence high, and the distance as low as possible through rolling dune fields. Day 4 – 42km over the biggest dunes on Earth. 250m high, with 2km between each dune - the most epic scenery to have a panic attack in. After starting slow and miserably, having a word with oneself, pushing really hard, bonking, fearing heights and isolation, I was rescued by fellow racers who got me to the next pit stop, and a free ride to camp over the last 10km. Day 5 – 21km to the wreck of the Eduard Bohlen. With hip pain off the charts, choosing to complete the final 10km was the sensible thing to do, and crossing the line with my friend, new friends and crew was a special feeling. Appreciating this is a slightly abridged version of events, it can be easy to skim over the real lessons an adventure like this can teach you if you don’t spend some quality, relaxed thinking time to make sense of all that occurred, and it’s meaning and learning. A simple framework you can use is to answer 3 questions on the experience: n What was a win for me? n What did I learn? n What would I change?