Yes, you read that correctly. A marathon. On ice. Why? Because I'd never done a marathon before and would probably never do one again, so I might as well make it memorable: by doing it on frozen lake in Norway, as part of the World Ice Running Championships. Thus, the Oarsman! We drove from O...
Continue reading ...
I need to get fit. Much as I have loved the last 5 months of adventuring, it has not been good for my health. Too much beer, too many cakes and too long sitting on long-haul transportation has done terrible things to my body. I am fatter than ever before, my muscle has shriveled to the point of u...
Continue reading ...
On Sunday morning, with hangovers that would kill lesser men, the Guild of Adventures donned our running gear (I made mine by taking a knife to my trousers), wrapped socks around our shoes to keep them on...and strode out onto the Killing Fields of Tough Guy Nettle Warrior 2013... [caption id="at...
Continue reading ...
Once I am out of Mossburn, I stop to catch my breath and readjust my backpack, which already weighs a ton. My knees throb and the lunacy of attempting to run 22km in this condition has dawned on me. Still, at least I have made some good distance towards Five Rivers. Casually I check my watch for...
Continue reading ...
Today, I shall hitch hike back to Queenstown from Te Anau, after a week of walking in the mountains. Sarah and I have managed to get as far as Mossburn; I have jumped out at the turnoff for Queenstown and she has continued on to Dunedin, on her way back home to Candada. So here I stand, on Highway...
Continue reading ...
Somehow, friends, I did it. 13km of open sea kayaking, 22km of mountain biking and 12km of trail running in the midday Australian summer heat. It was horrendously hard...but not for the reasons I expected. I expected the kayaking to be the killer. I'd never tried it before and I was certain I'...
Continue reading ...
I have not finished...but I am finished. I am also lost. In the Australian bush. God damn it. I have nothing left. The kayaking stole my strength, the mountain biking crushed my spirit and now here I am, face down in the sand. I am not getting up. I don't even want to. This is the most e...
Continue reading ...
Today was my first off-road run of 2013 and my first since a traumatic body-building workout with Robser Le Monster. I decided to try a 10km route my dad showed me before I ran the Wycombe Half Marathon in 2011. So, to the sounds of Apocalyptic Love by Slash, I headed out into the chilly February e...
Continue reading ...
Today, I decided that running 6km at a time was going to get me nowhere fast. Or rather, it would get me exactly 6km...and rather slowly. Useless. The only thing within a 3km radius of my house is Tesco Express and, if I want to go there, I'll drive. For one thing, it is a petrol station and, fo...
Continue reading ...
According to the Native American calendar, the 22nd of March will see the end of the Wolf Month and the start of the Month of the Falcon. Oh, it will also be two year to the day since I started this blog... In honour of this tradition of naming months after kickass animals (as well as some disappo...
Continue reading ...
Today, I went for a run. It way my first run since the Super Spartan race in September...which was my first run since the Spartan Sprint in July, which was also my first run since Tough Guy this time last year. So, today saw my forth run in 12 months, bringing my total distance covered in a YEAR ...
Continue reading ...Whether it be scaling a rock face to find a vantage point, descending into an abyss whilst hunting for treasure, or escaping up a tree or whilst being pursued by a wild boar, climbing is an invaluable skill for the freelance adventurer. Luckily for me, there are plenty of climbing walls within an ...
Continue reading ...Having noticed my blog was getting a bit text-heavy, I decided to wait a while for the photos from the Super Spartan, before writing an update. However, is has now been nearly three weeks since we ran the course and not a single photo has surfaced. To be honest, this is entirely typical of the Sp...
Continue reading ...
Being Guildmaster of the Guild of Adventurers isn't easy. I mean, if I'm not adventuring, who the hell is?! I am obliged, by the Gods of chaos, exploration and revelry, to pursue adventure as regularly as possible. This is a vow I have taken, by the light of the moon. So it must be - not matter wh...
Continue reading ...As Champion of Murderbeers, my responsibilities are vast and never-ending. Quash a rebellion here, fend off the Ice Giants there; if it's not killing one thing, it's conquering another. So, when the Emperor looked out from Murder Mount and realised that England, Scotland and Wales ALL have tal...
Continue reading ...
As I write is, I am standing just outside the Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 Games...waiting to walk inside and run the 100m. How exactly I have ended up here is unclear. I do, however, know it involved dozens of generous people, all of whom I can't thank enough for everything they have donate...
Continue reading ...
Thanks to some incredibly generous donations, I have now raised enough money through the Gold Challenge that they are going to let me run do my 100m sprint event in the actual London 2012 Olympic Stadium, in front of 20,000 people! Do I know how to sprint properly? No. Will I learn how to sprint ...
Continue reading ...
So it turns out I'm still one of the Gold Challenge's highest fund-raisers so far. That's pretty cool! I haven't quite reached the heights of the guy raising money to save the rhinos, but I'ml making good progress. However, it also turns out that, if I raise £500 more (bringing my total to £150...
Continue reading ...
I did it. I am now, officially, a Tough Guy. This year was the Year of the Lion Heart...which is just about the only thing that got me to the end. It wasn't fitness and it certainly wasn't preparation - it was nothing but grim, visceral determination and a lifetime's worth of being-an-idiot rolled ...
Continue reading ...
I am very excited to announce I have received my various paperwork for Tough Guy next weekend. Well, 50% excited and 50% worried... I mean, check out how much they sent me... Each of those pages is double-sized and FULL of instructions. Start times, locations, safety instructions, kit list...
Continue reading ...