Who can resist the prospect of men in uniform? Well hopefully not my amazing training comrades in arms, namely Jade, Trish and Lucinda. I am close to getting the ultimate team signed up for Soldier Challenge here in central London on the 26th March and I am so, SO excited particularly as:
a) Orienteering extreme aficionado Christine (of Nike Gridding fame) has agreed to give us a lesson (over drinks) in the finer points of checkpoints and map reading with a compass (although the brains behind this operation - LL - is already thinking GPS on the iphone is the perfect tool for the job - LOVE IT!!)
b) Have I mentioned recently how fast Lucinda, Trish and Jade actually are - speed of light has nothing on them. Seriously. I was feeling rather pleased with the team coming together until I realised that - umm - that means I need to keep up with them - but umm that's not even slightly possible - particularly as my lungs are rubbish at the moment as I haven't attempted ANY running for about 4 weeks.
Whilst I am of course planning to get back into run training sharpish - my relief was IMMENSE when I discovered that for Soldier Challenge you CAN take public transport between checkpoints and/or run so long as you keep to the 4 hour time limit - HOW AWESOME IS THAT?? Everyone sign up immediately for this challenge - there's literally NO excuse (well sign up after my teamsters have snagged their places ;-))
c) We will (hopefully) have an experienced Adventurer on the team - I would show you evidence of the torture Trish inflicted on her poor foot and survived to tell the tale during her recent 12 mile Adventure Race, appropriately named - HELL RUN, but really it was quite, quite ghastly - I'm still having nightmares!! At the mo, Trish (fully recovered) is attempting to reschedule her diary commitments to see if she can make it on the 26th March. My fingers and toes are all crossed that she will make it - Trish - I'll even buy you a proper pair of waterproof socks to replace the ones that nearly permanently damaged your footsies or more importantly DRINKS post challenge as a bribe! ;-))
d) Could the list of tasks to be completed during the challenge BE more awesome? - Excerpt:
"The details of the activities will be released on the day but expect a real mix of physical, mental and entertaining activities all with a military twist. You could be faced with all sorts of madness from singing to rope swinging, tackling an assault course or tucking in to some rations, cracking a code or a drill sergeant cracking the training whip, it could literally be anything! Some activities may involve getting wet so come prepared if you are going to bag them. An indication of what to expect from the activity locations will be provided before you start so you can pick and chose what you wish to do.
Kayaking: There will be some very straightforward kayaking within the event ... Don’t worry if you aren’t the best paddlers but if you can do some kayaking before the event it would help to hone your skills...or just go in a straight line! Bring a spare set of clothes in case you take a dip.
Ropes-based Activities: One of the most unique features of this event will be to not only gain exclusive access to many iconic venues but in some cases to clamber over them with ropes! For each ropes activity there will be ropes for the experienced, as well as ropes for the not so experienced, no one misses out! However previous experience is essential so get yourself to your local climbing wall or book on to one of our refresher sessions at the event weekend."
Wait previous rope experience essential - what the .... ! More importantly why isn't whip cracking experience essential?! Oh well hopefully my naval cadet knot tying attempts from age 16-18 counts - alternatively there is a rope refresher session the evening before the challenge - so I'm guessing a certain someone will be in attendance!!
BUT MOST of ALL, I LOVE THAT I'M WILLING TO GIVE THIS CHALLENGE A BASH, despite it being less than two weeks off and despite not being even close to my best physical condition (I'm assuming I have a peak fitness?!) - I 100% KNOW that the Jade, LL, and Trish (fingers crossed) will ensure that I 'soldier on', LOSING is NOT AN OPTION - these girls are uber competitive!! BUT I know that friendly competition aside, there will be PLENTY of banter and I am guaranteed to still be laughing at the end no matter what.
There is one thing that would make it even more AWESOME and that is if you all SIGN up too - ChallengeHannah, AJ, Half-Marathon Champs Kaye and Gemma and all my lovely London based blog readers - this means YOU!! xx
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