032 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK JUNE 2018
Time. Itâs our biggest constraint
our most valuable asset and so our
favourite excuse for not doing
something. We say we donât have
enough of it: too much is spent
commuting working feeding the
kids catching up with friends or on
our DIY. But there are 1440 minutes
in every day and you can achieve
a lot by running for just 60 of them
or even less. The late Sir Roger
Bannister managed to squeeze
something rather amazing into just
four. With that as inspiration your
own challenge could be broken down
into either âHow far can I run in four
minutes?â or as Bannister preferred
to see it âHow fast can I run a mile?â
Of course you may not have
the extra time needed to get to a
running track but the key to anyvery adventure
Iâve embarked on
seems to begin
with this simple
statement: âIâve
got an idea...â
These are words
my friends and
family are now
accustomed to â they usually result
in a few raised eyebrows a snort of
laughter and if circumstances allow
another drink as we discuss the
merits of my idea. Iâll admit that some
have been pretty out there but as
extreme adventurer Anna McNuff
once told me the genesis of every
great idea starts off as âbonkersâ and
goes through the reining-in process
until it becomes âjust about possibleâ.
Ever since I pinned on my first bib
number to represent the Royal
Military Academy Sandhurst in
cross-country some 15 years ago Iâve
been on a journey of self-discovery.
The army awoke in me this nagging
feeling that I was not tapping into my
true capabilities. Through my
training as I delved deeper into the
unknown I learned to read my
surroundings â the going of the land
access and escape routes moving at
night. Having retired my commission
the same drive led me to complete
some 250 races but then I started to
look for something beyond organised
events. Yes they offer support staff
marked routes medical backup
goody bags timing chips aid stations
and all those confidence-inspiring
things that mean you just have to turn
up and run. But that very buffer can
diminish the sense of adventure.
For one thing a great part of any
adventure is the planning â coming
up with that bonkers idea spreading
a map on the table chatting with
friends and working it all out. This is
the bit race directors get to do.
And of course organised races
happen in set places and on set days.
When I finished the Dragonâs Back
Race in 2015 which formed the final
chapter of my first book 50 Races to
Run Before You Die (Aurum) I was
blown away by what Iâd experienced
but gutted when I realised Iâd have to
wait another two years to repeat it.
Then it occurred to me: what if you
were your own race director creating
your own race that you can do any
time anywhere? Wouldnât that be
great? The race-it-yourself running
adventure concept was born.
But how do you go about creating
your own running adventure? Well
whether youâre planning a 60-minute
challenge or one that will take years
the first key ingredient is a map. The
next (optional) ingredient is a drop of
alcohol to fire the more adventurous
of your synapses. (Man v Horse was
born in a pub; even the genesis of the
super-serious Ironman came about
over a drunken wager.) And the third
ingredient is friends. A running
adventure shared is the best kind.
Next is time. The most accessible
running adventures are those you can
do in and around your working day:
racing the commute; a 60-minute
running adventure during your lunch
break; perhaps following underground
rivers or running your cityâs bridges.
But there are also more expansive
and creative things you can do with
longer stretches of time which is
why over the following pages I have
broken up the whys and wherefores of
various running adventures by time.
Now you have a decision to make: just
like in the film The Matrix you can
swallow the blue pill (by skipping the
next few pages) and youâll continue
just as you were. Or you can take the
red pill (by reading on) and youâll see
the world in a new light â one filled
with possibilities.