Trafalgar Halls is a cruel mistress, of the men that have attempted to run the stairs 50 times, only three other men have successfully completed it. To add to the constant pain of having to haul your body vertically up 17 stories of incline the competitor must then complete 20 press ups at her summit. I have seen men break under the relentless onslaught of suffering which the stairs bring to the competitor. Running her 50 times burns over 7000 calories and renders people immobile for weeks.
To add to the physical burden the competitor must overcome high levels of mental stress. Her walls only contain numbers and stairs. The same numbers, the same stairs, no sunlight, only artificial of which some flicker like an abandoned hospital ward. The stair climber must reside in this hellish environment for as long as it takes him to complete the task.
I completed this challenge three times during this year and so asked for more. So I doubled the numbers, Trafalgar Halls x100. People were shocked, some appalled. x50 was enough to whittle the common man into a shivering wreck. But I forged on and climbed for nearly 10 whole hours. I saw many demons, at one point floor 9 began to morph into a stage of a horrific Lady Gaga Musical, Poker Face would not leave my mind, and I was the center piece of her diabolic horror show.
But Trafalgar Halls shaped me. To this day there is not a greater physical challenge. It is the ultimate expression of exercise. No balls, no rules, just you, some stairs and a 1000 press ups. You cannot hide behind excuses, you are the combined sum of your bodies will to continue and your minds strength in adversity.
And now in March I will attempt Trafalgar Halls x200. This will truly test every fabric in my soul. I can confirm that this is the grand conclusion to the Trafalgar Halls Challenge. Her last throw of the dice. What stands between me and the submission of her stairs is 400 ascents,descents and 4000 press ups. Only one thing is guaranteed with Trafalgar Halls. And that is long hours of relentless pain and suffering.
On a side not I would really appreciate it if people could become a fan of my Facebook page.
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Monday 26 December 2011
Trafalgar Halls x200
Trafalgar Halls x200
Height Of Trafalgar Halls: 50 Meters
Total Height To Climb= 10,000 Meters
World Tallest Building:
Burj Khalifa 2,700 Meters.
World Tallest Mountain:
Mt Everest, 8,200 Meters.
Height Of Trafalgar Halls: 50 Meters
Total Height To Climb= 10,000 Meters
World Tallest Building:
Burj Khalifa 2,700 Meters.
World Tallest Mountain:
Mt Everest, 8,200 Meters.
Saturday 24 December 2011
2012 Challenges.
During 2012 I will be upping the stakes in my Endurance events, I will be seeking to set new World Records and gain new skills which will eventually help me tackle the Triple Enduroman .
My first event will be Trafalgar Halls x200 this will take place on the 24th of March. This will follow the standard formula for the Trafalgar Halls Challenges which I completed last year. The Challenge consists of running up and down a 65 Meter building 400 times, ( one succesfull climb is one full ascent and descent) and at the bottom of each descent completing 20 military style press ups. I will attempt to do these in under 24 hours.
On May the 24th I will attempt a 240 mile indoor cycle rid, to help me train in attempting a world record attempt of cycling from London to Lockerbie (Scotland) in under 24 hours (a total distance of over 370 Miles) which I aim to complete in late June time.
In the summer of 2013 I will be embarking on my second expedition. I will run a 108 mile ultra Marathon from (Southport) Liverpool to Hull. Then I will row from Hull to the Hague in Holland ( a distance of 250 Miles) followed by a 1500 Mile Cycle ride to Istanbul Turkey in under 30 days.
Many people do not grasp the reasons behind why I choose to do these things. I am often called "insane" for wanting to put myself through such pain for no obvious reward. I will never be able to explain my reasoning to those that raise such questions for they are the same people who stand stuck on the sidelines, raised in the stands, observing men and women who say "enough with the questions" and perform to the curious masses.
My actions are not unique. Dig below the service, and you will find men and women who reside at the forefront of Human advancement. Men and women who are not afraid to put everything on the line just to see what they are made of. Be they Racing drivers, Fighters or Ultra Endurance Athletes. I am also working with Water Aid in helping people across the world less fortunate then I am have the basic Human tools to develop into balanced and healthy people.
I am doing my bit, I wont raise nearly as much money as some people say I deserve to simply because I am not one to endlessly talk of my past actions or flaunt my services to the world.
Merry Xmas.
My first event will be Trafalgar Halls x200 this will take place on the 24th of March. This will follow the standard formula for the Trafalgar Halls Challenges which I completed last year. The Challenge consists of running up and down a 65 Meter building 400 times, ( one succesfull climb is one full ascent and descent) and at the bottom of each descent completing 20 military style press ups. I will attempt to do these in under 24 hours.
On May the 24th I will attempt a 240 mile indoor cycle rid, to help me train in attempting a world record attempt of cycling from London to Lockerbie (Scotland) in under 24 hours (a total distance of over 370 Miles) which I aim to complete in late June time.
In the summer of 2013 I will be embarking on my second expedition. I will run a 108 mile ultra Marathon from (Southport) Liverpool to Hull. Then I will row from Hull to the Hague in Holland ( a distance of 250 Miles) followed by a 1500 Mile Cycle ride to Istanbul Turkey in under 30 days.
Many people do not grasp the reasons behind why I choose to do these things. I am often called "insane" for wanting to put myself through such pain for no obvious reward. I will never be able to explain my reasoning to those that raise such questions for they are the same people who stand stuck on the sidelines, raised in the stands, observing men and women who say "enough with the questions" and perform to the curious masses.
My actions are not unique. Dig below the service, and you will find men and women who reside at the forefront of Human advancement. Men and women who are not afraid to put everything on the line just to see what they are made of. Be they Racing drivers, Fighters or Ultra Endurance Athletes. I am also working with Water Aid in helping people across the world less fortunate then I am have the basic Human tools to develop into balanced and healthy people.
I am doing my bit, I wont raise nearly as much money as some people say I deserve to simply because I am not one to endlessly talk of my past actions or flaunt my services to the world.
Merry Xmas.
Friday 27 May 2011
The Sands Of Time
"I don't really mind not drinking anymore or spending most of my time in bed, for me as long as I have a few true Friends around me (which I luckily have down there!) time will fly by and it will be D-Day" -Dec 2010
I remember sitting in front of my laptop on a cold December evening writing my very first entry into this blog as if it was yesterday. And I can still recall the worried and excited thoughts swimming around in my brain as it attempted to construct a blueprint of my impending training regime which would make me physically fit enough to run to Rome.
The speed (or more accurately) my perception of time is drastically increasing as I venture further into my twenties. What seemed an age to me five years ago is now merely a moment as the relentless current of time pushes me towards old age and eventually,death. Time has no friends or foes and no matter how many times people try, it will never become humanities servant. Although we may eventually dramatically slow and perhaps even prevent the aging process, our feeble minds would implode with the knowledge and pain of eternal life.
To this day I still have a vivid memory of sitting in a Secondary school History class and celebrating London winning the 2012 Olympics. That night I attempted to to imagine what the 22 year old version of me would be doing whilst the games were being played. I am only a year away from what seemed like a unfathomable amount of time to me 7 years ago.
Facing up to our own mortality is something many of us rarely do.Which is understandable. From an early age we have been conditioned to "hush hush" the topic and distract ourselves with nonsense. Death it seems, has become taboo. Our only connection with our own mortality comes when relatives pass away or new ones enter the world. With new scientific and technological discoveries being implemented at an alarming rate,our meetings with death are becoming more and more infrequent.
Many ancient cultures with their dramatically decreased life expectancies, living standards and constant conflict viewed death as a natural consequence of life. Every day men would return home with dead animals slumped over their shoulders or siblings would perish to famine at an early age. Religion relieved many fears by attempting to explain the reasoning behind the chaos of existence but the enlightenment gave rise to a modern society so obsessed with attempting to avoid death that we paradoxically have now began to avoid living!
I remember when this Photo was taken, I was in my second year of College and had a rough plan to go travelling, I wanted to join the Royal Marines as an Officer but first needed to pass the January Exams. In the two years subsequent to this being taken I have done things I could never have predicted but I still remember this whole dam night like it was yesterday!
I'm sure many of you have done the " if you only had ...... to live what would you do". I love asking people I have just met or do not no very well as this often reveals their inner child to me. The one that was lost sometime during the ages of 14 when the claws of society gripped, and then shredded every single dream they every had in front of their very eyes. I watch as peoples eyes light up as their whole lives ambition's spill from the tongue.
Once most people finish with their intinery for their grand finale I say to them.
"So go ahead and do them!"
It is strange that we somehow plan our wildest dreams and fantasies to the back burner as we trundle through the theatre of life. They are ignored until suddenly we are shoved a stopwatch down our throats by a doctor with 3 months until your Funeral. The reality is that for many of us our last day on earth will be spent in a Hospital bed unable to move with tubes escaping every orifice in our bodies. The last thing we would be able to do was go Sky Diving or propose to your Girlfriend. The time for action is now.
If you have simple Dreams then all they require is simple action. However if you have complex and grand dreams then they require months if not years of dedication to accomplish. Our culture is obsessed about finding short cuts to solve solutions. However in the cold hard world of reality only one thing yields results and that's hard work and achieving your dreams are about as hard of work as it gets! There will be times when you feel immense anger and loneliness, times where you will be hurt from betrayals and failures even times where you feel like giving up. But these very emotions, during the times where you feel at your lowest point combined with your ability to dust yourself off wipe the tears away and continue towards your goal regardless provides the magic formula to achieving your life ambitions.
I have found that in the pursuit of a dream people tend to find their true purpose. The more people that laugh, ridicule and rubbish it gives it more validation to become a dream worth accomplishing!
The sands of time make no mistake in erasing our minuscule fleeting visit to Sit Com: Planet Earth. So its best to start making as many footprints as possible, so future generations of people can follow in your wake.
Peace and love boys and girls.
I remember sitting in front of my laptop on a cold December evening writing my very first entry into this blog as if it was yesterday. And I can still recall the worried and excited thoughts swimming around in my brain as it attempted to construct a blueprint of my impending training regime which would make me physically fit enough to run to Rome.
The speed (or more accurately) my perception of time is drastically increasing as I venture further into my twenties. What seemed an age to me five years ago is now merely a moment as the relentless current of time pushes me towards old age and eventually,death. Time has no friends or foes and no matter how many times people try, it will never become humanities servant. Although we may eventually dramatically slow and perhaps even prevent the aging process, our feeble minds would implode with the knowledge and pain of eternal life.
To this day I still have a vivid memory of sitting in a Secondary school History class and celebrating London winning the 2012 Olympics. That night I attempted to to imagine what the 22 year old version of me would be doing whilst the games were being played. I am only a year away from what seemed like a unfathomable amount of time to me 7 years ago.
Facing up to our own mortality is something many of us rarely do.Which is understandable. From an early age we have been conditioned to "hush hush" the topic and distract ourselves with nonsense. Death it seems, has become taboo. Our only connection with our own mortality comes when relatives pass away or new ones enter the world. With new scientific and technological discoveries being implemented at an alarming rate,our meetings with death are becoming more and more infrequent.
Many ancient cultures with their dramatically decreased life expectancies, living standards and constant conflict viewed death as a natural consequence of life. Every day men would return home with dead animals slumped over their shoulders or siblings would perish to famine at an early age. Religion relieved many fears by attempting to explain the reasoning behind the chaos of existence but the enlightenment gave rise to a modern society so obsessed with attempting to avoid death that we paradoxically have now began to avoid living!
Me Messing Around at a House Party (2009)
I remember when this Photo was taken, I was in my second year of College and had a rough plan to go travelling, I wanted to join the Royal Marines as an Officer but first needed to pass the January Exams. In the two years subsequent to this being taken I have done things I could never have predicted but I still remember this whole dam night like it was yesterday!
I'm sure many of you have done the " if you only had ...... to live what would you do". I love asking people I have just met or do not no very well as this often reveals their inner child to me. The one that was lost sometime during the ages of 14 when the claws of society gripped, and then shredded every single dream they every had in front of their very eyes. I watch as peoples eyes light up as their whole lives ambition's spill from the tongue.
If nothing else, watch this video of a truly wonderfull man and his approach to life.
Once most people finish with their intinery for their grand finale I say to them.
"So go ahead and do them!"
It is strange that we somehow plan our wildest dreams and fantasies to the back burner as we trundle through the theatre of life. They are ignored until suddenly we are shoved a stopwatch down our throats by a doctor with 3 months until your Funeral. The reality is that for many of us our last day on earth will be spent in a Hospital bed unable to move with tubes escaping every orifice in our bodies. The last thing we would be able to do was go Sky Diving or propose to your Girlfriend. The time for action is now.
If you have simple Dreams then all they require is simple action. However if you have complex and grand dreams then they require months if not years of dedication to accomplish. Our culture is obsessed about finding short cuts to solve solutions. However in the cold hard world of reality only one thing yields results and that's hard work and achieving your dreams are about as hard of work as it gets! There will be times when you feel immense anger and loneliness, times where you will be hurt from betrayals and failures even times where you feel like giving up. But these very emotions, during the times where you feel at your lowest point combined with your ability to dust yourself off wipe the tears away and continue towards your goal regardless provides the magic formula to achieving your life ambitions.
I have found that in the pursuit of a dream people tend to find their true purpose. The more people that laugh, ridicule and rubbish it gives it more validation to become a dream worth accomplishing!
The sands of time make no mistake in erasing our minuscule fleeting visit to Sit Com: Planet Earth. So its best to start making as many footprints as possible, so future generations of people can follow in your wake.
Peace and love boys and girls.
Wednesday 27 April 2011
Running Makes The World Go Round
On a warm 22 degrees day I am mile 8 into my first of two 12 mile runs laden with weight. I am sweating and the skin on my back has worn away to such a degree that the platlets in my blood have given up forming over the area of friction. Every time I hit the ground my backpack lifts and when I lift off it sags. The result of these conflciting motions have inspired me to run in a hunched form not which give a certain resident of Notredame a run for his money.
In these days of relentless training I could do two things. A): Give up and cry myself to sleep. Or B): Laugh at the whole situation. I always try my best to choose the second option. Because, lets face it is is funny. I mean Im running this same route with a huge backpack on, my 10th pair of Ipod headphones cast off over my shoulder because they no longer work. And I have a towel wrapped over my left shoulder to prevent the chafting of my cut back. All of this training is for the most extreme marathon ever attemped and its going to be ran my me... and one of my best friends who at the same time last year were both living homeless in Sydney selling Psychadellic Electronica CD'S recorded by us in a drunken/green haze during our College years. I take everything with a pinch of salt. Whenever I start to take myself to seriously I take a long hard look in the mirror and initiate myself into a 7 minute Mayan Ritual Mating Dance which I picked up in Lebongan Island from a shamen.
I am not a super Athlete or even a great runner. Nor is Max but we both have one thing in common which many much fitter people lack in the case of these events. And thats motivation.The motivation to prove the legions of people and companies who wrote us off in January stating such things as (and I quote). "You cannot run 20 miles a day, it is impossible". Well guess who is now? and "You will never be able to get to Rome in under 60 days" ( we have yet to try but you can be sure we will give it our dam best shot!). I have trained so hard for this event and so has Max and not one person can tell me what I can or cannot do. Since day one I have said and said with confidence that I am running to Rome in June. And I will complete the run in under 60 days. My word is my bond and this bond supplies me with the fuel to continue no matter how bad things get. No matter how low I feel. And no matter who tells me to give up.
For my training im wearing Compression Vests I used these when I was fighting and they really help me keep cool. Something I will need to be on this run.
On Saturday me and Max will be running our longest Ultra to date. A 74 Mile run from Redhill to Brighton and back. The route will be using maps and we will be navigating across the hills of south east England. Of course this event will be filmed and im sure it will provide you people with 5 minutes of laughs, shocks and entertainment. Then after that we will both be taking our training down a few notches, preparing ourselves for our exams and organising the logistical aspects of the run.
Our fates cannot be predicted but they can be manipulated. The man who basks in the glow of success simply turned to face the sun.
Have a good one people.
In these days of relentless training I could do two things. A): Give up and cry myself to sleep. Or B): Laugh at the whole situation. I always try my best to choose the second option. Because, lets face it is is funny. I mean Im running this same route with a huge backpack on, my 10th pair of Ipod headphones cast off over my shoulder because they no longer work. And I have a towel wrapped over my left shoulder to prevent the chafting of my cut back. All of this training is for the most extreme marathon ever attemped and its going to be ran my me... and one of my best friends who at the same time last year were both living homeless in Sydney selling Psychadellic Electronica CD'S recorded by us in a drunken/green haze during our College years. I take everything with a pinch of salt. Whenever I start to take myself to seriously I take a long hard look in the mirror and initiate myself into a 7 minute Mayan Ritual Mating Dance which I picked up in Lebongan Island from a shamen.
I am not a super Athlete or even a great runner. Nor is Max but we both have one thing in common which many much fitter people lack in the case of these events. And thats motivation.The motivation to prove the legions of people and companies who wrote us off in January stating such things as (and I quote). "You cannot run 20 miles a day, it is impossible". Well guess who is now? and "You will never be able to get to Rome in under 60 days" ( we have yet to try but you can be sure we will give it our dam best shot!). I have trained so hard for this event and so has Max and not one person can tell me what I can or cannot do. Since day one I have said and said with confidence that I am running to Rome in June. And I will complete the run in under 60 days. My word is my bond and this bond supplies me with the fuel to continue no matter how bad things get. No matter how low I feel. And no matter who tells me to give up.
For my training im wearing Compression Vests I used these when I was fighting and they really help me keep cool. Something I will need to be on this run.
On Saturday me and Max will be running our longest Ultra to date. A 74 Mile run from Redhill to Brighton and back. The route will be using maps and we will be navigating across the hills of south east England. Of course this event will be filmed and im sure it will provide you people with 5 minutes of laughs, shocks and entertainment. Then after that we will both be taking our training down a few notches, preparing ourselves for our exams and organising the logistical aspects of the run.
Our fates cannot be predicted but they can be manipulated. The man who basks in the glow of success simply turned to face the sun.
Have a good one people.
Saturday 23 April 2011
Thursday 21 April 2011
112 Days
Thats right 112 days ago I set off on my first run. Fast forward to today and nothing has changed apart from the miles and intensity of each session. Over the last week I have been out to see my family in Italy. Whilst there I could not resist the chance to go out and explore the Island of Sardinia!
I have been ranting on about "Operation Spartan" for some time now without really explaining what an average week will be for me in terms of my training. I dont just wake up and run.Its much more complicated then that.
A 12 mile run to most people seems very simple. You simply put your shoes on and move your feet forward until your pedometer bleeps. However most people do not train as much as I do, and most people do not run 12 miles twice a day carrying 30 pounds of weight on them!
During my training I have incorporated many forms of exercises to improve my performance during my runs. For example I dedicate two hours per week working on my upper body muscles. Why? So my body can cope with the extra 30 pounds of weight on my back. I am also an avid circuit trainer. Circuit training is a form of conditioning combining resistance training and high-intensity aerobics. These twice weekly sessions are designed to improve my aerobic and anerobic thresholds. These elements are usefull for the run to help decrease my overall 12 mile time and develop the explosivness needed to tackle periods of incline (such as a 100 mile, 3000 meter ascent over the Alps!). I also Stair climb which is a mixture of both Anerobic and Aerobic excercise which helps bridge the gap between the two.
It is a fact that there is a positive correlation between performance and diet. Therfore I have put hours of research into having a diet which keeps my body fueled throughout my training. It is not very complex, I do not believe in "Diet Fads" and strict regimes designed by people to make money. So stick to the basics truths. High Carbs, High Protein and Eat your Greens! I eat around 5 times a day and prepare fresh meals and avoid anything processed like the plague. I recover with one shake formulated by Multipower to resupply my body with the electrolytes I sweated out during training. I have to consume over 3000 calories per day to maintain my weight and prevent my body from going into a Catabolic state (it starts to eat my Muscles!).
I have also started stretching much more and force myself into a ten minute period of leg and upper body stretches. This is something I have only started doing recently and I have allready noticed an improvement on my recovery time which is the name of the game.
I need to be able to run 25 miles in any weather condition, carrying my life on my back. And then recover to to it all again the next day. For 8 weeks. I have reached the point where I am doing this. Nothing, nothing can replace hard work and dedication. There is no short cut to getting into shape and becoming fit. It has taken me 112 days of sacrifice to get into the condition I am in now and I still have another 30 days of hard training to go. Then I will complete this run in the time I said I would do it in. And then, and only then will I rest until the next challenge. There will always be more challenges. Its what makes me tick.
You can find out more infomation about our training on our website.
Train Hard.
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