@kendalmountainfestival - The Endurance Session
What do you get when you combine someone you only know from seeing on a SAS selection style tv show, a Brazilian jujitsu champion who is setting FKTs on continental highest peaks after a decade at the top of the @ultratrailworldtour, someone who’s gone from a drunken bet to elite pro in 2 years with podiums at @marathondessables, @wser & winning @utmbmontblanc CCC AND, one of the toughest yet most humble runners in existence who’s taken on the Barkley, holds the Double Round records & is a full time farmer
Well, you have @huwjackbrassington, @fernandamaciel_oficial, @tomevansultra & @nickyspinks
The endurance session was as hilarious as it was informative, with Huw the host, delivering a masterclass in the mental traits required for endurance pursuits, whether looking for the top spot or just getting started
Link to my brief overview of how events unfolded via my bio 👆🏻
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#kendalmountainfestival #endurance #mentalfortitude
3 hours of work
Drainage is one of the biggest challenges on any trail & this section is like a swamp in areas
We....dug it out below the water table, created a drainage channel, used local materials to build a structure, before barrows of sand & hoggin were applied and compacted
The area has several such structures which have settled in strong, yes they may need replacing in years to come, but it beats part of the trail being unrideable for 6 months of the year - they were bad enough in summer
#handmade #woburnbiketrails
Final official dig day of 2019 with @woburn_bike_trails
After a year of effort by an ever growing team, the new blue trail is getting close to completion & has provided some large drainage challenges, that has resulted in a series of drainage channels/bridges that the team now have a solid repeatable blue print for
Enjoyed flicking the camera to film mode too today (on the above handles page)
There’s something special about creating fresh cut trail, adapting it to land & environmental challenges, but more over, seeing others enjoy riding it
We’re thinking of a Christmas social ride to show the best of the blue off, so if anyone’s around over the festive weekends & fancies an easy one - keep an eye on @woburn_bike_trails
#woburnbiketrails #nodignoride
@movember finished 5 days ago, but the tasche remains
Thank you to everyone who spoke to me & listened to others. As simple as it is, it may seem alien at first, but it can have a huge positive impact on someone’s life
My life has benefitted immeasurably from others, both friends & trained professionals taking time out to listen to what is going on in my life, showing me other options, being a lifesaver without ever realising
But please don’t think the work is now done, let’s keep talking & most importantly listening to others, creating trusting communities where a stiff upper lip is exchange for a relaxed conversation
Thank you to you all 🤘🏻
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& yes, I live in a wonky 190 year old house
#mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #movember2019
Butt heads
Despite rising awareness about the impacts of dropping rubbish on the street/trail, there remains are large portion of those who consume the above, that feel it’s socially acceptable to toss their cigarette/fag butt to the ground when the nicotine expires
Given each butt contains enough toxins to contaminate 8 litres of water, 12,000 to 15,000 individual plastic fibres & can take up to 10 years to decompose - these small discarded filters pack a serious punch
The above was collected by @trashfreetrails at @kendalmountainfestival on a quick 5 minute #TRASHMOB on Sunday
#trashfreetrails #cigarettebutts #dontbeabutthead
Moustache Reflections - Adventure
30 days with a tasche has got me thinking about the past 11 months
If you were to ask me how my years gone from an adventure/athletic performance perspective..... I would have said pretty *****
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It started off well, some consistent miles, digging trails & attending #pyllonxp2 - however, when I got ill at the end of March (for the best part of a month), on my birthday no less, my fitness, endurance & mental edge left
But
Looking back through photos tells a different story
I set new road pbs, while overtaking hundreds of people in a marathon relay, spent my first day on skis, pushed my limits in Les Gets Bike Park with @saefftagram, my first mountain road ride since 2010 with @deanscott84, slept in the car camper for 4 nights at Skyline Scotland, shot a 24hr OCR race with @samuels_charity, waited on a hill in Fort William for e-bikes with @joekrejbich, spent a weekend on @trashfreetrails Spring Trail Clean Tour meeting great people, ran round fields of hops & apples in Friedrichshafen, got a little damp shooting UTW, sang & danced on my night marshall point at @maverickrace, spent a weekend in the lakes with @mountain_run_uk, a longer one with @kendalmountainfestival & that day with @shane.benzie/ @ultra_damo & then there’s all the random day to day mishaps, adventures, twists & turns life throws at you
It’s been a year without structure, one with little consistency & my minds focused on adding some to 2020. The body’s been ready to for a while, convincing the mind has been a bigger challenge
3 days at @ispo.acceleratingsports in a few weeks & a winter of training with @pyllon ahead
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📸 from the Cairngorms in January
#powerofthemoustache
@shane.benzie & @ultra_damo’s Mountain Ultra Skills Day
I can confirm with an unguarded kettle, many tea bags were harmed during the course of a day in Goring
Running Reborn - Mr Benzie has been working with many of the worlds elite athletes on toad, trails & beyond. Not one to follow the rules carved into tablet, when warriors trained out of mud huts, reimagining the way you interact with the ground isn’t easy, but, can have surprising results
Damian, oh Damian, a tea drinking problem with a presenting style that’s half stand up, half satire, he’s quietly risen through the ultra elite ranks & now coaches
Combined, an interesting & mentally intriguing day.... the article may not have all the secrets, but there’s some simple lessons to take away
If you want the full experience, you’ll have to sign to a course in 2020
Link in bio 📱👆🏻
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#runningreborn #mountainultraskills #ukrunchat
