Adventures come in many shapes and sizes, and for me it’s often as simple as going out running in a new location.
That new location could mean turning left instead of right on a familiar route. I did that myself today and found myself in a part of North Wales that I had never previously visited. I was no more than 5 miles from home at any one time.
Much of survival in the modern, developed world is about knowing where you are, being able to find your way around, and dealing with people who have unfamiliar customs and languages.
Life Skills
Those points may seem far removed from what many in the survivalist world deem to be critical skills. But I feel that becoming adept in navigation takes more than one form. Indeed, gaining confidence and developing competence when you don’t have a map, compass, or smart phone with satellite navigation system are crucial life skills.
There’s a good chance that in an emergency you won’t have any of those items to help you anyway.
I’ve been running for a relatively short time – about 5 years to date (October 2018). Like most people my age, currently 54, I was forced to run cross country as school, and didn’t really like it much. It didn’t help that I suffered from asthma so often didn’t do any real cardiovascular exercise.
I was quite relieved when I left high school and went to college; I thought I’d left all that behind me.
Fast forward 30 odd years…
My eldest son decided to join the military, and had to be able to run 1.5 miles in around ten and a half minutes to qualify for selection. I offered to run with him to help his motivation – it’s always easier with someone else.
When he passed the selection process I continued running on the treadmill at my local gym. It was easy enough, and the asthma didn’t really bother me much by then – a welcome side effect of 5 years regular gym going.
Race Day Running
Then one day I saw a notice looking for entrants into the Flintshire 10k road race. I decided to give it a go and enrolled.
For about 6 weeks I pounded that treadmill, increasing the distance from my usual 5km by 1km per week.
It wasn’t nearly enough training, but I managed to reach the target distance despite blisters (and other pain) along the way. Two or three days before the event I ran the course on my own so that I could prove to myself I could do it.
The race itself went well and I achieved a respectable time and position for my age group.
Unexpected Outcome
What I hadn’t expected was the will to do more.
Since then I’ve run regularly, I run home from my office 2 or 3 times a week – that’s 6.6km (4.1 miles). It works well because I’m fitting it into that activities of the day that have to be done – it’s only 15 minutes longer than taking the car.
After all that time I’m not faster than I was in my twenties, but I’m definitely fitter. Not many people can say that!
Running Adventures
I’ve competed in a few half marathons, including the world’s biggest – the Great North Run.
Runners from all over the globe take on the challenge and adventure, and 57,000 turn up to participate.
The Great North Run is less of an adventure for me, being a Brit born in the host city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
However, I’ve run the length of the strip in Las Vegas a few times. It’s a similar distance to my home/office route, but very different due to the number of people, lighting and escalators. It’s really only possible to run that in the early morning without too much pedestrian trouble.
Heat
Running in the Australian summer certainly presents some challenges.
Along with John, my brother-in-law, I’ve run through beautiful scenery in Tasmania, including around Dove Lake on Cradle Mountain.
It’s a 6 km distance across rough tracks, rocks, and boardwalks. The elevation is 938 m (3,077 ft) and is stunning.
It also attracts plenty of visitors so there’s a fair bit of giving way to traffic.
Race Day in Oz
In February 2018 I competed in the Bellarine Sunset Run in Victoria, Australia.
It doesn’t get very hot, very often, in Britain. So I was really looking forward to running in pleasant weather for a change – and the sea breeze and views would be a bonus.
I got off to a good clean start, running ahead of the pack, and was doing well.
The air temperature was around 26°c, that’s 78.8° in Fahrenheit. I had prepared and was carrying a water filled backpack for hydration.
What I hadn’t accounted for was the heat reflecting off the light coloured, grit covered path we were running on.
Not the Best
My personal best for a half marathon is 1 hour, 40 minutes and 50 seconds. But that heat took it’s toll on me.
I completed the course in 2 hours – 20 minutes longer than I’d hoped.
My data review showed that my heart rate was elevated to above 180 beats per minute – at least 10 BPM higher than usual. That was the effect of the sun and heat – it made it the hardest run I’d done so far.
Have a look at my Strava entry for that day.
Running at Altitude
Then in July 2018 I was involved in an expedition to Malealea in Lesotho.
The group I was with spent time carrying out various projects to assist the local community. These included helping to clear and develop a teaching farm that demonstrates the benefits of “conservation agriculture”, among other things.
Lesotho is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is actually 1,400 metres above sea level.
That means that it’s ideal for training at altitude. With that in mind I determined that before I left I would run a full 21.1km (13.1 miles) half marathon.
The majority of my running is done on roads, and Malealea was no exception. However, the roads in that part of the world aren’t quite the same as those at home.
Low Traffic
One advantage of it is that there aren’t a lot of cars to beware of.
There is other traffic though, and the roads are quite bumpy, but it’s all very picturesque, so it’s worth carrying a camera.
Running this route started at the gates of Malealea Lodge, elevation 1800 metres (5900 feet). The route then climbs up and up to reach 2013 metres (6600 feet) at the Gates of Paradise Pass, before dropping down to the (surprising) roundabout at Matelile.
At that time of year the nights are cold, it was well below freezing overnight, but the sun was pleasantly warming by the time I started at 9.30am.
Clear skies, a long distance, and high altitude all contribute to the need to carry water – I use a backpack with a 1.5 litre reserve.
Heart Rate
I hadn’t really noticed much difference from reduced oxygen levels in the week previous to this run. But once I started, particularly going uphill, it became clear just how much of an effect running at altitude has.
Much like that beating sun in Australia I found that my heart rate was significantly higher than it would be ordinarily.
Even after a week acclimatising, my heart rate was at least 10 beats per minute above usual. I lacked strength and stamina, and I have to confess to walking up the steeper slopes at times. And those slopes really took it out of me. I climbed 486 metres (1594 feet) across the full 21.1km.
As you can see from the graph on the right, my speed (the blue line) dropped drastically on the upward sections.
Other Road Users
Along the way I passed many people, all of them greeted me with “Dumela ntate” (literal translation, “greetings father”), or “hello”. To which I replied in the Sesotho “dumela me” (good day mother), dumela ntate, or the plural “dumelang”.
The Basotho people are very friendly and polite. I’ve felt unsafe in some places I’ve run, but not once in Lesotho.
After over two hours I finally completed my self declared challenge and returned through the gates of Malealea Lodge.
Hard as it was, I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure. I learned the effects of depleted oxygen levels on my body. How to modify my performance expectations at altitude. And the joy of doing something I love in a place most people will never venture.
Not only did I walk up some of the steeper hills, I stopped to take a few pictures along the way, you can see them below.
Some of my Photographs
Like your style of writing – and your photos! Think I’d like to visit Lesotho at a slower pace but you’re absolutely right about the life skills that are important. Developing the confidence to go and do something like this – and the self reliance that comes from its achievement are invaluable. Well done and good luck with the African month long marathon you have planned. Awesome!