Sometimes you accept it and say to yourself, “I gave it my best shot, lets move on”. Like all experienced athletes who have been running for many years, in Geoff’s case over 60, he prepared as best he could, and came with a goal and a plan. All we could see was their small green lights, until, suddenly the lights rose about six feet off the Sankra Casino water. Soon he was in the water and, together, they swam off into the dark.
The whole crossing felt protected; later that day, when we were half way across the Channel, Boris commented that it felt like being in a dream. He jumped off the boat into the water (“Oooh, it’s cold!”) and swam to the shore from which his swim must begin. Angikar, freshly greased up to help protect against the cold water, was clearly in the mood for a successful channel swim. But today was about swimming, and soon we arrived in Dover and met a very joyful Angikar, clearly ready for his journey across to France. He was, and it wasn’t long before I found out that he had rowed for Oxford in the Boat Race (3 times—that’s quite special) and won once! Boris had swum the Channel four times already and he was training to be an official observer for the Channel Swimming Association, which means he will have the authority to ratify a successful Channel swim.
- I read the “Spiritual meaning of the Triathlon” by Sri Chinmoy and a card from my dear friend Alison (Ironman New Zealand finisher) before I went to bed.
- He duly broke, or set, completely new marks for all the recognized ultra distances from 30 miles up to 24 hours, with the exception of 100 miles, which he fell some 5 miles short of.
- Thomas Sankara had great belief in people – not just the people of Burkina Faso or Africa, but people across the world.
- I would never even make it to the start without the help and inspiration of all these people.
- For over 3,000 miles Vilas had to contend with heat, traffic, fatigue, long straight sections of headwind, the weight of his equipment, and the occasional temperamental kangaroo.
- Over the cold English winter, Vilas completed several weeks of high mileage.
Women of Colour Creative Writing Sessions
However, I came to realise that although these were difficult experiences, they were not the hardest thing to overcome. Self-transcendence in the ultra-running world took the form of multi-day races which over time would increase in length from 6-day to 10-day, 700 miles to 1000 miles and then 1300 miles. I felt a real sense of achievement because I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to complete it. Of course it did get more and more difficult, but we all pulled together and everyone finished. I had no idea if I would be able to do it or what I would experience.
Cycle Ride across Australia – Vilas Silverton
- With an hour to go, it could still go either way, but Geoff, now finally looking a tad tired, is still doggedly circling the track.
- There are drink stations at each mile where you are guaranteed a roar of encouragement and once a lap you get to see Sri Chinmoy’s huge smile, I was quite certain that this alone was enough to get me round the next lap.
- It took me about 20mins each hour to update the score board so that the runners could see how far they had gone.
- Well not completely, but he certainly helped.
- Despite the huge number of runners, the 4 waved starts and wide course meant that it mostly didn’t feel too congested, apart from at a couple of narrower bottlenecks which even then weren’t too bad.
Hopefully more runners from Sri Chinmoy A.C. Running into the sunlight, and feeling the rays on your face with the light breeze and the smell of the sea reminded me so much of running back in Cornwall. Then I had to remind myself that this was a race and not one of my leisurely runs, and from first gear I stepped up to third gear and quickened my cadence across the somewhat soft sand. I made the short distance to the start on the beach under the pier where those in fancy dress were being judged. As you would expect there were plenty of runners wearing Father Christmas hats.
Sankara can introduce you to 10+ people at Citi
Ross, and the other runners were no doubt having similar feelings, but relentlessly she, Wykes and Heffron were circling the track, edging closer to that 100mile mark. Here are Geoff’s respective times and distances for 2013 and 2014. The hooter duly sounds and shattered runners come to a standstill, all relieved they can now finally stop. Whereas, most running events are the classic set distance like 800m or a marathon, and completed in a certain variable time, in this case the time is set, and the distance is the variable result.
Previous races
On the next aid station I wasked for water, they said “it’s water”. I was fascinated with Chris Lieto’s speed – Bryan Rhodes and Jason were far behind him on the bike. Probably the current was the reason for my even slower swim in the open water.
My longest training ride was very easy – forty three miles along the race course on Sunday a week before the race. I could not feel even one moment of the hard work in my legs any more. Believe me, your body will be grateful to you! The weather was sunny and warm, the park is beautiful, the water station came just in time at around half way, and the course is fairly flat with just a couple of minor slopes. Of course everyone took off across the start line at a cracking pace.
Training tips
Of the 35 athletes who completed the race, 25 of them ran over 100 miles. The icing on the cake was the fourth place finish, I believe that John secretly hoped for a top 10 finish, but was still more interested in getting the distance. Despite the difficulties over the last hour, John still managed to deliver 7.6 km, the last 3laps of which Steve and I walked with him. Or were the experienced runners going to eat him up in the last eight hours when John faded towards the end?