Well, that is how this whole journey started! The need to tell the story, for I have been told people need to hear it; they need to hear my outlook, what drives me, what inspires me, and why I am so passionate about change, development, and making a difference. So, this is, in part, my way of telling that story; this is me well and truly out of my comfort zone talking about the one thing I ultimately think the least about and a word I probably dislike more than any other: me!
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In my previous post, I said I would start filling in the blanks about what this journey will look like and why I have chosen this way to portray it. Please bear with me because this is an out-of-the-box and left-field way of getting it across, although I hope it will be engaging, relatable, and get my passion across.
I will start with the end and work my way back. The end goal is a race — not just any race, but a multi-day, multi-terrain ultra-race.
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So, what has this got to do with the journey of the story I hear you ask?
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Now let me list the contents of what the foundation of this journey will be built on.
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Business
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Tomorrows Generation
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A world we leave behind.
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Football
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Both physical and mental limits
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And that word I hate, ME, and my story.
So, what has this got to do with an ultra-running race?
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Let me explain. Take business, football, running, and life; they all run parallel; they all require determination and sacrifice; you are staring into the unknown; they require both physical and mental strength; they require preparation, education, and understanding; you will have ups and downs; you will fail in some places and succeed in others; and once you have tackled all those hurdles, once all the preparation is done and you know in your head that you are in the best place to succeed, there are still no guarantees! If it be a race, a meeting, or a game day, there are still so many variants of which most will be out of your control: terrain, absence, mood, motives of others, weather, to name but a few.
You do all this preparation so that you are ready to begin.
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The bit I love about ultra-racing, and what makes it different from business, football, or life is that it doesn’t matter if it is the person you have entered the race alongside, your support crew, their support crew, the families, the organisers, or the public - every single one is routing for you! Everybody wants you to succeed; there is an understanding that everybody’s journey is different!
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Why can’t we have this outlook on life? Why are there so many people wanting others to slip up or fail? I am inspired by others’ stories; I am left in awe when others succeed and humbled by their journey taken to get there. As individuals, we are but a hum in the distance, but together we can make enough noise to inspire others.
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Why follow the well-trodden path? Where is the adventure in that?
So, you have read about the vision, now throughout the week I need to put some meat on the bone about the different elements of this journey!
Tomorrow
What will tomorrow look like for generations to come? A question that is much bigger than me and one I will struggle to answer on my own, when we run/walk/race we visit and travel through some of the most beautiful and scenic places Britain, the world has to offer, breathtaking is an understatement, the whistling of the birds, the humming of the bees, the colour, smell, views the wind in the trees, it really is something to behold, you can get lost in your thoughts everything seems so much more so much bigger the world slows down.
Food for the soul!
Now what will this look like for Generations to come? Will they just be stories past down or will they experience theses wonders themselves? A question I certainly haven't got an answer to but is it something we want to leave to chance? Something we tell ourselves someone else will sort it or what difference will I make when X, Y or Z are pumping god knows what into the environment!
As an individual we may make a small impact but come together as a collective all these small impacts make a much larger impact it also gives us the opportunity to learn from others, educate and support further change.
There is a lot to say a lot of questions and what the truth is will be hard to say but we witness every day the way this world is moving and that change is inevitable with one thing for sure the generation of tomorrow require that beacon of light relying on the generation of today to carry the fight.
Together we make a difference, together we achieve!
In the last post, I discussed adding meat to the bones of this journey. Well, I can tell you, there is an awful lot of meat on these bones! In fact, a little over 20 stone of it at the turn of the year. 😮
Belly has already got me!
How did I get to the stage of piling on all this weight?
I have competed in a couple of 100KM ultras before, although not for the right reasons and definitely not with the preparation required. What do I mean by that? Well, I entered because I was told I couldn't do it, and having never run a race, all my training was done on the flat rather than the terrain I would be running on (Pennines and Cotswold's), and on my first race, I ran injured. The recovery from these injuries set me back!
Or.... what is the real and honest reason for the weight gain? I didn't listen when it came to recovery, and I made loads of excuses, and i mean loads!
Life gets in the way,
Too busy,
Weather,
I love food too much,
I love a beer,
but ultimately there was no dangling carrot, I need a challenge!
So part 1 of physical preparation? Shift the weight!
I have chosen to use a plan that fits around my work. I am up early in the morning, nose straight into the PC, and before I know it, I am into the afternoon, so my plan of choice to combat this is fasting, simple, easy to use, and easy to focus on. We are now just about to enter March, and I am a full stone and a half down. There is still a long way to go, but getting miles into my legs every day and fasting is certainly helping in the short term, and with the guidance of close friend and wizard, Jimmy Reynolds of Alpha Physio, this section of the journey certainly has had a positive start.
#TheStory #TheJourney
#Weight #Fasting #Diet #WeightManagement #Together #Work #Life #Challenge #Listen #Ultra #Run #Running #Race #Inspire #Journey #Story #Help #Achieve #Preparation
Ups
What a topic to talk about!
This will play a massive part in this journey, both mental and physical strength plays a huge part in everyday life for everyone and means something completely different to every individual, you never know what goes on in others’ lives and the strength so many show on a daily basis!
So, what part will this play in my story?
To start off with as in the previous post I have a huge amount of weight to shift before I can really start putting in the long hard miles, this means finding a new way of thinking a new way of approaching eating, exercise and work.
Secondly, both personally and professionally the last 12 months has been a difficult period in my story, giving and supporting in a way where you wear your heart on your sleave, believing and trusting in others around you only to find out their true intentions and the devastation they leave behind with their actions.
And thirdly, I will be challenging myself to go a running distance I have never tried before over multiple days, testing myself against weather, terrain, food, sleep and my own thoughts.
The other 2 100KM ultra marathons I took part in was because others said I couldn't do it, so the pig-headed, stubborn side of me had to prove them wrong, this time in this race I am trying to find me, trying to find what my limits are, how far can I push myself, trying to find inspiration along with a fresh focus, to learn and then when things get tough or go sideways how I react and how quickly I pick myself up and put my toys back in my pram, the only person during this journey I am challenging is me, my only battle is with me and the only person I am racing is me!
So many people face different battles have different stories and have different ways of measuring success and I can’t wait to hear them, meet people along the way and be inspired by their success and their story.
Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional - Roger Crawford
#TheStory
#TheJourney
#Together #Work #Life #Challenge #Listen #Ultra #Run #Running #Race #Inspire #Journey #Story #Help #Achieve #Preparation #Learn #Physical #Mental #Strength #Together
Downs
Probably the most difficult subject at present but the promise throughout this #story, this #journey was one of raw #honesty and #truth.
Everyone has their own view on what it means to do business properly and business is an unforgiving world and at times a selfish world and it is that part I struggle with.
When you employee someone it is not just them you’re bringing into the family it’s the responsibility of their family to, people you employee use their wage to put food on their table and a roof over their heads.
I want to see everyone succeed, progress and fulfill their #potential, I was so lucky to have someone that believed in me in my youth, I grafted for it and studied like mad, but he was with me every step of the way, the guiding light, The #Captain John Pollard.
But with this drive for others to succeed and with the views stated above, is this seen as weakness? As an opportunity for people to exploit? Answer, I don't know but It certainly feels like it sometimes.
Unfortunately, my #business is in an industry that is currently struggling due to the economic down turn and at a crossroads, and when your foundations and belief are built on #community, giving back, #environment and making a difference, well.. TBC
My Industry is #removals and #storage, an industry that isn't but should be recognised as a trade. People see at as humping and lumping and that anybody can do it, you couldn't be further from the truth, ask, how would you transport fine art, move a grand piano, dismantle a grandfather clock in fact ask the so called simple how do you pack a box of glass and china ensuring all the above gets from A to B safely. Then comes the game of #Tetris as we load the lorries.
Then there is the fact we are last in the moving chain and going into customers houses with emotions high, for all manner of reason, you’re going through and packing up all there worldly possessions, once complete you have their whole life on the back of your wagon!
You travel the nation and in some instances #Europe and the ROW, but nobody leaves school wanting to be a removal man, and why would you at present when it’s a #race to the bottom.
I have so much more to #say on this throughout the journey, it is a lot of what this story is based on, success, failings, right, wrong and how you strive for right you get it wrong and the impact of others that should be a beacon of light end up being the complete opposite!
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#TheStory
#TheJourney
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#Removals #Storage #Business #Negative #Positive #Environment #Together #Fail
#Succeed #Together #Progress #Dream #Work #Life #Challenge #Listen #Learn #Run
FOOTBALL - What an incredible sport, touching the lives of billions of people, it is a platform to open discussion it brings opinion it can make a weekend or break it, it is full of raw emotion and it brings generations together, it brings together people of different sex, race and religion, your club, your family!
East Stirlingshire Football Club - The Shire is a special club and its potential has no boundaries! Established in 1880 and rich with history both the beautiful and the ugly, the managerial birth place of one of the greatest managers of all time in Sir Alex Ferguson, and now on a new journey fighting against the current in its belief and vision!
Like me and this journey the club has its own story to tell, one that in-grains itself into this voyage of ours!
I am honored to be working alongside board members and volunteers, management team and supporters, playing family and sponsors in the position of Chairman.
The club is on a journey of sustainability both in the clubs structural sense and environmental quest, going against the grain when it comes to community, understanding the needs of the many are much bigger than football and rivalry so supporting others in the already fantastic work they do.
To share a journey, to learn the history and be part of this incredible family really is something more than I can explain in words!
Part of this journey will take you right into the heartbeat of this club in a unique way introducing you to the hard work being done behind the scenes both off the park as well as on it while introducing you to the beautiful people that makes this club what it is!
It is a story of right, of wrong, of learning and understanding! And to my knowledge hasn't been told in such away that aligns with running, business, personal journeys, mental and physical limits as well as everyday life.
If you're going to be a footballer, be a great one. If you're going to have a dream, dream big. - Sir Alex Ferguson
#TheStory
#TheJourney
#JoinTheShireJourney
#Together #Football #Shire #History #Ultra #Running #Achieve #Sustainability #Eco #Team #Family #Story #Journey #Work #Life #Challenge #Dream #Sunday #Vision #Succeed
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To break it down....
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We will be documenting every bit of this journey, the highs the lows, the difficult and the inspiring while talking through the story piece by piece.
Content:
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The Race (The Conclusion): 215 Mile race across Scotland in 2025 with GB Ultras.
The Training: Short runs, long runs, the hikes the races, the beauty, the views, the history of places visited, as part of training I will enter a number of races along the way having already signed up to the G2E Ultra this October.
The Weight Loss: Is in full swing using the Fasting method which fits around life, I am 2 Stone lighter than the turn of the year but still got some way to go.
The Vision: Coming together to ensure there is a tomorrow for generations to come, to support and understand environmental needs.
Business: How we operate, experiences, what is success and how do we achieve our vision.
East Stirlingshire Football Club: There history, the future and how the club is on a different journey to others.
Limits: To learn about how far we can push both mentally and physically to learn what part mindset plays.
My Story: Where it started, how I became, where I am going and how I will get here.
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WHY?
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People invest in people, I am not talking in monetary terms, but in terms of time and support, of experience and understanding, of vision and body.
My story is not special and I am just me, but this journey is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, not the run or training but this, writing, talking about me, I am so far out of my comfort zone it is unreal.
There are so many incredible stories out there both in sense of importance and inspiring and if we can use this to give confidence and encourage others to tell their story, if we can bring people together, stir debate and discussion, listen and learn, meet people along the way, forge new friendships, understand our own personal limits, to learn who we are, what a journey we will have!
The content is there for people to engage and relate, to join the journey.
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To make a difference tomorrow we first have to act on today!
#TheStory
#TheJourney
#Together #Football #History #Ultra #Running #Achieve #Sustainability #Eco #Team #Family #Story #Journey #Work #Life #Challenge #Dream #Vision #Succeed #Run #Learn #Talk #Limits #Freindship #Join #Debate
The Story The Journey
Living The Dream