This is Lou. Good friend, tent partner for 3 months, SPEAR17 expedition leader, and recently a man who skied across Antarctica solo, unsupported & unaided. .
After coming up with the idea for SPEAR, he organised the recruitment, selection and training of the team, then led the expedition, and what a blast we had. .
2 years later he went back to crack the traverse by himself, without any resupplies & under human power alone, a feat never done before. .
I met him as he flew back into the UK after finishing his exped where he looked just a little weathered but pretty good, before being whipped away by a flurry of media. .
He has been using his platform to ask us to encourage kids to take risks, to learn to manage risk. What a great message. .
Do us all a favour next week, be more Lou.
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#growingup #risk #riskmanagement #expedition #antarctica #rolemodel #endure #endurance #leader #leadership #bemore
19th Jan 2017, descending the Shackleton Glacier to the Ross Ice Shelf.
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After skiing for 1,000 miles in a mainly monochrome environment, I vividly remember the explosion of colour as we started walking down the blue ice of the glacier in our crampons, mountains on either side of us. .
I even remember saying I’d happily walk 1,000 miles again just to see those views. I’m not sure that was a good idea in hindsight 🤔
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#explore #expedition #getoutside #exploremore #endure #endurance #glacier #antarctica #polar #team #teamwork #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #igdaily #iphoneonly #landscape #landscapephotography #sun #igers
The joy is palpable as I come to the end of a tough Country to Capital this weekend. A hard pace was set early by a large contingent of great runners which I wasn’t quick enough to handle, but I’m glad I stuck with my plan, races sensibly and put in a negative split to take me from 10-12th early on to finishing in 6th behind some very classy runners. .
Obviously I want to run faster and race harder, but as my coach @philiphatzis1 pointed out, Rome wasn’t built in a day, it’s very early in the season and for this time of year I am faster and holding more power for longer than before. This is one of the MANY reasons I have a coach! Nice of #strava to point out I ran my third fastest marathon (that it has on record...) during the second half of the race. I remember not being able to run that time in a stand-alone marathon a few years back, let alone after 30k of difficult trails.
#perspective .
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Great to see @asj_7r at the finish after spending an awesome week in the Lakes together over New Year, and to hear those magic words that the end of all that pain (Type 2 Fun) is so close. .
Run of the day has to go to my close friend from Med school and smartest gentleman I know, who definitely isn’t a runner, but was bold enough to go from couch - 70k this winter exploring his limits. It takes a vast amount of willpower to keep moving forward through the dark and to finish in 9hrs 17 was an incredible display of grit.
Thank you @michaelachats for being so supportive and crowbarring him out the front door! .
Finally obviously a huge thanks to my better half @g.h.brown for putting up with this hobby & being so slick with refuelling, and to all the volunteers at the race - you guys make this happen. .
#race #run #running #ultra #c2c #extreme #mindovermatter #psychology #milesandsmiles #littlevenice #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitnessjourney #progress #romewasntbuiltinaday #endurance #endure #paincave
My favourite way to work...long days in the hills, a cosy cottage (no signal or WiFi!) & log burner, reflecting on key skills to pass on.
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I spent new year tucked away on a working sheep farm deep in the Lake District with the mornings running on the fells, and the afternoons writing a talk about mindset & psychology, looking at day-to-day strategies and approaches for big expeditions like our Antarctica Traverse, and the Namibia desert race. If I can help just one person to dream big, or change their approach to obstacles for the better, it will be mission accomplished.
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If you’re interested in psychology, you should also follow @drnathanjsmith who I had the pleasure of working with on our expedition, and who does incredible research in & teaching on psychology in extreme environments. .
#psychology #mentality #mindovermatter #extreme #environment #expedition #talk #speaker #motivation #motivationalspeaker #cottage #woodburning #cosy #fitnessjourney #growthmindset #growth
