Out of adversity, comes opportunity. Maybe that’s not the quote I was looking for, but there are 100’s of quotes about adversity and opportunity…. It’s fair to say this year to date has been an odd and unsettling one for all. Another quote I’ve seen a lot recently, “we’re all in the same boat….”, well, not really, maybe the same storm, but individually we’re all in very different boats (speaking of boats, read on)….. Whatever boat you’re navigating the storms of this year in, the storm that has been Covid and lockdown, has certainly taken its toll on sporting and challenge events as well as on those charities and organizations who rely on them for income generation.
I had a couple of fun challenge events lined up this year, trail runs and the ubiquitous Rat Race Man v’s Mountain in Snowdonia, all cancelled or deferred for 12 months now; and was hoping to be able to pull off one, if not two, endurance challenges of my own – but, as with these formal events I’ve had to rethink. Access to the mountains has been restricted for months, though now easing, likewise getting to the gym as well as all the other elements needed to sort a challenge of any type. But I need a goal. I need something physical, mental, challenging and with an uncertain outcome; no guaranteed success. I need this goal like I need anything in life, to keep me going. These goals give me focus, structure, a chance to manage and work on my health and most importantly my mental health. So…
So. Well, inspired by Ross Edgley’s “World’s Strongest Marathon” pulling a Mini around Silverstone for 26.2 miles, and more recently by the awesome Emma attempting her record 24hour car pull, I’ve revisited and revised one of these crazy ideas you keep tucked away in the back of your mind. You know the ones, the ones that are so out-of-the-park that you’ve secretly ran the video of success through your mind a thousand times, but not actually uttered a word to anyone, least of all the people you’d need to buy-in to help pull it off…One of those ideas. It went a little like this…
Obviously, naïvely, I’d like to go one step further than Ross and his car pulling marathon. Hey, if you’re going to do something crazy, right…? Could I pull a car for an ultra-marathon? Maybe I could pull a bigger car or vehicle? A Land Rover!! Or what about on more challenging terrain? Never once asking “Oi, you furry potato, do you think you can even pull a car at all?!”
For as long as I can recall, my family, well mum and dad, have been involved in volunteering and running a small charity in North Wales that provides day trips (and previously week long holidays) on purpose built narrowboats to individuals and groups (as well as their carers) who have a range of disabilities, that otherwise might not have access to the beautiful countryside and scenery within arm’s reach when you’re on a narrowboat. The charity, The Valle of Llangollen Canal Boat Trust, like many negatively impacted by Covid-19, is wholly reliant on donations and fundraising to cover the not unsubstantial costs of running a 19tonne nearly 70 foot long narrowboat (here’s mention of a boat again!) For months the organization has been at a halt, their income at an en-pass but their costs still building up. So, an idea was born…
Now hear me out. 19 tones is bloomin’ heavy, even with the water displacement. Pulling and pushing it while mooring (parking) the boat is easy, but actually pulling it any distance, this needed some structured formal research… Thus a quick conversation with Siri ensued and I found tales of groups of teams pulling boats silly distances in a relay even a Strongwoman who had recently set a World Record for a 50m boat pull sprint… nothing that sparked my fire but enough to make me think pulling a boat was not totally out of this World.
In case you haven’t guessed, by now I’m thinking of some sort of boat pull challenge, combining endurance with, quite clearly, some measure of strength, with a view of raising money and some local publicity for the canal boat trust. But that’s not really even the bones of the idea, let alone the meat on the bones. Without any real thought as to what 18 tons of floating steel feels like, I immediately thought of Ross’ marathon, 26 miles, 40-odd km. But a canal is not a racetrack. For a start it’s linear not circular. It’s a natural, not controlled environment, which means traffic, people, obstacles. And a towpath is almost always NOT smooth flat tarmac. Hmm, was this idea even vaguely realistic? Were there too many obstacles even in my choice of challenge, let alone the difficulty of the actual task?
Now, I know the canal system around Llangollen and Ellesmere, the charity is based in Llangollen has their boat moored at the basin in Trevor, down the road, next to the Froncysyllte aqueduct – the highest manmade waterway in the World, I know it well enough to have an idea where other boat marinas are, lift bridges and any locks; man made obstacles. And, with a bit of zooming in on Google Earth I could see that the idea was germinating. Sure, there would be changes in the condition of the terrain / towpath, bridges and moored boats to navigate and foliage in parts. Indeed the canal bed or floor is known to be shallow in many parts, which would impact a pull too. Some five miles from the narrowboat’s mooring at Trevor basin, is Llangollen and the wharf there an ideal place to turn the boat for a return leg; you can’t just do a U-turn in a nearly-70foot long boat; so a recce was needed. This past weekend that recce took place, a cycle along the route from the opposite side of the aqueduct to Llangollen Wharf, much map studying and discussion on natural obstacles, as well as the first practice pull of the boat. We even managed some early fundraising with two donations received (THANK YOU!). So is seems it’s GAME ON!
While I had hoped the route would be just over 12 miles (a nice half marathon), the recce has measured it at 10.5 miles, but still, I hope you will agree a marathon effort if not in distance!
There’s a lot to plan and sort, lots yet to agree and the small matter of what ongoing impact Covid may have. But the idea is set. The goal is in place. Its “out there” now, so it’s on…somehow. Aiming for October 31st when the canal network is quieter, so, the planning and training begins. Stay tuned for more details to come, of course the fundraising link as well as some other updates.
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