Reflections - By Andy

Reflections

It’s 5 o-clock in the morning on the day that Family Mouncey will depart for a week holiday on the Spanish islands. A couple of days ago we reached our cloud-funding deadline without hitting target. It’s now 12 weeks to go till The Spine Race and clearly my brain thinks it’s a good idea to make sense of some stuff before we wrestle two very excited small boys onto a plane. So here goes:

If someone had told me four weeks ago that we’d raise £4k in pledges for what was no more than an idea on a Facebook page I’d have, at the very least, raised my eyebrows in vintage Roger Moore style. If someone had told me four weeks ago that people we’d never heard of would pledge hundreds of pounds to come and stay with Family Mouncey on the strength of an idea of a FB page, you’d be hard-pressed to stop me laughing. A lot. And finally if someone had told me four weeks ago that we’d get over 1000 folks viewing a single FB live Q & A session with some bloke who hadn’t even reached half way during his previous outing on the target race, you’d have had to wait a very long time to get any sense out of me at all.

Yet all of those things have happened.

While thirteen years on this whole self-employment lark is still very much a work-in-progress for me, one thing I do know: Activity breeds activity. It may not initially take you in the direction you think you need to go, but stuff always happens as a consequence; some of it will not be on your first choice timescale – but of it will be good. The discipline is to get out there and do.

The Spine Race schools challenge has been at least two years in the making. I’ve spend a lot of the last five years or so trying to make a triathlon-based learning program of my design fly in schools and with young people who are NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training). That’s not happened (yet) but what has happened is real interest and opportunity from a prison service battling to make any dent in a re-offending rate in this country that touches 60%.

Stuff does indeed happen: It may not be on your first choice timescale and direction, but clearly there is benefit in practicing the skills of perseverance and paying attention along the way. Thank the good lord I’m an endurance athlete then…

The school stuff alongside The Spine Race came out of being severely pissed off for wayyyyyyy too long. Work-wise I was struggling and getting worryingly good at doing periodic depression. While Charlotte was getting fulfillment from her role as a mum, Daddy wasn’t getting the same deal from his work or his sport. The boys were great distraction but I was getting leakage at a rate even Thames Water would be having kittens over. Finally I did a blank-sheet exercise – if I could marry personal drivers and professional strengths what might that look like? – and came across a pioneering program in Australia http://imp.org.au Then I DNF’ed at The Spine Race in January, re-discovered some mojo - and immediately starting plotting a return in 2014 this time with added leverage.

So I’m immeasurably proud that we now have five schools launched and chipping away at their 268 miles and there’s more cueing up. The last couple of months have also been my most consistently fulfilling for a very long time. I’ve met some great people and done some new scary fun stuff.

Last Monday was a case in point: 150 pupils at Riverside Junior School in Hebden Bridge confined to a sports hall ‘cos it’s bucketing down outside. Together with a good collection of spectating parents and the chair of school governors - they’re all mine all morning! There’s no film this time but the school took some pictures which I hope to be able to share with you – ‘cos we had a blast. Talking to the school a few days later and I get the news that the kids are running in break times and the teachers are blown away by the goal-setting stuff the pupils are coming up with and the conversations they’re still having from the morning.

The flip side is that there has been some big ole speed bumps and I’m still getting leakage:

‘But I’m still not generating much at all, ‘I said to Charlotte.

‘I know that,’ she says. ‘But we’re still OK, the boys are great, and no-one’s trying to kill us for what we believe.’ A pause and a look:

‘Does it feel right?’

Pause and slow smile from husband: ‘Yeah. Yes it feels right.’

‘Then go with it – you’ll figure out the earning bit eventually.’

On the training front two ankle injuries on the same ankle have meant running has been the stuff of fantasy. You might as well have driven a bus through my training plan. Hiking and biking has been my world, which has messed with my head periodically until I remember that blazing running speed is not really going to be a factor in this race – the ability to endure, cover the ground consistently and look after self in probably crappy conditions is considerably more important. I’m stronger than I was and I’m healthy, and if I can just manage this creaking ankle back to something near full function the final 12 weeks push will get me to where I think I need to be.

Will it be enough? Right now I don’t really care: It’s just good to enjoying the journey again.

Edale Primary School and Arctic Hares

It's always a pleasure going to Edale, despite it being only a few minutes drive from where we live, it feels like you are stepping back in time.  It is particularly important to us here at Cracking The Spine as it is of course the beginning of the Pennine Way, which gives rise to all sorts of symbolic stuff for Andy and the rest of the competitors.  

Edale primary school is small but has a huge personality! There were 13 children and their techers waiting expectantly for us this morning.  We were also joined by Darren Hunt, who has been a great help supporting Cracking The Spine on Facebook.  He had the pleasure of being Andy's glamourous assistant….

We have certainly come across many mini athletes on our school rounds, and Edale, no surprises, has it's fair share, they were certainly already pretty clued up about running as a sport and they were certainly giving Andy a fair grilling when it came to question time.  

They looked on in astonishment as he told them about his epic triathlon from England to France, although as he was describing his English channel swim, I did hear a small voice pipe up exclaiming, ' That doesn't look very hard!'.    Hmmmm...challenging talk!

It was great to have a Darren along, he is going to be doing the Spine Challenger this year, which is no mean feat in itself , being 106 miles in length, from Edale to Hawes.  It's always good to put a face to a name, especially as Darren has been a huge help on Facebook spreading the news on our project and encouraging funding.  He led the children off on the first mile, starting from the beginning of the Pennine Way.  I'm pretty sure I saw Darren and Andy looking more than a little uncomfortable at the thought of what lies ahead come January, mwahahahaha.    I'm also sure that you lot doing the race will certainly have quite a few young supporters at the start in January!  The children loved the idea of being able to follow the progress of the race and come and meet the runners in January.

I know I mention it every time we come back from a school, but it is amazing to see so much enthusiasm in the children and the teachers - everyone is full of beans, the teachers are just as excited as the children.  It's fantastic to see children being given every possible opportunity to try new things and encourage to discover new hobbies and sports. 

courtesy of national geographic - arctic hare. cute.

Being at the beginning of The Pennine Way and at the heart of a National Park, Edale school has a very special relationship with the National Park Rangers, and we had the pleasure of meeting up with an Area Ranger - Sheila, who kindly gave up a few hours of her busy morning to talk to us about the work she does out on The Pennine Way and how it is so important to educate the children about he very special place they live in.  After all they are our future and all that! 

Everyone we have spoken to and who has heard about Cracking The Spine, has given us amazingly positive feedback, and have bent over backwards to help Andy and us to get things going.  It's impressive to hear the daily work that goes into maintaining areas such as the National Parks, so that we can enjoy them and run all over them.  You better keep your eyes peeled in January as there is all sorts of unusual wildlife out on The Pennine Way, for instance, fact for the day - did you know that we have Arctic Hares living on Bleaklow?!  

Sheila also stressed the importance of not underestimating the wildness of our national parks - it being all too easy to do just that, even the more experienced among us I'm sure have taken our more diminutive peaks for granted!

More on that in the film - don't want to give it all away!

Never too old to learn - Horton-in-Ribblesdale

As we approached Horton in Ribblesdale the clouds began to recede and I didn't feel quite so silly with my sunglasses perched optinistically on my head. It was time to meet school number 2 , Horton in Ribbkesdale primary school, nestled at the foot of mighty Pen-y-Ghent.

It must be hard to be anything but a runner when you study in a village like this. Surely the children must be born with the legs of mountain goats! It is certainly an inspirational place to be. You can't help but be drawn into adventure with surroundings like this.

As we walked in I could see eager faces peering round corners and a hushed whispering of, 'Its that Andy man - the runner man'!  The school itself is a colourful place, full of artwork and photos and again, as at Kirkby Malham school, the enthusiasm of the teachers is everywhere.

The classroom  rapidly filled up with the small and not so small and the excitement was infectious.   As I filmed Andy's presentation, I found myself giggling along with the children as Andy dressed Ryan up as a Spine race runner - layers and more layers of clothes topped off with a dinosaur hat, a headtorch  and he even had his own ball of ice on his shoe ( for those not familiar check out image to the right of the shoe of last years winner!!).

All the children we have met so far have thrown themselves into Andy's challenge, with no doubts or fears just an extraordinary degree of confidence, which, I don't think I'll be alone in saying, I wish I could do too!
It was heart-warming (is that too corny?! I can't think of any other way to describe it), to see them all getting stuck in - the older ones holding the hands of the younger ones, the cheers from the teachers, the faster one waiting for the slower.  With no need of coaxing, the school was already acting like a team and thinking like a team.

There is a lot to learn from these young'uns. It can be easy as an adult to maybe not give the children the attention they deserve or to take them as seriously as we should, I am certainly guilty, but I was certainly taught a lesson by the end of our day.
Amid breathless laughing and talking,  Andy asked them for advice they would give to other children who are finding the running difficult, so when you are next out on your training run and starting to struggle have a think on these gems...

'Even when its really difficult just think how great you'll feel when you finish'
'Pace yourself, don't use up all your energy, find a pace'
'When you can't run, you can walk a bit but never stop, because once you stop its much harder to start'
'Think of all the cake you can eat at the end!'

And so it is to Edale we go tomorrow!

 If you can help us reach our target to make this film please have a look at all the lovely rewards we can offer in return!

Update and School Visits!

Time is quickly passing with our Kickstarter appeal.  With only 14 days to go we have now reached 25% of our target amount needed to  continue making the film.  People are asking us what is going to happen if we don't reach the full amount - well sadly with Kickstarter, if we don't get the full amount we get nothing, but we still have a few things up our sleeve to tempt people to pledge, so we still think we will get there.   We are still positive!
We are working on contingency plans though...the great thing about this is that whatever the outcome we have learnt a huge amount and we have managed to get the word out to a huge audience all the way around the world.  

So it is business as usual until further notice!

We are heading off to Horton-in-Ribblesdale school, at the foot of the mighty Pen-y-Ghent, on Monday with Andy to film him giving the children the challenge to run the 268miles, and if there are any parents/friends etc out there who would like to be involved or go along then please get in touch with Andy!

Horton-in-Ribblesdale

The excitement of the kids is contagious, we are really looking forward to it, and they are great to film - they are so enthusiastic and love being part of the project.    

Next Tuesday, it is an about turn back to the Peak District where we will be filming at Edale primary school at the very beginning of The Pennine Way, and we will also be meeting a National Park Ranger - to interview and discuss the Pennine Way in more detail and get a real insiders view on life on and around the Pennine Way. 

So watch this space for some more mini school films, competitions, and even maybe some goodies to be given away.

Speed Bumps

Oct 2 Wednesday

‘What the hell’s the matter with you - you look as though you’re about to burst into tears?’

Clearly I’m not wearing the face Charlotte is looking for as we sit with the boys in the chip shop in Hawes at the 105 mile point on The Spine Race route. This was meant to be a last supper of sorts before Daddy headed off for an overnight 40 mile jaunt up The Pennine Way to Middleton-in-Teesdale. Instead it feels like the last cigarette before the firing squad.

I’ve had this in the diary for yonks and spent half the afternoon on the phone yesterday trying to figure out how to get home – no, there are no buses, no there are no trains except from there which means you’ll have to…and that means five changes…and if you don’t make that it means…

Finally we realized that it would either take me 8 hours to get home by public transport or blow £30 on a taxi to get me 20 miles troublesome miles towards civilization which would then have me home by late morning. Driving half an hour now to give the boys a treat fish and chip supper seemed a great way to send Daddy off with a smile on his face and loaded with calories – except it would appear that Daddy hasn’t read the script.

In truth I’d been steadily tying myself in knots as departure time got closer and now I’m right back to where I was the night before The Spine Race in January this year: Fanning my fears and absolutely having kittens at the prospect. (Later I’ll reflect that I’m just not ready: Three days after a huge effort at Three Peaks Cyclocross I’m still abit frayed round the edges and making the transition from bikes to feet. Infront of me is at least 12 hours of solo time with cloud down to 250m and heavy rain and high winds forecast. And while I’ve done this leg in daylight at the start of the summer, conditions tonight make it a very different proposition. It’s a long time since I’ve done extended solo in poor weather, and this is not exactly easing my way back into it. Once I start over this remote section I will be committed. And clearly I’m just not).

Time to talk about feelings, then.

Pause as bits of courage are scraped back together. Eye contact:

‘I really don’t want to do this.’

She looks at me as the boys continue to demolish their fishy bites.

‘Look at my smiley face, Daddy!’ Our youngest points proudly at the work of art he has arranged on his plate with strategic use of ketchup and chips. Any chance you could re-arrange mine for me, son?

‘Well, I’m not going to force you…’ Charlotte pauses before delivering the knockout punch ‘…but I think you’ll regret it if you don’t at least do something.’

‘What’s the matter, Dad?’ Tom (our eldest) has clearly had his antennae up so we do our best to explain.

He considers our explanation. Then with all the wisdom of his six and a half years pronounces around a mouthful of chip: ‘Sometimes, Dad, it’s best just to get on with it.’

We go into salvage mode: If the Whole Thing is freaking me out, what about Some Thing? With cloud right down and only a Pennine Way map we finally figure a route home that I reckon will be about 5 hours – and I can get my head around that. Get out, tune into the solo, dark, limited viz environment and salvage something. Walking’s fine, you clearly just need to start with something less big and scary…

So I do – and it all goes fine even in the awful visability until the 3 hour mark when my left ankle very quickly starts to complain. It’s the same place and symptoms from a few weeks ago and it quickly has me slowing. I abort taking in the 650m summit of Whernside and opt for the low level option as my internal language deteriorates horribly. Six hours after setting off as midnight approaches I limp through our front door and make a beeline for the ice to ease the swollen ankle. A salvage job indeed – but at what cost?



Oct 3 Thursday

Back on the treatment couch and Mr Ward looks up from a preliminary examination.

‘Well the good news is that it’s a new injury.’

Huh???

‘If it was the same as last time we’d have a problem – but it’s different and in a different place: This is definitely new.’

But definitive cause eludes us and the best we can come up with is that I did some low-level damage in the ‘cross race – really? Ya think?! - that I didn’t notice until six hours on my feet under load exacerbated it. I’ve got bruising, broken skin, discoloration, inflammation and sore tendons and ligaments. The only certainty is that I’ll be off weight-bearing stuff for a while and back on two wheels. Oh well – it’s not like anyone’s watching this now, is it..?

September 30th Q&A session with Andy

Cracking the Spine

September 30

Let the Questions Begin! Please comment them on this post!

Scott Gilmour How will your approach differ from last year's attempt?

Cracking the Spine I'll do some training! And get my head round the whole damn thing instead of the first third. And be positive rather than crapping it. And do detail rather than big picture. And nail the 'what' & 'why' bit. And have oceans of leverage in place. And be focused on me. And be cool with the scenario that even my best efforts may not be enough. So no, Scott - not much different at all..!?!

Scott Gilmour Well I believe your meticulous approach will pay dividend Andy! You WILL complete!


Kevin Watkins How do we get our local school involved in CTS?

Cracking the Spine Kevin, please email me directly andy@doingbigandscary.com so we set up a call time tomorrow.

Kevin Watkins Will do.

Benjamin Gardner-Hall Hi Andy who takes the best photos Matt or Ellie ? lol

Cracking the Spine oi you! but now you mention it - it's a bit like the pesto question if its good mine, if its not matts . Ta Ellie

Cracking the Spine Asking me to drive a wedge into the heart of our working relationship at this early stage is abit harsh dontcha think??


Andrew Bernie Bernard How many calories will you need every day Andy?

What supplements will you be taking?

Cracking the Spine More than I think. One of the lessons of this year was that I was eating and drinking less than I needed (energy for forward locomotion AND heat generation) - so something has to change. One of the leads this project has thrown up is the chance to work with a nutritionist which means I may well be get all scientific with the calorie stuff.


Cracking the Spine Oops - forgot to answer the 'supplement' thing: I don't as a rule. Just not comfortable with it. The only thing I've ever done is multi-vitamins. Given the possibility that we might be going all science-based on the fuel front I am, as they say, girding myself to practice the skills of being open-minded on the subject...Quite a task for a 40 something bloke who knows what he likes.


Andrew Bernie Bernard How much sleep do you expect to get?


Cracking the Spine Dunno. More interested in how much sleep I'll need 'cos this bit is uncharted waters: Do I plan it in advance expedition-style or just go till I drop runner style? Really haven't got that figured yet.

Sarah Gardner-hall Andy what's your biggest motivation to keep going when the going gets tough ?


Cracking the Spine Varies race to race, Sarah. I figure out the 'what' and 'why' for a biggie race each time. Common denominator since becoming a Dad has been our boys: See Dad finishing something he starts and enjoying the process etc...


Pete Harris Hi there . Whats the route.and what time do you.start ??

Cracking the Spine Pennine Way south to north 8am start saturday Jan 11th Pete


Kevin Watkins Andy how do you balance training time, racing and having a family?

Cracking the Spine Sometimes I get close to some sort of balance, sometimes I'm hopeless and every so often we (Charlotte and I) nail it. That's been a key: Practicing the skills of talking and sharing - now there's a concept. I'm better than I was but then priorities do shift when small people arrive. Sometimes of course if endurance stuff is our bag I think it is helpful to put ourselves out of balance, uncomfortable, hurting - as long as you can choose to come out of that and re-charge and our Significant Others have been fore-warned and have signed off on it. It's all still a work in progress tho'

Kevin Watkins Great reply Andy will let my wife read this!


Sarah Gardner-hall Do you think as I do in ultras that so much of it is mental rather than physical & if u can get your head around the distance & event that anything is then possible.?

Cracking the Spine IF you can keep your feet intact, manage your mood and find your way, then yes Sarah - I agree


Pete Harris What is the starting point

Cracking the Spine Middle of Edale village. Follow the nervous laughter - it'll be us.

Thanks to Andy for taking the time to answer all the questions.

If anyone can help us in our mission to raise money for the project please follow the link to the Cracking The Spine Kickstarter Page

Frequently asked Questions for Andy Mouncey

How old is he?

Old enough to know better (46 and 3/4)

Why does he want to do it?

Unfinished business from 2013 and it's a VERY unique challenge I don't have to travel hundreds of miles/another country to experience


Is there snow and ice all the way?

Could be

How many drop out each year?

More than half

How long is the training?

How long you got?? I started endurance sport in my teens and specific prep for this race started in the summer - so that 30 years or 6 months depending how you measure it


What does he think of when running - family, the next hill, the other runners, a Caribbean beach?

All of the above except the beach (usually nice mug of tea is sufficient level of fantasy in the cold and dark). It usually splits b/w paying close attention to what I'm doing, remembering war I want to happen and why I'm doing this - and drifting away with the fairies


Live graph of heart rate? blood pressure?

Talking to the scientists now so possible

What does it do to him overall, psychologically, physically?

Both a life-enhancing experience (whatever the outcome) and can be destructive and draining physically, mentally, emotionally - before, during and after. The challenge is to harness the former and manager the latter


What is the muscular strain - compared say with walking on a street?

In a phrase: Repetitive Strain Injury

How do muscles keep delivering?

That's what training and goal-setting (motivation) is for

How can conditioning (training) help? Is it a big difference?

Conditioning builds confidence. A big part of success in ultras is about managing mental state: Confidence is the currency


Is the heart muscle strengthened by 2%? 5%? 10%? 20%? etc?

Depends on where the athlete is starting from and type of training they do e.g. - little is any change in a trained runner with many years conditioning, much more for someone relatively new


What is the risk of skeletal damage in a fall?

Higher than normal - tiredness, poor conditions underfoot, carrying a load -all add to risk

What rescue stations are there?

Mountain Rescue Team cover throughout in addition to race checkpoints

How does the organisation keep tabs on everyone?

GPS trackers, checkpoints, mobile phones

What does his wife/family think of all this?

Feel free to ask!

What does his GP think?

It's old news to her...

Are all the other runners like him?

No! I am unique!!

How may the weather change?

Horribly and quickly


Will the event be stopped in deep snow?

If the race organisation can't reach a part of the course then that may happen

Does he have to qualify by having cross-country experience?
Yes

Don't forget you can be part of Cracking the Spine - Go to our Kickstarter Page to find out how!

Calling all Bloggers!: Get your blog on film credits!

We know there are quite a few of you awesome people who are writing blogs, this post is all for you!

Cracking the Spine is about getting as many people involved as we can so we're calling all bloggers to get involved. 

We want YOU to write your own blog story on Cracking The Spine
Can you think of a new angle to write about the project? Here are some ideas...

• From the point of view of Andy & Charlottes two sons
• From the point of view of Mountain Rescue
• Medical point of view
• Social point of view

- In return we'll put a link to your blog on our links page -

The most unique and interesting blogs are up for an extra prize

We'll choose the top 5 blogs to be in the final film credits with special thanks.

We will choose the winning blogs in one week!
Sharpen those pencils and iron that paper - it's writing time!

Good luck and thank you!

Enter your blog by posting it on the Cracking the Spine Facebook Page and sending a link to us on a Facebook Personal Message.

If you have questions for Andy, Charlotte or the Film Crew just send us an email CrackingTheSpine@gmail.com or PM us on the Facebook Page or via Twitter @CrackinTheSpine

Please not the film must be fully funded to go ahead! See the countdown below.

Kickstarter Outtakes Video!

It's not all serious faces, calorie counting and training here at Cracking the Spine - Here's our Outtakes from the Kickstarter Video, enjoy!