Dare

Finally, I have some "daring" adventures in the works. It's taken some soul-searching. Interestingly, the answers often come to me on solo runs, halfway up a brutal climb. Does oxygen deprivation contribute to transcendence? ;)

Mt Solitary, NSW, AUS in the background - a good climb for soul-searching

It's been many months without much in the way of running goals. It was a feeling I wasn't used to. The challenges just kept coming; ever since May 2010 when I started to set myself some daring goals. I might just add "daring for me", though that should be assumed, since this particular blog is mostly all about me ;)

It was a rewarding four years. A good mix of exciting, exhausting, scary, and fun. That's what daring is about. Challenging expectations. Exploring. Defying fear. Questioning reality.

To help other runners with their own "dares," I started a trail running business, Perth Trail Series, in early 2012. Last month, looking to fill the void of daring I was facing, I decided I had to sell PTS to my brilliant assistant. This opened the door to freedom and flexibility in my calendar. I just had to figure out some new dares. We all know (well, if you read my last post you know) that the 2015 World 24hr Championships did not fill my criteria for daring. At this point in my life, eeking out a few more kilometres in a 24 hour race does not create sufficient personal exploration and challenge. Maybe it will again someday.

My upcoming daring adventures might break records, they might not. They might only break a record in my brain - some artificial limiting fear, a "win" in overcoming logistical challenges, weather challenges, distance challenges, training challenges, or the challenge to live more simply and surrounded by nature more often. Here's where I'm headed:

Kep Ultra: 31 May 2015; Western Australia; 76km + 600m

Stirling Range Ridge Top Walk (RTW) loop: June 2015; Western Australia; 46km (+ ~2,000m)

Dolomites Sky Race Vertical Kilometre: 17 July 2015; Canazei, Italy; 2.5km + 1,000m

UTMB training camp (running the race course as a recce over 4 days): 24-28 July 2015

Monte Rosa Walser Trail: 1 August 2015; Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Italy; 50km + 4,000m

Rifugio Guide del Cervino altitude acclimatisation: 24-27 August 2015; Swiss-Italy border; elevation 3480m

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB): 28 August 2015; Chamonix, France; 170km + 10,000m

Canyon de Chelly Ultra: 10 October 2015; Arizona, USA; 55km + 365m

Point to Pinnacle: 15 November 2015: Tasmania, Australia; 21.4km + 1,270m

Yukon Arctic Ultra: 4-12 February 2016; Yukon Territory, Canada; 300 miles pulling a sled. Rolf says this is the sled-dog race where I'm the dog. This race has been on my radar since 2007. In 2013 I wrote off the idea, but the idea won't wear off me!

Bibbulmun self-supported FKT attempt: April-May 2016?

Rim2Rim2Rim Grand Canyon: April-May 2016?

Patagonia fast-packing: April-May 2016?

Teaching myself to build a pole barn on my land, circa 2001

It's your turn. I won't dare you. Dare yourself. Do something audacious. In your own way. You define it and make your dream come true.