Summer 2010
TV stations work on the ratio of one complaint letter equating to a thousand offended (albeit slightly more lazy) viewers. Subscribing to that ratio I have a thousand reasons to feel slightly apprehensive writing about my next challenge after receiving a well-structured and hopefully well-meaning letter criticising me for not being honest or bothering with self-introspection in an article I wrote on why people (including myself) are taking on adventurous challenges.
Quite rightly I was taken to task for rolling out stock answers of "challenging yourself" and "needing a goal" with all the thought and insight of a footballer in a post-match interview.
But I genuinely love the physical challenges that I am able to do. I entered the Marathon de Sables this year – for fun. The offer to film it came later. The race pushed me to my physical and mental limits. But with a scientific support crew I learnt an unprecedented amount about not only my physiology – but also, what I can do to perform faster, for longer.
So ignoring this new found knowledge would frankly be a waste. Hence the latest I'm doing with the Discovery Channel "Cracknell Takes on America" I'm starting this week. This is a biggie - a non-stop 'Greatest Hits' tour of the States.
Santa Monica, the terminus of Route 66 offers the perfect start point. But rather than follow it all the way to the Great Lakes, I'm going to make a detour into Death Valley - the driest and hottest place in America. It's home to the lowest elevation in the US (86m below sea level) which hosts the infamous shoe-melting invitation-only Badwater Ultra-marathon.
The 80mile run presents a huge barrier in the challenge. If I don't manage my pace and hydration properly - which could be virtually impossible in the 50 degree heat - at best I'll have to wait until I recover before resuming on the bike; at worst I'll fail less than 10% of the way across.
Once out of Death Valley I'll rejoin Route 66 on the bike, but the temperatures will still be high as I pass through Arizona, New Mexico and the Mid West aiming to cover 250miles every 24 hours for the 2,500miles to Toledo. The brutal Continental Divide of the Rockies has to be crossed and although Route 66 eventually flattens out that's about the same time that I then enter Tornado Alley. The core of which is the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Fortunately I'm only cycling through three of those four states.
It wouldn't be a trip across the States if I didn't take in a Great Lake and stretching from Toledo to Buffalo, Lake Erie fits nicely into my route to New York. There's also another positive: it's the second shortest of the Lakes. But at just over 240miles that isn't much of a bonus, especially as it's also the busiest, roughest and has the highest number of shipwrecks.
Motivation on this leg is in the shape of Matthew Pinsent who is going to come and join me – just like old times, only a lot slower.
The aim is to row into West Side Rowing Club in Buffalo and 'jump' on the bike for the last leg to Manhattan. With over 2,500miles in the legs those last 500 are going to hurt.
Luckily I'll have Chrissie Wellington the world Ironman champion for company when I leave the boat for the 500miles into New York. Unfortunately she can cycle 500miles before breakfast, so she'll have to wait for the wheezing slow guy, especially as I'll be worrying about the swim down the Hudson to The Statue of Liberty - it would be disastrous to get that far and fail in the last 15miles.
I can't wait to bank a decent overall time and throw down the gauntlet to any other sport-maniacs to beat. Of course, I'll help in any way I can, but there's a reason why I put a row in there.
March / April 2010
www.saharamarathon.co.uk
As events go it wasn’t the longest I’ve done but some of the days were as hard as I’ve ever had in sport. I decided to enter the MDS whilst sat in a tent 100m from the South Pole as the race doctor assessed the blisters I’d intelligently let turn to ulcers and another visitor to the pole stuck his head in the tent and said “Call those blisters - you should do the Marathon des Sables”.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could look after my body day after day whilst racing. Knowing blisters are my Achilles Heel or if I’m honest one of my many Achilles Heels I set about making sure I had a strategy to deal with them but more importantly not to avoid them in the first place. I hardened my feet over six weeks with surgical spirit and worked with various taping methods on training runs but more importantly worked on sorting out my gaiters to make sure no sand entered my shoes in the first place.
I was working with The Discovery Channel on a documentary about how to acclimatise and perform in high temperatures alongside the military and the Human Performance centre at defence research company QinetiQ. So I left the UK with a strategy to cope with my feet and acclimatised for running in 50 degree heat the third area that required a great deal of planning was what I’d be taking with me.
The decision runners have to make is between comfort and weight, all clothing (including sleeping bags) and food for the week has to be carried whilst water is picked up at the checkpoints along the way.
I decided to go for a light pack and dispense with comfort. I had the thinnest sleeping bag possible, no change of clothes only a paper suit; I ditched my stove the day before the start and took just over the minimum calorie specification of 2,000 a day. As the body burns around 4,000 calories during a marathon I was going to be drawing on the body’s reserves from day one. The nutritionist I’d worked with assured me that over a limited period the body would cope well and there wouldn’t be a drop in performance.
He turned out to be half right, the body did cope well but there was a drop in performance although that wasn’t due to the diet.
The Moroccan Sahara is a ruggedly beautiful place; not an endless vista of sand dunes but a combination of dried up salt lakes, rocky Jebeles, flat open stony plains and the energy sapping dunes.
Having acclimatised for the heat back home I made the decision not to guide myself through to Stage 4’s double marathon but get stuck in right from the start. The tactic worked well, I finished day one in ninth and the second day in sixth. The third day was a lesson in what happens when you misjudge your pace as I literally crawled across the line. I wanted to disappear to an air-conditioned room, chilled drinks and room service until I’d recovered. Instead I was starring down the barrel of a double marathon – further than I’ve ever run before in hotter temperatures than I’ve run in before and on limited food and water. Not what you’d call a recipe for success.
The real highlight of the MDS is the people you meet and the ‘camping’ situation ensures you get to know them pretty quickly. The eight person tent allocation isn’t exactly scientific, you either go around asking people if there’s space in their tent or like a seller at a souk try to tempt them into your tent. More by luck than judgement I ended up with a brilliant tent. Everyone had good days and bad days but the relentless banter meant it was impossible to wallow in self-pity. In fact we spent most of the time wallowing in the pungent odours of a couple of the more extrovert tent ‘mates’ and thankful unlike Dan we’d decided to run in shoes and gaiters rather than Vibram Five Fingers. So no matter how bad we were feeling in the morning at least we didn’t have to put them on.
The top 50 runners had the ‘privilege’ of starting three hours after the rest of the 1,100 strong field on the long Stage Four. It meant you would be passing people as the day went on which was psychologically good but it also meant starting the race in the heat of the midday sun at noon. It was a blisteringly hot day and by the time the sun disappeared in the evening I was struggling, the constant flow of electrolyte and sugary drinks was making me feel nauseous, I was exhausted and still had the sand dunes to come. At least it was dark and I couldn’t see how far they extended for so just focused on keeping one foot in front of the other.
The finish line came as desperation was setting in. The race was sponsored by a Moroccan tea company and as nice as their sweet offering normally was after over 80km of running it tipped me over the edge. I vomited in the medical tent, somehow persuading the medical staff I didn’t need a drip – that would have meant a two hour time penalty and having run my guts out for over 10hours I didn’t feel like giving that time away for free. Thankfully I had over 20hours to recover as the cut off wasn’t until the following night.
The rest day helped me out and the marathon on Stage Five went well apart from injuring my foot. I went to Doc Trotters who insisted it wasn’t broken and strapped it up. Just one more stage to go, I could get through that. I was now in 11th place and the highest a Brit had ever finished was 12th and I had a five minute buffer.
The pain in my foot spoiled my normally text-book running style and going down a sand dune I felt my hamstring go and with it all my speed replaced only by a lot of pain. As people streamed past me I could see 12th place disappearing, I kept telling myself if I was having a bad day others would be too although I didn’t really believe it. Crossing the line wasn’t the celebratory process I was envisaging instead there was the frustration of not being able to run flat out because of the leg and a painstaking wait to see if I’d held onto 12th.
After six days running I’d made it by two minutes. I’m as proud of that achievement as anything else I’ve achieved in sport. It turns out I had broken a bone in my foot – the fifth metatarsal – at least I feel like a proper sportsman now. I’m sure the doctors guessed it was broken but stuck out in the desert there was nothing they could about it and I wasn’t going to stop. Goes to show that what you don’t know won’t bother you.
July 2009
With a start number in the 8,000's I knew there were going to be a fair few cyclists ahead of me and even though I knew there were over 9,500 doing the Etape I found it impossible to picture what that many riders all bunched up like marathon runners before the start would look like.
It was both inspiring and annoying, inspiring because to see that many people passionate about being active and setting themselves a challenge is fantastic to be part of it was just annoying that over 8,000 were in front of me and even more annoying that your time starts when the gun goes rather than when you cross the line. Not great when it takes you 35minutes to cross the line.
I'd put in some decent training and wanted to not only see how fast I could do the whole stage but to find out how hard the legendary Ventoux was. I figured the only way to do this was by making sure I was knackered by the time I reached the start of the climb. I achieved that goal but regretted it 5km into the climb when the road steepened for the 10km through the forest. I wasn't the only one struggling Ventoux resembled armageddon there were people and carbon spread everywhere on the mountain. I ploughed on figuring that if I stopped there was no chance I would start again.
With every pedal push I had more respect for the riders in the tour who do this for a living racing up these climbs. I was in a little race of my own, to get a gold medal in the event I had to get under six hours, I made it by five minutes. Crossing the line coincided with a massive bout of cramp but luckily some kind French cyclist stretched my leg for me and said I was too big for bike riding. I had to concede that one.
April 2009
In April 2009 James took on the Devizes to Westminster canoe challenge along with ex marine canoeing partner Bernie Shrosbree. The non-stop version of the race that James and Bernie tackled is the longest non-stop canoe race in the world and the pair finished 16th in the race in a time of just 20 hours 36 minutes.
The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race starts in Devizes, Wiltshire and finishes just downstream of Westminster Bridge in London, opposite the Houses of Parliament. The race has been held annually over the Easter Weekend since 1948.
The race is 125 miles long and has 77 portages. The first 52 miles are along the Kennet and Avon Canal, the next 55 miles are on the River Thames and the final section is on the tidal portion of the Thames.
The race is a severe test of skill and stamina which produces a memorable sense of achievement for those successfully completing it and James is delighted to join the impressive list of canoeists who have achieved this feat before him.
4th January to 22nd January 2009
www.amundsenomega3southpolerace.com
James reprised his partnership with TV presenter Ben Fogle, after their success in the Atlantic Row, this time to take on Antarctica in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race 2009. The pair were joined by Dr Ed Coats, who was chosen after applying to join the team during a nationwide search, to make up Team Qinetiq. Their expedition was filmed for a prime time BBC documentary so look out for this on BBC 2 later in the year.
After two weeks of intensive Polar Training in Antarctica coving approximately 100 nautical miles, and a slight delay because of the weather, six teams finally set off across the Antarctic Plateau, on 4th January, to race 430 nautical miles across the largest ice cap in the world to the Geographic South Pole.
The racers faced constant challenges throughout their journey: surviving in temperatures as low as -50C, navigating and skiing while pulling a 70Kg. pulk (sled), climbing up to 9300 ft. to the South Pole, terrifying ice chasms, sore feet, frostnip, pneumonia and through everything working together as a team.
The boys successfully reached the South Pole at 3.30pm on 22nd January 2009. They travelled 473.6 miles during the race and finished in a fantastic 2nd place, just over 20 hours behind the frustratingly good Norwegian’s 'Team Missing Link'.
Amundsen & Scott
Norwegian Roald Amundsen reached the geographic South Pole on 14th December 1911, Englishman Captain Robert Scott on 17th January 1912. Their expeditions were never meant to be a race but when they discovered that they were both planning their journeys at the same time, the race was on.
Scott's team of five reached the pole just over a month later than Amunden’s. Although they faced the same severe weather conditions and treacherous climb, these obstacles were made all the more challenging by Scott's decision to man-haul the sledges. On the return leg, the weather worsened and the already harsh conditions became near impossible to cope with. Constant blizzards and temperatures falling below 30°C battered the failed English team.
Edgar Evans was the first to succumb to the terrible weather when he developed frostbite and died. Then, Laurence Oates, realising his health was failing him and not wanting to be a burden to the rest of the team, sacrificed his own life in the hope of saving his friends. As he left the tent for the last time, he uttered the famous words: "I am just going outside and may be gone for some time."
He was never seen again. The final three members of the team, Scott, Edward Wilson,
and Henry "Birdie" Bowers froze to death on the 29 March, barely 11 miles from their
depot and safety.
It is in memory of these intrepid explorers, Norwegian and English, that James Cracknell and Team QinetiQ race to the pole.
27th February to 7th March 2008
www.challengecracknell.com
James wanted to show just how close Africa is to the UK by getting there entirely using his own strength, all to raise money for Sport Relief. He achieved this amazing feat in just
9 days - rowing the channel, cycling down through France and Spain then finally swimming
to North Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar, accompanied by David Walliams and four
pilot whales!
“Africa is not a place on the other side of the world, as Lenny Henry said:
‘This is your doorstep.’ Travelling to Africa under my own steam has always been something that I wanted to do. The majority of the trip will be spent on a bike which is a great way to see any country.”
James slept only four hours a night in a mobile home and ate and drank on the move.
He capsized, suffered from saddle sores and braved shark infested waters.
Distance travelled: 1460.82 miles in 9 days
Longest daily distance: 300 miles
Average speed: 19.5 mph
Maximum speed: 55 mph
Time in the saddle: 108 hours
Hours slept: just 50
Hours awake: 190 hours
Calories burnt: a massive 60,000
Punctures: one
Rotations of bike wheel: 3.1 million
Capsized: once
Bowls of rice consumed: too many!
Money raised so far: over £340,000
30 November 2005 to 19 January 2006
In 2005 James decided to take on the mighty challenge of rowing across the Atlantic with TV presenter Ben Fogle. The pair set off in a twenty one foot plywood boat in the 2005 Atlantic Rowing Race with the whole challenge filmed for the BBC documentary Through Hell and High Water.
They pushed themselves physically, psychologically and emotionally to the limit. They survived without water rations, lost the few clothes they had, capsized, hallucinated, wept, fought, played games, grew beards, nursed blisters and rowed a staggering 2,930 miles. After 49 days at sea they crossed the finish line two days ahead of the next pairs rowing boat, setting the British record for East West crossing from La Gomera to Antigua.