Prelude to an Arctic adventure

“So why an ultra marathon in the Arctic? Are you mad?” are very good and fully valid questions I have been asked recently.

I am currently sat on a train somewhere in Northern Sweden, scheduled for 14 hours and looking likely to be getting on for 24 hours once wrapped up (something about electrical fires!) so I have plenty of time to kill. With that in mind, why not try some kind of blog post and attempt to answer those excellent questions.

Firstly, full disclosure - I haven’t written anything “creative” since I was in school, which is, well, some time ago. So, please be kind with your feedback - or maybe just ignore this if you aren’t into it. Arguably, this is more challenging for me than the actual running.

So here goes….

I, like many, have been fortunate to work from home during the pandemic and have heeded the governments advice to limit my real-life interactions for the best part of two years now. Subsequently, life in the pandemic has often been a little like Groundhog Day with a revolving door of virtual meetings, movie nights and Netflix binges, all within the same four walls both working, living and relaxing. I have got into nasty habits, not connecting with friends or family and it seems like my status quo since Covid is to not reach out to someone, to not go for a drink or to not shake myself out of my bubble. Work. Watch tv. Sleep. Repeat.

For me, it feels like a slow slide with isolation now being “normal” and an implicit acceptance to batten down the hatches, sit and passively watch the days, weeks and months go by and before I know it, it’s 2022 and I am wondering where my 2 years went. Living life like a tepid, corporate version of Bo Burnham’s Covid isolation masterpiece “Inside”, my mental descent has been gradual but real and life all too often feels a little numb and hard to grasp.

I know what you are thinking - poor, privileged, middle-class white guy - My heart bleeds. Well, I hear you and I am not looking for sympathy - I just want to be honest and say that things are not always ok and most importantly, get out of my sofa rut and shake off those Groundhog Day vibes. Which naturally leads me to the here and now - in a train in Lapland destined for the Arctic Circle and plan on running 230km’s across frozen lakes, snow and mountains in minus 40 degree temperatures, carrying all of my food and supplies for the five day adventure.

“That’s a bit of a step change” I hear you say? Yes and that is the thinking.

In my many hours of sitting on my sofa, partaking in Microsoft Teams meeting marathons and Netflix binges I have yearned for something more. Something real and something different. All too often, I feel that Matrix vibe of living but not really living something authentic and I do not want to be “that guy” wishing he had done more when it comes to the inevitable end. Yes, I am very, very lucky to be be able to do it; this adventure comes with a big slice of privilege and it’s for that reason that I have to take the opportunity and make the most of what life has given me.

Time for a reset and - as one of one of my favourite sayings goes - mood follows action. In making a change, my view is that it’s the doing that brings that shift in mindset rather than waiting for something to click so I am expecting my brain to catch up and for good things to come from taking that step - or rather, steps. Quite a few of them. Like a slightly dull, office dwelling, corporate phoenix from the flames, I will return rejuvenated and sociable with boundless energy and an appetite to reconnect with the world around me.

Yesterday, I told a colleague at work about my imminent departure for my bucket-list adventure and they said in most certain terms that “I must” write a blog about my trip. My immediate reaction was almost wholly negative - I have never created a blog post and rarely even posted content on social media so this is a rarity. I am far too busy for that! That’s how I have always justified my low profile, however at its core it really comes down to not putting myself out there being the easy option, with the fear that my post will be left with a few charitable likes and proverbial tumble-weed. The more I think about it, the more comparisons I can make to my newly found sofa-dwelling, Groundhog Day existence. Even if I do get my predicted three likes (maybe one comment) then no harm no foul, I have finally given this a whirl and I have taken that action.

So, with a little trepidation I am putting this out there.

The moral of the story? Not sure if there is one but my take home is that whilst I am currently questioning my sanity - along with many colleagues, family and friends - I am looking to start 2022 by shaking out of my routine and comfort zone, turning the page on groundhog day and putting myself out there. Mood follows action.

So that wraps up my first ever blog - perfectly timed as our train tentatively creeps into the remote, snowy outer regions of what is officially Europe’s last wilderness in an area roughly the size of Wales and a population of around just three thousand.

If anyone is still reading and is keen to know if I make it back with all of my digits, how things went and what I may or may not have learnt, then feel free to like or comment and I might even subject social media to a follow up!

#beyondtheultimate #adventure #pandemiclife #runningmotivation