“Do the Wolf Run” they said… “It’ll be fun” they said…

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now then you’ll know that me and my PSPT clients often take part in the Wolf Run. If you haven’t then welcome and I hope you’ll stick around (you’ll learn a thing or two about yourself, you know!).

The reason I do these challenges is that it gives me the chance to help people who’ve been thinking about taking part… but they have a fear.

This fear could be that they’re just scared of what’s involved or they just don’t think they can run and climb over obstacles.

You see, anyone can do a 10k obstacle run if they put their mind to it, but it’s not like that here. We do it together and make a day of it!

We start as a team, we run as a team and we finish as a team.

Well, what a better way to prove that than if I hand over the writing this week to one of our members who ran the Wolf Run for the first time. I’ll say no more about the Wolf Run. Instead I’ll hand over to Samantha and let her tell you in her own words…

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Samantha’s Guest Blog:

The Wolf Run: a mud, trail and obstacle run over a 10km course. You only have to read their website to know it will test you physically and mentally.

I’ve been a member of PSPT for about 15 months now and in that time I’ve seen Phil lead teams of PSPT members (and friends) around the course on three occasions. Each time watching from the sidelines but never quite finding the courage to sign myself up.

Why? Not the obstacles, not the swimming, not even the stinky, thick mud (well, maybe a little), just the aspect of running.

You see, I’m no runner. Never have been. Put me in the gym, give me some weights & I’m as happy as Larry but direct me toward the treadmill & you’ll see my confidence diminish.

I still remember the first time Phil said we were going to do some interval running during one of my training sessions. 30 seconds into my 2 minutes and I was certain I was about to have a Bridget Jones ‘falling off the back of the treadmill’ moment. I would’ve never been able to show my face in the gym again!

(FYI I made it to the 2 minutes…barely!)

That was my first attempt at running and (for about 8 months) my last!

It was after watching this year’s April event I decided I needed to look at The Wolf Run in a different light…

Instead of focusing on what I was afraid of, I looked at what the positives could be… a goal to work towards, a challenge to overcome, a chance to be a part of a team who (strangely) looked like they enjoyed the experience.

It was a bit like my desire for fat loss. In order for me to be successful, I had to change my way of thinking and the approach I took toward diet and exercise.

If it worked for that (I’ve lost 55lbs with the help of Phil) then surely it could work for this?

And so, when the registration for September’s run went live and an email popped up from Phil giving us the Team PSPT pack code, before my mind could convince me otherwise, I signed up!

Now, there was just that little thing of not being able to run to deal with.

May 6th 2015: The first time I decided to “Go For a Run”

Nothing major. No launching myself into an attempt at 5km. I was off to the gym that night and so I decided to run there instead of going in the car. (I live about 1.8km away.)

Needless to say, I didn’t run the whole way that night.

I couldn’t! I ran for as long as I could, then I walked, then I ran a bit more, then (you’ve guessed it) I walked again.

That night, I walked more than I ran, but I did it.

I decided I was going to run to the gym a couple of times a week and I took the same approach, easing myself into it.

Before I knew it, one night, I ran the whole way there! Me, Miss “I Can’t Run” had run 1.8km. I was pretty proud.

Then one day Phil suggested, instead of a weight training session, why didn’t I run to the gym and run back again.

An alarm bell went off in my head! Run back? That would mean running up a hill and take me close to a 5km distance.

I couldn’t do that!

Or could I??

I bit the bullet. I ran to the gym and on the way back I took the same approach that I’d taken on that very first day, walking it out as and when I need to.

Pretty soon I found that I was able to manage the full distance.

It wasn’t easy. in fact – it was bloody tough. But that sweaty, red faced, heavy-breathing mess of a person hadn’t passed out or died doing it!

And so I found myself doing less runs to the gym and instead opting to do one longer run a week

4.6km at first, then 5km, then 7km and then, one day, I hit the magic 10km.

For me, that was a huge achievement. I’d gone from someone who could barely last two minutes on a treadmill to seeing Strava show a 10km distance completed.

I’d overcome my biggest pre-race fear and it felt good.

Pretty soon it was the evening before The Wolf Run…

I soon found myself packing up the change of clothes I would need post race along with a bumper pack of baby wipes. (Trust me, if you’ve ever seen runners after they’ve finished and apparently showered off the excess, you’ll know why the baby wipes were going in.)

I was nervous. Really nervous. But there was one thing giving me confidence…

I knew that, no matter what, Phil and everyone I was running with would get me round that course.

Whether I needed physical assistance getting over an obstacle or a boost to my “I can do this” mentality, they would be there to offer it.

You see, at PSPT we’re a team. We support one another. I was confident that no matter what happened during the course we would start as a team, run as a team, and we would finish as a team.

There were 14 of us in Team PSPT this year and thankfully I wasn’t the only newbie (7 of us were tackling it for the first time).

Our start time was 12:50 and so we all met up around an hour beforehand, registered, pinned our numbers to our shirts and then waited patiently for our warm-up call.

The Wolf Run is extremely well organised. Everything from the car parking attendants, to the course marshals, to the people handing out your T-Shirts and passing you a bottle of water at the very end.

It all ran like clockwork.

I’m not going to go into detail about the course in case any of you reading this are considering taking part in the next Wolf Run.

I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprises that await you but I will say this…

In the couple of hours that followed me crossing that start line…

… I ran through fields, woods, water and mud.

I climbed and jumped up, across, over and down various obstacles.

I crawled under nets, and logs and through pools of thick sludge.

I launched myself down water slides and slid on my bum more times than I care to remember.

I had an absolute blast doing the Wolf Run!

Was it tough? At times, yes!

Was I scared? Occasionally, yes!

Did a few naughty words escape my mouth? Ummm, maybe!

Did I enjoy it? You bet I did!

The entire thing flew by and before I knew it we were all stood at the top, of the very last mud mound, getting our final team photo taken.

We were wet, we were muddy, we were bruised and a little bit battered but, most importantly, every one of us was there together and we were all smiling.

For me, the smile was down to a sense of achievement. I’d done it. I’d faced something I was pretty scared of and I’d conquered it. Ironically, the part I was most concerned about (the running) was the easiest bit!

It felt great to know that I’d set myself a goal, that I’d worked hard toward it, and that all the effort had paid off (I’ve got the T-Shirt to prove it, too!)

So, if you’re thinking about signing up for the next Wolf Run (or a similar challenge), I say go for it!

Set yourself the goal, write down a plan of action and then every day work on that plan.

Look at the positives instead of the negatives.

Don’t ever think of why you can’t do something, or why you shouldn’t.

Instead, think of how you can and why you should and, before you know it, I’m certain you’ll be accomplishing that goal.

As for me, I’m not 100% sure what my next challenge will be though I do seem to recall a conversation with Phil about the 2 Castles 10km. This now seems achievable seeing as how I’m officially a runner…a Wolf Runner!

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Thank you Sam!

Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for believing in Team PSPT. But most of all thank you for believing in yourself.

Do you know what? When you believe in yourself you can achieve almost anything. It sounds like a cliché, I know, but it’s so true.

If you need help believing in yourself and your body then drop me a line and we’ll start your journey… who knows where it will end?

Guest Blog: Samantha’s Wolf Run Success