THE ROG ENGLAND HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?
This is it. The crux of the day. I’m halfway up Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, during the run leg of The ROC England. I say run, but it’s really a walk for me. There’s no chance I’m moving any quicker than this with over 900m of elevation gain in just eight kilometres. The path is rocky, rugged and steep, the sun is beating down and my face is excreting sweat at an impressive rate. Ahead of me are a few other athletes slugging their way up the path. Every now and then a much fitter athlete appears, flying downhill at an alarming speed with limbs flailing, shoes struggling to grip onto the loose trail and a crazed look not dissimilar to Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator.
It’s depressing to think how much sooner they’ll be crossing the finish line and how they’ll be sipping on a delicious, ice-cold beer while I’m still guzzling electrolytes. But what happens next is far more devastating. As I fumble to grab a stroopwafel from my pack, my toes catch a rock and I stumble. I have flashbacks to my DNF earlier in the season at
