Running
Comrades lessons by Garth Diers
Jun
I once had the pleasure of doing a Special Forces Survival course in Limpopo.
The best tutors the special forces had were there to teach us how to get through a war zone special operation and come out alive and successful.
The 1st lesson was; in a conflict situations there are two things which are not negotiable. Your boots and your rifle. Without either of these you have lost the fight before it even started.
The 2nd lesson was; the unexpected will happen. You either have to change your tactics or your goals.
The 3rd lesson was; food, liquids and sleep to keep you going and sharp are important but that when you are in a stressful or life threatening situation they are not your primary concern. You have built in reserves. However these reserves will only last so long and once depleted will stop you completely unless ;
Lesson 4 you are extremely mentally driven to complete the task at hand and believe you can.
There were other lessons on tracking ,snaring animals, finding food, obtaining liquids to drink ,repairing broken kit, natural medicines ,making palatable drinks even a bush” koffie” etc but these don’t concern us as at Comrades everything is supplied in abundance.
So let us use these proven facts to assist us in Comrade:
You need:
The right shoes
You don’t need a rifle but you need protection. Sun screener and a hat and maybe sun glasses. A warm top at the start is probably not going to be necessary at the start but take one along .
Be ready and relaxed for the unexpected to happen. It is not the end of your race. Collect yourself and start again maybe with a different goal. There is no reason to give up. After a short walk you will recover.
Get enough liquid and food but don’t overdo it. Make sure you get enough carbohydrate and salts. Plain water intoxication is dangerous.
Be extremely mentally driven even the impossible can de done if you believe in yourself. Success lasts forever.
If you don’t get to Pietermaritzburg on time it isn’t the end of the world you took part in the war and saw it through to the end, you were just as successful as everybody else, you just took a little longer.
Good luck and may the Special Force be with you
Garth Diers
