At the end of July 2005 I was privileged enough to compete in Ultraman Canada. This was my first attempt at anything more demanding than an Ironman triathlon and I was overwhelmed by the friendship and camaraderie displayed by my fellow competitors, the support crews and everyone else involved in the event. At the awards ceremony one of my fellow athletes, John McCarey quoted from a poem by an American writer Erza Pound:

‘And the days are not long enough,
And the nights are not long enough,
And life slips by like a field mouse,
Not even shaking the grass.’
-- Ezra Pound

John was suggesting that in our own small way we were shaking the grass. The imagery conjured by Johns’ speech has stayed with me ever since as a gentle, positive reminder of the choices we have in life. We can either let life slip by or try and get on board and live a little.

More recently Mike Cotty recalling his ride in the Race Across the Alps said, ‘For me it's more than bike riding, it a way of learning about myself and how to cope in the face of adversity. Things that you don't necessarily get from day to day life.’

It is hoped this section of the gearsandtears site will provide visitors with an insight to the life experiences that participation in sporting events can provide. If you have a story you’d like to share please email it to ian@gearsandtears.com and if appropriate we will share it with the wider www audience. All the very best.

The following article is an account of gearsandtears.com coached athlete Hannah Elliotts debut Ironman experience. I have been coaching Hannah since November 2006. During this time Hannah has progressed from Sprint Triathlons upto the full Ironman distance showing grit & determination along the way.

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The Absa Cape Epic takes place every year around the last week of March and the first week of April. The route changes every year, and leads aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through approximately 800 kilometres of the unspoilt nature of the Western Cape and up approximately 16 000m of climbing over some of the most magnificent passes in South Africa. In 2009 gearsandtears.com coached athletes Dave Featherstone & Mark Lawn competed. The following picture board provide a taste of what they enjoyed...

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This is the incoherent ramblings of a bungling amateur athlete who was stupid enough to think he could finish an ultra distance cycle race, as his first bike race and do it on a folding bike and who was lucky enough to be part of a team that did so.

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On Monday the 6th October I arrived at Heathrow Airport with my friend and running partner Martin Nobbs to begin our journey to Brazil to take part in the 2008 edition of the Jungle Marathon, a 200km (150m) foot race held in the depths of the Brazilian rainforest.

My preparation for the event had been poor, with too few miles run and minimal research into the particular demands of the jungle environment.

I was also unprepared for the TAM flying experience. TAM, the partner airline of the event appear to have a very relaxed approach to published flight schedules and to take full advantage of their near monopoly on internal flights within Brazil changing flight itineraries at will, without explanation or consideration.

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It was the first 14% ascent 3 hours or so out from John O’Groats that brought the first pangs of doubt. “What had I started? How could I be so stupid?” John O’Groats to Lands End, unsupported, over 7 days, solo, on a single speed bike. The agony of that first climb that sent my heart rate soaring into the stratosphere and my spirits to the depth of the oceans as I hauled my laden bike to the over the brow of the hill. It was the first of many reminders throughout the trip that endurance is so much more about your state of mind than it is fitness. Yet, it turned out to be one of the most rewarding, enjoyable journeys I have made. From the stunning scenery, to the people I met, to the realisation that at its most basic, success was little more than keeping going.

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