While everyone else is
thinking about Christmas, you are thinking of how do I arrange the festive
period around my training for the Fan Dance.
The Bulletproofbodies
Team will be there to keep all athletes from getting a Musculo-Skeletal injury providing before race and in between race treatments.
Remember to check out
Uzo on Gone Tabbing’s Allycast:
But what does it mean to experience the Fan Dance?
In our artificial world
of mortgages, smart phones and the incessant chatter of the voice in the head,
there is an urgent need to return to the simple raw intensity of man against
nature: the human will pit against an unapologetic and silent adversary of rock
and earth.
Sweat prickling the
forehead and soaking the back, straps digging into the shoulders and the
primitive urge to suck in the next breath and keep going smother out everyday
concerns.
The glorious feeling of
the body working to its maximum capacity washes over you, jockeying for
position with dozens of other competitors makes your heart feel as though it is
attacking the inside of the rib cage.
Fully dilated pupils
drink in the richness of the surroundings as you pound up the mountain,
scalding heat bursts through the leg muscles and the hypnotic rhythm of gravel
underfoot and urgent breathing echoes around you.
This is what it means
to be alive: the vital and overwhelming awareness of the present moment thrust
onto you by straining lungs and aching limbs.
This is what it means to do The
Fan Dance.
It's not over until you have had your first Official Fan Dance Ale!
Across the Brecon
Beacons from the Storey Arms to Taf Fechen forest and back again.
Distance: 24 km (15
miles)
Ascent: 1200 metres
(4000 feet)
Record Time: N/A
Estimated Finish Time:
The official cut-off for Special Forces recruits weighed-down with army kit is
4 hours.
Difficulty: 7/10
Overview:
On it’s own, 15 miles
in the Welsh countryside is actually an enjoyable thing, and you are likely to
see a range of people out walking the hills. Team the route up with a run
loaded with gear and you’re set-up for a challenge.
When To Go:
You can take on the
route all year round, but in winter the route is likely to be in winter
condition with snow across the entire route. Avalanche Events run two organised
races across the route, once in summer and once in winter conditions.
What Do I Need?
Decent trail running
gear for an unladen speed attempt on the route and decent walking gear for
anything else. If considering a proper military-style weighed attempt, good
boots and a decent large capacity pack are essential. You should also carry the
kind of hill essentials with you too (plenty of food and water, waterproofs,
map, compass and mobile phone)
How To Prepare:
Get out there and work
on your cardio. Hill reps and pounding up hills will certainly help. If aiming
for the fully-weighted attempt, practice carrying heavy loads on your back at
speed. Sign up on the link below:
The Winter Fan Dance is
the first weekend of January 2018 in the beautiful Brecon Beacons in South
Wales.
In our artificial world
of mortgages, smart phones and the incessant chatter of the voice in your head,
there is an urgent need to return to the simple raw intensity of man against
nature: the human will pitted against an unapologetic and silent adversary of
rock and earth.
Sweat prickling the
forehead and soaking the back, straps digging into the shoulders and the
primitive urge to suck in the next breath and keep going smother out everyday
concerns.
The glorious feeling of
the body working to its maximum capacity washes over you, jockeying for
position with dozens of other competitors makes your heart feel as though it is
attacking the inside of the rib cage.
Fully dilated pupils
drink in the richness of the surroundings as you pound up the mountain,
scalding heat bursts through the leg muscles and the hypnotic rhythm of gravel
underfoot and urgent breathing echoes around you.
This is what it means
to be alive: the vital and overwhelming awareness of the present moment thrust
onto you by straining lungs and aching limbs. This is what it means to do The
Fan Dance.
For all those brave
enough to start their New Year as if they are serious, this challenge comes in
varying levels of difficulty:
·The Fan Dance Test: The original 24km SAS Test march
·The Fan Dance Double Tap Challenge: two Fan Dance
attempts over as many days
·Fan Dance Exercise High Moon: A Fan Dance staged at
night over an enhanced route
·Fan Dance Black Edition: The Fan Dance followed
by Fan Dance Exercise High Moon or vice versa. There is a rest period of
several hours between the two
·Fan Dance Trident: Our most demanding Fan Dance
challenge. The Fan Dance followed by Fan Dance High Moon and then another Fan
Dance.
·The Fan Dance Woodhouse Edition: The original post
WWII Fan Dance with three ascents of Pen y Fan via two new approaches and an
enhanced route. Standard Fan Dance veterans only.
The Fan Dance is a gruelling
24km SAS Selection test march staged over Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in
the Brecon Beacons.
The infamous march is
the world's oldest Special Forces test and is considered the yardstick of a
candidate's potential to perform well on Test Week and ultimately pass the SAS
& SBS Selection course.
The AEE Fan Dance event
Series is the original version with a provable and undeniable heritage, and the
only one exclusively managed and delivered by actual former SAS & SBS
staff.
Sign up for this amazing challenge on the link below:
