I can honestly say in all the time I watched Anneka Rice run/fly/walk around Britain I never solved a single one of the clues.
So why bring it up now I hear all 3 of my loyal readers say! I think I may have established where I got the buzz of competition from. Sure she had a tight jumpsuit on and was the kinda bubbly outdoorsy type that everyone’s dad fancied but it was more than that.
It was exciting, the time ticking away whilst Ken ran the studio team uncovering obtuse facts about some King from Wales once having a bath in Milton Keynes. The rush of beating the clock.
In the last few years I’ve got more involved in triathlons and general competition. Not necessarily because I’m any good (I’m not) but because it’s a physical challenge to myself. My regular training partner is a country mile fitter and faster than me but I still hold that I can beat him over 50m in a sprint. We’ve never done it because one of us will be disappointed.
So it brings me to Gauntlet. I got involved with this a while back and love the principle. I got chatting to a guy at work and we were figuring out how to make friendly competition more…accountable. To his credit he went off and made the scribblings real. It’s still work in progress but the spirit of competition is strong. We want to get people of all abilities scrapping against each other for every yard and second.
So, I’ve pitched myself against Neil. He has a marathon PB of 3:45ish. I can’t do that, my PB is 5:15…..but with a 30 minute handicap if Neil puts in a 4 hour can I push a 4:30? I’m fitter than before and he’s older than he was when he PB’d….
I’ve convinced myself I don’t care, but I know come race day if it’s close, that little extra incentive might push be faster over the final couple of miles.
Fancy a challenge? Want to brag to a mate? Get involved, it’s free, it’s just a bit of fun and frankly why wouldn’t you, if you lose, set a new handicap and go again. Every second counts.
Fubar@Forty 