Another Mans Shoes
Interviews with fellow military veterans and adventurers about their experiences of war, the lows and times of hardship, joining them on their journey and how this has shaped their lives in the most extraordinary way. Comedy moments, dark humour and witty banter.
Another Mans Shoes
Enduring Adversity: Darren Hardy's Journey from Military Trauma to Record-Breaking Athlete S1E2
What if the path to healing lies through overcoming some of the world's most extreme challenges? Join us as Darren Hardy reveals his awe-inspiring journey from the violent streets of Northern Ireland to becoming a record-breaking endurance athlete. Adopted by a military man, Darren found direction and hope, eventually becoming a Royal Engineer. His story is one of resilience and the transformative power of positive influences, as he navigated the camaraderie and challenges of military service while operating heavy machinery and training under intense conditions.
Transitioning to civilian life wasn't easy for Darren, especially after a debilitating injury and the onset of PTSD. He opens up about the profound impact of these experiences on his mental health, sharing personal tragedies and family struggles that underscore the importance of expressing love and resolving conflicts. Darren's determination to find new purpose led him to extreme endurance sports, where he broke records and pushed his physical and mental limits. His adventures, from ultra-endurance races to grueling charity challenges, highlight the therapeutic benefits of setting ambitious goals.
We also hear about Darren's ambitious plans, including an Ironman event with Ben Parkinson, the UK's most injured veteran, to raise awareness for mental health and veteran support. This episode underscores the significance of recognizing mental health warning signs and the incredible impact of extreme challenges on healing and personal growth. Together, Darren's story is a powerful testament to the human spirit's ability to overcome adversity with sheer determination and the support of loved ones.
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Welcome to another episode of Another Man's Shoes. I'm delighted to have on Darren Hardy tonight. I met him a few weeks back when we were in London. We were with some friends and bumped into him, ended up coming to dinner with us and one of the guys just told us about the events that he'd just carried out and I couldn't quite believe it, so dug into it a more and he told us a bit about what he was about and so he's an ex-soldier, former officer in the British Army. Then he left and he's been on events all over the world just smashing records and he's an absolute machine and what you're going to hear in the next hour is a fantastic journey. And, darren, we are delighted to have you on the show tonight.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much for having me.
Speaker 1:So this is what we'll do. We'll start with the sort of usual fashion. We'll talk about the exciting stuff in a minute, but tell us about your sort of childhood, where you came from, and has that sort of had any impact on what you've done sort of in your adult life, or what took you on your journey? Where did it start?
Speaker 2:So it started in Park Hall, which is an estate in Northern Ireland, in Antrim, just slightly above Belfast. If anyone's been serving Royal Engineer-wise over there, it's 2-5 Engineer Regiment and that's where I grew up just me and my mum, until she eventually met my dad who adopted me, and I grew up in quite a rough paramilitary area, if you want to call it, seeing the usual beatings would punishment, beatings would be a normal thing, and witnessing a few shootings, some of them kneecaps, blown out at age eight, and and then and then the house opposite getting um shot through which missed the girl in school, uh, year below me, and these were just a general sort of occurrence and um, to me it's completely normalised, so I don't think much of it and if anyone from back home is listening they'll think it's normal, but when I talked to someone over in the mainland it doesn't seem very normal.
Speaker 1:No, I think if you ask anyone about seeing people getting kneecaps shot out at eight years old and firearms and beatings, that's quite far from normal. That's the sort of thing you'd see on telly, not out your front window.
Speaker 2:No, and you're absolutely right. And you know, around the 11th of July period, where all the sort of bonfires and parades take place, you know, and people parading around with weapon systems and firing them up into the air, or you know, you've seen the police and the military having them and I never thought anything of it. And actually, growing up and becoming an adult, would I want my kids growing up in that? Probably not, really is the answer. You know. So, and realising things like being out in Iraq, for example, and then firing shots up in the air is actually a pretty full on thing.
Speaker 1:you know that Ryan has to come down somewhere, certainly does I suppose not many conservatories and greenhouses in Northern Ireland no, no, no so you're growing up, so you're in Northern Ireland.
Speaker 1:There's obviously a lot of differences with religion out there. There's obviously the sectarian divide, and I suppose you either sort of sit there and you get on with the police and with the army, or you decide to go the other way. I suppose you either sort of sit there and you get on with the police and, uh, with the army, or or you decide to go the other way and I suppose, and uh, you get yourself into trouble. But so it's growing up. Through school did you sort of get drawn to one side or another? Did you find yourself maybe going towards the dark side and getting involved in things you shouldn't have?
Speaker 2:yeah, because you know that was what everyone did. Um, it was the whole bunking off school or, or going to the next riot or following the crowds and you know, and especially, as you said, the divide of protestant catholic and me coming from a very protestant paramilitary sort of background state, you know it was all pretty much. I remember, for example, um martin mcginnis, becoming head of education and obviously a catholic and having relationships with the ira, when he came on to visit the school of my whole school protested massively. You know we were throwing bricks and bottles at the school next door because it was a grammar school and they weren't out protesting and you know the headmaster of his loud hailer trying to clear us and and it took actually remember the, the physical twin instructor, the pe teacher, from running out with a baseball bat and chasing us all back into the classroom. So it was quite funny.
Speaker 2:But you know, at that early age and and people from my class went straight into prison and you know things with um, with the other crowd, I remember very one incident was um another, another kid I say kid because it was 16 year old, no 15 getting an axe in the back of the head and a couple of guys in my school went down for it wow, I mean, that's not the sort of stuff you expect to hear, or?
Speaker 1:see ever yeah I think we're quite sheltered these days, and if our children were even saw that once, they'd be traumatized and uh yeah, to have that on an almost daily basis. It must be something to behold, and so I suppose your character must have started to come through at that age and you sort of started to make decisions about where you wanted to sort of take your career then absolutely.
Speaker 2:I mean. So, um, as I mentioned my, my mum met um, this guy who ended up adopting me. They got married and he adopted me when I was 12 and he was in the military, in the Royal Engineers um, and he was based. At the end, obviously, my mum picked him up in the local nightclub and then this just happened to be in there and it was great.
Speaker 2:You know, I didn't have a father up until that point, so it was great for him to come along and sort of show me the way and pretty much from there I sort of knew I wanted to join the army, because he was in the army and we'd seen the military people on the streets back then. So it was a pretty cool thing and I was more focused towards sport and playing rugby and athletics and stuff rather than, as I was getting older, rather than going and getting pissed at the weekend and causing fights when I started when I was 14 and that was really hurting the sport a lot harder. And that's where I thought I wanted to make a difference and definitely join the military.
Speaker 1:Okay, so then you sort of joined the military. What age was?
Speaker 2:that. So I was just turned 17,. So I applied when I was 16, the youngest age you could. But being in Northern Ireland, you've got a lot more security checks to be done in your family and background and the process is a little bit longer, probably just nine months older.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can believe it. I mean, how did that go down? When you sort of go down to the pub or the local youth club tell your friends, hey, I'm off to join the British Army, Imagine you had to be quite careful about who you spoke to about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes and no, I mean. So I came from a Protestant background, you know, and everything was sort of that was British, it was fine, you're British. You know, if someone from an opposite religion, a Catholic, got wind of that, then that probably wouldn't be a bit different. But I did obviously keep it under sort of on the QT, and even when I went away and joined, I came back, you know, I went from drinking in a local pub with my fake ID of course, to coming back with an actual ID and a driver's license to saying that I just worked away over in England as a physical instructor. Exactly, yeah, but I think they knew, you know.
Speaker 1:And you get to go back to Ireland now. Do you go back?
Speaker 2:You've got family there, friends. You still go back and see Not really, to be honest. So, unfortunately, in 2015, my mum passed away and I never really went back much before that. So my dad's still there. Him and my mum broke up, maybe um eight, nine years ago so, and then he's remarried. So I do go back and see him.
Speaker 2:I've got um brother who lives in I don't know, he lives in Denmark, I think, or seen one of those ones at the top, um, who's a lot younger, and and then my little sister who's like I think she's 21, maybe 20 or something along those lines, but again, I don't really see she would come over here more often. She was 14 when my mum died, so she's 19 actually. So, yeah, so she would come over here more often. And then we see my granddad, who was my dad, my mum's dad, my mum's dad, my mum's mum, my nana passed away as well when I was in training to go to Iraq in 2006. No shit, fine, but yeah, so not much. And my uncle so there's not many people there. I tend to go back for funerals or weddings.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I've settled. Now I've got my own family here, so, yeah, not really a big reason to go back.
Speaker 1:Okay, so yeah here. So, um, yeah, not really a big reason to go back, okay. So, yeah, maybe there'll be an event there, because there's lots of hills and cold places for you to get yourself right into and it's nice and wet and it seems that sort of thing you like. So, uh, maybe you'll find some sort of equally hard challenge over there and going up and down a mountain a hundred times well, uh, we'll see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yes, definitely wet is is definitely the true one there absolutely so.
Speaker 1:You're 17, you've left home, you're in the big, wide, open world, even though you've been exposed to it by the sounds of it for like the 17 years before that. So you come over, you've joined the military and you decided on the the engineers, as you said, because of your sort of your dad's sort of past um so sort of explain to people.
Speaker 1:They're sort of listening. They may not understand. So what's it involve? As a 17 year old, you come over here, you've decided to join the engineers. What do you have to do? What sort of training, what? What is your job role? Where do you see yourself going?
Speaker 2:yeah, so you join you as as a soldier sort of first, you know your infantry skills. So I went through litchfield for a 12 week basic training course and it was literally gated for 12 weeks and becoming a squaddie, in essence, running around a field looking like a tree and you know, and I knew that was only part time before going on to actually near where I live now in Hampshire sorry, surrey where they are for the Royal Engineer training. So a 12-week course, yeah, being a soldier learning weapon systems, and it was pretty, pretty hardcore in a way of. It was 2003 and there was. We still got taken around the back of the building and punched or hit if we messed up, you know, and not alive.
Speaker 2:So much now, but it made me into the to the blog I am today, you know, and um, uh, funny, I was just texting a couple of guys we've got a group from from training. We're saying how do you want that time?
Speaker 1:we've got pages, you know, and how would that happen now and um?
Speaker 2:yeah, so that was the sort of the first stage. And then and then came to gibraltar barracks, to the three rsm needs to learn how to be a role engineer, and that was the meat of what I wanted to do. You know it was, and you're close to snow, you're um sort of uh, all your watermanship, your your mine clearance, all the things that you know that makes the army move, fight, survive type thing, as we say. And there was a lot of banter and I will have the intercor, but they are probably the best.
Speaker 1:Oh well, yeah, we can debate that long and hard. I mean, I had a couple of mates who were in the engineers and when we used to come back on leave, we had Paras, we had us and Scalys and engineers, and one of the things they said what have you done this week? Oh, I've been jumping out of planes. I was like, oh yeah, I'm jealous, I want to be jumping out of planes.
Speaker 1:What have you been doing this week? We built a bridge. What did you do then? We blew it up. What have you done this week? I climbed a tree and put an antenna up there. Nothing fun, move on. I think the engineers definitely had the best jobs when we were on different ops. It was great because you get to play with the big toys, but when it got cold, you had a nice vehicle to get yourself into and turn the heater on.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and that's it. And funny, actually, phase one training was a mixture Litchfield, I think just left the bean, it was a para-depot and then it was rolling to nearest signals. So I had a couple of mates I think it was about maybe six out of the 30 in base training that went signals.
Speaker 1:So yeah, um yeah and so you finish basic training. Then you, you sort of get deployed. So you're, you're a sapper, a young sapper now sort of equivalent to a private um. Where did you go? What? What did you do?
Speaker 2:I went to. I went to germany, so it was um again, there's a raw engineer, you're still not fully traded yet, you've still you're sort of phase three to go. And I went to germany quickly for um, uh, soldier under training, sat soldier something, or soldier awaiting training, I think it might be um. And then I then came back to chatting, which is one rsme to do my trade course, and I was a plant operator, mechanic as it was known then, not really much mechanic in, but more just driving the big, as you said, the big toys, um, uh, stuff, when you wear cold, uh, you know, you put the heating on when you're in minus in Poland, or vice versa, when it was hot, you have the aircon on and the odd big in a trench for the infantry lot and getting a few crates of beer at the end of the next night, you know. So that was a course that I did.
Speaker 1:And then went back to Germany and, yeah, and spent the next four years there with um, numerous courses and deployments, um, throughout yeah, because I remember from Germany, as you kind of fell into two camps you either went out all weekend on the lash and went to various clubs, with or without women in clothes, uh, or you just basically trained, you didn't drink and you just got super fit and you were up in bavaria, the black mountains, and doing all the regimental competitions, and so I'm assuming you sort of went down the the ladder and you you went down for the physical sort of life I didn't really.
Speaker 2:I'm one of these blast people that um can do. Do the first life, but stay fit and everyone hates one of those guys.
Speaker 1:Oh man yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's only now I've been 35 that it's catching up on me, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Glad to hear it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I was that guy that was trying to maybe only knock it out one night of the week because no one was open. You know, I remember it like Tuesday night was karaoke in the old triangle, wednesday, thursday night was in the local university, you know, and then hitting the weekend, um, it was just, yeah, just, fantastic was living.
Speaker 1:No, isn't it. I think that's the great thing about it.
Speaker 2:It's so much life experience that you're getting 100, you know, and 17 years old, being based in central europe with you know, we used to jump trains and go up to hamburg or whatever you know as, and 17 years old, being based in Central Europe with you know, we used to jump in trains and go up to Hamburg or whatever you know, as you say, even just down to Bavaria, do some fun stuff and then go out in the Lachens. I think soldiers nowadays miss out on the Germany postings, you know, because you can't go home at weekends. We were living in four-man rooms back then. It was the army, you know. You ate together, you slept together, you fought the army, you know. You ate together, you slept together, you fought together, you know, and it was all that, that bond, something that a lot of people probably wouldn't understand tonight.
Speaker 1:I think if you haven't been to a block party, you've missed out yeah there was something else.
Speaker 2:Go and get yourself a crate of five Deutschmark Herfutter pills and get on it for the weekend until you get banned from drinking in it in the camp because you've messed up that much and uh yeah we, it was exactly it.
Speaker 2:You know, I remember one time we um, we got, uh, one of the lads got filled in by the remy that was on camp and he and he at this point he'd go out of the army and we were in the squadron bar and which was in in the block, and it was just right, let's go and fill the remian. So we flooded, uh, their block and just went nuts and we got on um as well, weekends and where our seniors had to take us away and do something productive. But, um, thankfully I had a good core man in the gym and he took the gym staff to the october fest, so it was quite good oh yeah remember that, the raz festival and all that so you?
Speaker 1:so you say you're not drinking, you're doing your phys. You became PTI. Was that your sort of first sort of foray into sort of pushing yourself to the next level of endurance?
Speaker 2:So I did a P company, but which would have been then was nine squadron involved into five one. I came off the first time with a broken leg and then went back and finished and but never, ever served the nine squadron and you know it's just a course never jumped out of the plane, apart from my own skydiving and but I it was never everything I wanted to go and do. It was my mate was in the bar asking is anyone going to come on this course? Like yeah, what is it? And yeah, um, and then and then from that there we, we deployed to iraq, um, for quite a good tour actually, um, which, which then some things that link into sort of where I was diagnosed with ptsd, then um, and then became a pti after that and and that's where I fully focused and stayed a lot of in there I was one of these guys who just didn't leave the gym.
Speaker 2:You know it was um. I was instead of doing a six-month post in the gym, I was like three years, you know two years, and um never wanted to leave, he couldn't get me out and and it was like, yeah, I'm gonna go PT core, so I've got to stay in the gym with no intentions, to go PT core yeah, and it did cross my mind, um, but I mean later, later decisions made on from that. I left Germany from working in the gym as a PTI and supposed to Northern Ireland, the 2-5 Engineer Regiment and back to my hometown in Antrim, and that's when I mentioned it at the start. Where more shit happened, I suppose, is when those two, patrick and Mark two and Mark got shot there.
Speaker 1:So Do you on Optelic 2 or 3 or something back in? Was it 2006 for Iraq 2008? Yeah so I mean that was right in the middle. I mean that was hairy times there, you know, in Basra, sort of daily, sort of routine of getting bombed, going out, sort of just being in the routine of getting bombed and going out, sort of just being in the ship.
Speaker 1:Everyone I spoke to was there at that time, it was much more difficult than when we were there. I think you know they've really got their act together, the locals.
Speaker 2:I think so, and you know, I remember one of the mega threats they had was VIDs, so vehicle-borne IEDs and they were just coming into into fashion, if you want to call it, and, yeah, that made your nerves up.
Speaker 2:So any vehicle was approaching close and I mean I was in, I was part of a multiple. We didn't spend much time with the squadron, we were our sort of own entity and there's a 12, um 12 of us as an escort multiple and sort of force protection and we would travel around the whole whole country and in three snatch land rovers where there's zero protection, when you think they had an ecm bubble which we never even probably knew worked, and um an escort and warrior tank. So we would escort armored vehicles in a snatch land rover and the staff. And I think the biggest thing from 2006 and maybe the old and bold listening will remember, the links helicopter that got shot and shot down in 2006 and that was the. That was um. That was where a part of my ptsd sort of comes from, which didn't kick into nine years later. Um, as we cleaned up the site, the helicopter site, um, but removing, you know, 19, 20 years removing, trying to figure out what body part belongs to which body whilst being drawn at Petrobon, brit motors.
Speaker 2:You know, coming in for 27 hours wasn't very nice to be, honest, but it was a job and, as I said back then, it didn't affect me at all and it was until a lot later in life.
Speaker 1:And I think that's the thing with PTSD and with mental health in general is that you can go through something even right back into your early life, into your childhood, or something that happens years ago, like back in Iraq, and then there's a trigger point or it just comes out that much later on and we're going to touch on that a bit more later and how you've sort of dealt with that and what you've done. But it we're going to touch on that a bit more later and how you've sort of dealt with that and what you've done.
Speaker 1:But it is difficult, I think, for anyone you witness something on the side of the road is bad enough. But for you to be there, having to pick up the body parts of you know, down links, whilst also having to deal with the stress of having incoming rounds and obviously your own safety, your friends, your colleagues that are around you and also knowing that you're, you haven't really got any armor or protection to sort of assist. You know you've got an old land rover with a bit of steel around it which you could probably shoot through with a spud gun yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And even even our body armor at the time wasn't anything of what it is today. It was the whole um.
Speaker 2:So stabs that vest with a sort of square over your heart and that little ceramic plate that was about as big as a teacup yeah, from the Falklands you just hoped that a sniper was going to shoot you right there, because otherwise you were done we actually got back to camp after that turn and we put one on a range and we shot it with a 5.56 and it just didn't work yeah, like most of the kit we were given.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's approved along the way. Now it's like soldier of the kit we were given.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's a proof that I'm on my nine. Yeah, it's like soldier of the fortune our future and I believe yeah, I mean one of the things, kit, and what have you obviously we can sort of talk about that for days gone by.
Speaker 1:It's amazing when you see the guys what they're getting today compared to what we had 10 years ago it's chalk and cheese. We feel like dad's army crazy.
Speaker 2:I mean only 2015, when it was, I had a bash at SFC selections. It was all about you've got to buy the accu boots, because that's what everyone at Hereford and Poole had those accu boots and you spent 180 quid on a pair of boots but either issued.
Speaker 1:So a friend of mine, was but either issued, you know, yeah, so for anyone listening, the SFC selection is Special Forces Communicator and it's the guys that sort of do the comms for the guys at Hereford and at Poole doing the Special Forces. And SFCs have to go through a sort of selection process up in the hills in Brecon, which was probably quite good for you, given Northern Ireland and you like cold, challenging places, so Brecon's probably the perfect place for you to get your Absolutely so.
Speaker 2:At this point, I'd commissioned in 2012 into the Royal Army Medical Corps because the engineers wouldn't take me back due to no qualifications really. Commissioned as an officer? Yeah. Commissioned as an officer, yeah, yes. Commissioned as an officer, yeah, so, and I went on a SFC course as a captain and they had no idea, like, why are you coming on this course? It was the first person, like from outside, sort of in a sort of medical or engineer background, to go on the course. Like what are you doing this is for? I had to learn then. So I spent, um, I did five weeks on a pool with the sfc group there, um, and learning, uh, which is where the royal marine sort of sfc go in learning the um sort of what an embiter radio was, you know?
Speaker 2:and how to use a compass yeah, yeah, um, and then we've gone over like mock officer week, etc. Because you know people who don't know to know that the first four weeks for an officer, or the first three weeks even for a soldier, and the prep course is all the same as as sas and sbs.
Speaker 2:You know, except you do 3k and are over the hills rather than 4k, and then the officer's week is the same, so you've just got to get amongst it and then and do that, which is notorious for for failing, it's a 10% pass rate for officers of the course.
Speaker 1:So, um yeah, it's difficult and I think a lot of people. When they talk about his 3k an hour, 4k now, they're like, oh, it's so much easier, you've got 3k an hour. It's like, well, you go out there and try and smash 3k now and the reality is you're just pushing yourself all the time and you know you're going. You're having to move at 4 or 5k now just to keep up with with the timings.
Speaker 2:But it is nice to have that option in the bag that if you do make a mistake you've got a bit of time that you can make up yeah, and even prior to even getting on myself and doing some test runs, when I was up there and get up with a couple of guys that were going on the same joint selection with me, you know, is that we're cutting around maybe at five, six, k and R, because we didn't have all our kit on and you know we're new roots, but when the weather comes in, you know you've got to get your full kit on Um. That's, that's a bloody hard. Hard, well, it is, but you have got 180 pound pair of boots on, so at least your feet are warm. Yeah, exactly, I was on a winter course, so it didn't um. I was wet before the um, before it was uh, before it started yeah, people you speak to.
Speaker 1:They say, well, let's do the winter course. And then, uh, you know we get to have, we, when we go to the jungle. It's going to be so much easier on us. I'm thinking, mate, just don't worry about the jungle just yet, let's just get through the hills. And I haven't done the winter and the summer course can tell anyone that's listening do the summer course, it is so much better uh we used to lie on our billets at night and talk like why are we on this course?
Speaker 2:you know, because you have to come in.
Speaker 2:You start in the dark, you finish in the dark and you have to come in. You have to worry about all your admin because you're soaked and it's wet through and you're muddy as hell. When you think, oh, could you imagine if we're on a winter course? You know we might have a bit of sweaty feet, you know. Uh, rather than we'd have to be doing all this and um, we used to lie in like no top shit. No, what would you do if you want a million quid and you know there's um the, the famous sf8 mile.
Speaker 2:They're up to the four mile point. There's that massive hill where it's like one step forward, two steps back on a winter course. I'd imagine it was a bit more dried up on a summer course and but we're like, what would you do when we link away? We're like I'd tarmac that fucker, you know, and to make it easier for everyone else, and you know, great, great bunch of lads, great course, everyone's there for the right reasons.
Speaker 1:You know, and and yeah and I think, obviously that again was another step in you pushing yourself, seeing how how far you could take your body and you know it's by no means an easy course. And so at this point you're, you're close to sort of thinking right, I've had enough of that. Well, the military, um, your career was starting to come to an end and you were sort of transitioning towards civilian life. Is that right? Because you, you got an injury so sort of yeah, so um.
Speaker 2:So basically leading up to um, up to selection, uh, which was 2015, and then I was started a 2016 course, um, winter course, but obviously that year prior um was was all my training and that um I was, it was in canada and in battis, in Batis, in the training area out there, and there is basically where the armoured lot go and you fight full battalion exercises. You do a live firing phase for anyone who doesn't know what it is and live firing is real rounds and there's a lot of field fires that started there. So, on that live fire, when you're firing a tracer round, it can set the grass alight and there's a lot of um burning bush fires and essence right there. And and unfortunately, um, one time I was saying I had a medical treatment at this team and unfortunately some a girl fell into, one of the one of the permanent staff and from the rlc fell into and as he was trying to beat the fire right, because there's people out there know to do that yeah and um, she got brought into our treatment facility and then it was a proper full-on like kazzy back air in and that was all my doing.
Speaker 2:I had to stop the whole 2000 trips exercise and you know, yeah, as a young captain, and it was a big, big call and but we we got all right and we saved the life. Just, you know, it got to her mom and dad, dad to get flown out from the uk to say goodbye to, and it was turns out from then, um, that 2015 it was when btsd was happening, and I didn't know and it was that typical, um, you know, man up type thing yeah but I was um, uh.
Speaker 2:What the link was was the, the smell of the burning flesh, back to 2006 and and that was the trigger point to me was unknown, and I was coming back to the UK and going and training for selection, but I was imploding rather than exploding. But then I would get angry. I wasn't your typical army officer. I was fighting and road rage and trying to drag people out of their cars, and not me.
Speaker 1:Early signs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which to me I just thought was I didn't really know, to be honest, and it was actually a kid's birthday party with my wife and that was probably 2016. Then I went and seen someone's because someone's like what's wrong with Darren, and you know it wasn't myself and then it got linked back to this into 2015, but that 2015 was a pretty grueling year, to be honest, and it was, um, you know I'd come back. I was training to go on selection and we were. I was coming up to Christmas break um sort of end of November, start of December had a weekend off, was in London with my wife and, um, not my wife at the time, she's my fiance at the time.
Speaker 2:And then, um, I got that. I got a phone call and say my mom died, um at age 51. So it was a bit like shit and, uh, her and my dad had split up at this point. So I was next to kin, I had to fly back and but I buried her on a tuesday and two weeks later was getting married to my now my wife.
Speaker 2:So it was a pretty much um thing. It was pretty hard, uh, because the last conversation I had with her was on inviting her to my wedding because she had a drink problem and uh, that's the last sort of thing I said to her.
Speaker 2:You know, and um, say to people now just tell your mom and dad you love them, you know and yeah, if there's a problem, try and sort it, and, and I did try and sort it, but when someone's got an addiction, they've got it very, very hard, regardless of what that is. Um, and then I went on selection, you know. So I got married on the 21st of december and then went on hills in the third or fourth of january and and then it was on the hills phase when, when, when I was on my own, I had all this calming down to think about it, and and it hit me and and I actually actually got taken off with that, and then that's where everything started to go downhill again. And then the diagnosis of PTSD and discharged from the military.
Speaker 1:So did you find that there was much help for you people to talk to? There was support there.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think it's a process, but the process is good, but I don't think the process is for everyone, if that makes makes sense. You know it's um, there's, there's an a to z tick box of a list of things they've got to cover and, um, but it's a bit like, I think, with anything. I sort of try to explain if if, um, you and I were to do the exact same physical training exercise 12-week program and eat the exact same stuff and we would have different outcomes because we're different people and and that's how I sort of try and try and tell people yeah, um, and then once you get discharged from the military, it's, um, you do six months treatment and then bang to, this is our last session, darren, and we're going to sort of transfer your skills. And that was shit. And and then I went to help for Heroes and they sort of took me under the wing and squared me away.
Speaker 1:Really, to be honest, yeah, I mean great charity. Everyone's heard of them. They've done fantastic things and obviously, in your case, they've obviously been a real inspiration helping you. So what's this? 2016,? 17 at this point 2017,.
Speaker 2:yeah, so I was discharged in september 2017 okay, so then that's, I suppose, where.
Speaker 1:Where the real story begins, is what you woke up one night and thought you know what? I'm gonna do? Some crazy shit and uh, just see if I'm superman or not nearly nearly um.
Speaker 2:So 2017, 18 and being actually discharged, and actually you were just the military, you were just numbers. We we joke about it being in. No, you're just a number, but you're actually just a number. Um, I really struggled with the transition of, of the, of coming out and being a civilian. You know, I didn't know anything else. Um, and I'm working in in london and really I did that typical follow the officer route into the city and it was shockingly bad. You know, I hated it and, unknown to me, all the crowds in London were trigger points for PTSD and stuff.
Speaker 1:But again, I didn't know what was happening.
Speaker 2:I can seek more help free help for heroes and 2018 was where I thought so. My daughter was born in 2017, georgia February. So that whole year was pretty shit, to be honest, and trying to bond with her and realizing that I didn't want to and I didn't have this emotion, I felt quite emotionless, as you call it, and I worked that up over the next sort of 17, 18 and going through the discharge process and you've got 2017. Towards the back end. You have three crusty majors sitting there my wife came, or even higher majors than that, saying you're not fit enough and you get discharged under the Invaliding Act and I'm like I've just left nearly the pinnacle of the military of SF to try and be that to you telling me I'm not fit enough. Like who are you?
Speaker 2:And it was quite a shocking sort of process, to be honest, and I cried and then sort of from there I just sort of became this emotionless. Nothing, you know, glazed out. And 2018, I thought about pulling the pin really and looking at ways to do it and I planned to. I thought about pulling the pin really and looking at ways to do it and I enjoyed the war, fighting stuff, and I planned to sort of go out and become a mercenary and not hopefully come back and growing up with no dad until I was you know that age when I was adopted and I thought this wasn't an option because I've got a daughter and responsibility now and I had to fix that. So, yeah, and that's what stopped me.
Speaker 1:I mean that that's crazy. Your daughter sort of saved your life, really. Um yeah, and you've got a great bond now yeah, so, um yeah.
Speaker 2:So 2017 she was born and then, september 2018, I had a second one born, but it was before that her coming and um was another daughter. But I knew then again you know, I've got responsibilities now and and they can't grow up with a dad, without a dad and I've got it, I swear my life away. And it was literally um lying in bed one night with my missus and saying, right, I'm gonna sort this out and change, and sort of. I actually read a book from David Goggins, can't Hurt Me. And it was like getting up early and I'd already gone out to see Jocko Willink, another Navy SEAL.
Speaker 2:All about getting up early and I just started to get up at half four, or even half three. I thought, if they're getting up at half four, I'm going to get up at half three and be you know they're.
Speaker 2:American, and then my background is 2018. I went to the Warrior Games, which is the Invictus Warrior Games, and set a couple of games right. I was trying to be selected for Team GB Paralympics and stuff from 1 and 200 metres and I thought, yeah, I'm just going to try something different. And I thought, right, what's that? Google the hardest event in the world and it was the Yukon Arctic Ultra 300 miles. Ultra 300 miles. I'm right, I'm going to sign up for that within a few months. Um, I was there.
Speaker 1:Um, so, what's the yukon? What's it the yukon arctic ultra so ultra marathon yeah, yeah okay 300 mile?
Speaker 2:um, you can do it. You do a marathon? Uh, you can do 100 miles or 300 miles, and every other year there's a 430-miler, but it wasn't on earlier this year and that's the way I went and that's what I went out and did.
Speaker 1:You trained for it. Obviously you did lots of long runs and ate well.
Speaker 2:Well, so I booked it probably in October last year, 2019. I went in for major surgery, so I've had a partially replaced shoulder left shoulder through being serving, and I had a major across my back. I've got this like sort of 14-inch scar of where they did a nerve graft, where they take a nerve from the back and put it into the front, and I don't have this piece of the ductoid. And that was in november and I was going out in january to the arctic and you're pulling a.
Speaker 1:I'm assuming you're pulling like a poke or something, are you?
Speaker 2:you're on snowshoes, yeah yeah, I pulled the poke, exactly that no snowshoes is up the arctic river, so it's a bit well, it's not flat but it's. You know, it's just um normal. But I'm, yeah, pulling a poke, um, and I just went for it and I just thought I got to the hundreds, um second checkpoint, um 100k, and then I was second in the race and it was like who's this guy? He's just picked up. You know, and and they were saying this, the first 20k has been the hardest it's been in years and I thought I actually thought it was all right, you know, and so who are you up against?
Speaker 1:these are like proper sort of athletes or seasoned veterans have done this challenge yeah, yeah, exactly that.
Speaker 2:And people who like trained and who are like um, one of the guys, uh, who actually won it in the end. He was, um, I can't remember his number uh, somewhere like poland or somewhere, those areas, but um, but he was like their country. So when he was going back home, we had like 15,000 people waiting for him in Poland. And then you've got little old me tipping out food. My training session was in January. I did a 40 miler in Bracken on my own, just wore my kit and just stayed overnight. I ran, went to the Isle of wight, ran 70 miles around. I've got a youtube video on that which has been done to a mini documentary, um. And then I did, um, the old military fitness test 50 presses, 50 sit-ups, yeah, and 1.5 mile run on the r every hour for 24 hours, for a bit of sleep deprivation, just to see what would happen. And uh, and that was it. There was only two train I did. Wow, yeah, and well prepared.
Speaker 1:So anyone that says they can't do it, they can't go out and get out of bed, get out your scratcher, go for a five mile run. Listen to darren, because he is proof that you can get up. If you've got the will, you can do it absolutely yeah, so you finished the ultra 300 miles um so.
Speaker 2:So this is where it goes. So, um, I got into the second checkpoint, 100 in, and, um, I got pulled off, uh, through hypothermia, frostbite. So, based in a nutshell, my um my shoulder injury that I shouldn't have went out with uh started to go wrong, horribly wrong, um, and I couldn't feel my left hand and my whole arm was going numb and I had a bit of discoloration in my finger. And two years prior to me being there, there was a I think it was an Italian athlete who ended up getting hypothermia, really bad, and frostbite, and he actually had to get both hands and both feet removed, right. So but, being the idiot he was, he tried to sue the race organizer. To now, when you get there were six checkpoints throughout and when you get to checkpoints to do a hypothermia test, they make the frostbite test and making sure you're all right. If you get any sort of form of discoloration, because it's all about admin then yeah, and that they pull you off.
Speaker 2:And I couldn't really feel my left arm at all and they said they tried to do enough because I was sitting second in the race at this point. They tried to do an enforced rest on me, um, for like four hours, um, and and I asked someone to help me unclip my pulse I couldn't feel my hand and they overheard that brought me back into a tent. It was actually a guy called gavin, who was a is a navy medic and but it's volunteers at that thing and he came in and had a chat with me. At this point Hypothermia was setting in because I couldn't warm up and I was frostbitten and nose swollen Just stage one here, so one that will go in the next 36 hours and they had a word and said look, daz mate, you've got to go.
Speaker 2:And the other people were telling me it was like no, I'm fine. But when he came in and knowing the background of who he was and I was, I sort of listened to him and I thank him, you know for it now, because the next part of the phase was no cavern and when storms hit I probably I probably would have I didn't put my shelter up. Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:So they pulled me off heart-wrenching to, to pull yourself off it, but the best decision yeah, but I'm getting kazzy backed out and on a snowmobile.
Speaker 2:You know it was horrendous, it was so cold as that. Um, and the two people there's only two people finished it and they both got kazzy backed off a year before by helicopter and, and so it seems to be a very expensive recce really uh, yeah, it does.
Speaker 1:So what?
Speaker 2:you went out there on your own, you just sort of flew out you get all the gear there uh, I managed to land some couple of sponsorships, uh, here through kit, but again not the best. So when I went out there, they're like they do a kit check and, um, I just had like a rab jacket. You're buying them in in um in one of the cops worlds, you know which. I think it's amazing, top dog and and all these people turn up these big, panadigus ones. You know that really life-saving. And then the race organizer, they do the kitchen like where's your, where's your heavy down? I'm like this is it like packs up into this size? And it's like that is not a heavy down. I was like what am I going to do? Is that you have to buy one? It's like a thousand dollars. I don't have it. So luckily someone was there supporting it and lent me it um, so. So I had one and it was a girl, so it wasn't, it wasn't the um the biggest and it just about zipped up. So it was.
Speaker 1:It was there to get me going it was probably pink, but being an officer you probably probably weren't too fussed about that doesn't matter, because actually when I did put it on it was so nice. Oh uh, yeah that feeling when you're absolutely freezing, you're shattered and you just get a decent bit of kit on.
Speaker 2:It's just nothing like it it was the walking through the first night. So you come off a place and there's a car park called Overland Trail and that's your sort of last safe moment get out of your deal free card. It's where if you pull off, they'll take you off for free, because actually when I got Kazi backed off, when I got back in the UK I got a bill of 100 euros to put my casio back anyway. Um, and the race is two and a half grand, the enters are two grams. What was that one?
Speaker 2:Um, but on that point I pushed on through the night.
Speaker 2:I was walking with some canadian bloke for a bit and, um, I was like, if I can push the night, it's sort of the old military move at night, no rest up in the day when there's a bit of sunshine, although it's not the best, and it was minus 50, and everyone was getting into their sort of scratcher um at the soberland trail and I was like there's no way they're going to get back up, because it was like minus seven at this point and they didn't.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of people scratched it there because of that. Yeah, first night, and I plowed on through, but I went full into hallucination phase. You know, I thought I'd seen a manatee. You know, when I was having this conversation with a manatee right going all right, mate, we'll get you back to the water, and I'm thinking, hi, there, am I going to get this thing back? And then, and then, when I got up close, it was just a log with a bit of snow on it, but I was offered, was looking at me and everything, and I know it was hallucination setting right in and then you've got the, the big yukon arctic wolf, which is massive, and and and the um, the moose as well, and they kill more people than anything else.
Speaker 2:And when you stop, you know, and you see all these eyes beating down onto you, like yeah you know, and, but it gave me that risk and and that I wanted you know so that's the thing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:I mean, I think you're obviously clearly a person that strives for adventure and you're quite happy to put yourself out of your comfort zone to see what you're capable of, and so so you've done the ultra. Um, you've come back, you thought, no, that's not, that's not enough. You know, got an injury but, um, I'm gonna dust myself down. So then is that when you come up with with the mad challenge no, no, you did. You did a kayak, didn't know a paddleboard yeah, so I've done a few.
Speaker 2:So, uh, I came back from that and then what I did? A couple of things like uh, lunge in a mile, burpee mile, that type of stuff as you do, yeah. And then I um, did um. This year it's where it's all gone on, so ve day. So lockdown obviously happened. Ve day, um, I did a to mark 75 miles. I was going to do the whole up to pegasus bridge, the, the event that's organized, that a lot of charities do yeah um from from the uk.
Speaker 2:But obviously that didn't go ahead. So I did 75 miles on a treadmill in a 12 by 12 military tent, pitch black, carrying 35 pounds, to try and sort of simulate a uh. What was going on, you know, with, with what they would carry back then you know. And so the first half of the year I put all my, my sponsor, my uh charity money into great ormond street hospital. Yeah, I raised just shy of nine thousand pounds there. That's for them this year.
Speaker 2:And um, that was one of them, um, and then, and then that the other one was um the paddleboard. Oh, sorry, I from my house. I I did um 52 mile tab carrying 54 pounds from my house to fort gill, kicker and and then I put my kit in in in the bergen. There's the, got picked up, it's quite cool and and pushed it. I thought, thought about a river crossing, but I did a Solent crossing and point to point, it was only a mile and a half but it ended up being a four-mile swim with the tide across to the Isle of Wight, got to the other end and then ran 70 miles around the Isle of Wight the other way from when I did it in January. So that was a 37 and a half hour sort of operation that was.
Speaker 1:It was quite pretty brutal, to be honest at this point people are probably thinking this guy will do anything out of like changing nappies or or making dinner at home or something. Yeah, that's pretty extreme stuff. I mean, that's the sort of thing people train for. They put it all out over the internet they want to get sponsorship for. But you've decided just to crack out a tab. Swim across across the Solent, run around the Isle of Wight, back for tier medals or something else.
Speaker 2:When I went the first time, we did a documentary of it and it's quite cool, I'll send it over to you. When it was like the Isle of Wight radio station. Why are you doing this? What's your strategy? I'm getting off the ferry, I'm running anti-clockwise and getting back on it. It's booked for 24 hours time, so I've got 24 hours to do it and I'm getting back on it and going back home.
Speaker 2:I'm like what? And I'm like, yeah, and that's just how I plan, all of them, and I've built a team up of people supporting me and that's where we're at, you know, but they know that's how I operate and I don't really train much, much for it and I just sort of um, suck it and see, as they suppose, which, which then led into the, the paddleboard 933 kilometers, um. So I paddleboarded east, the west coast of scotland, through the caledonian canal, never paddleboarded before, um. And then I cycled 790 kilometers on on a borrowed bike, because I don't have a bike and I never really cycled on a road bike, um, and then I ran a marathon, um at the end.
Speaker 1:So this is all in the space of what?
Speaker 2:so this happened. This one was in august now, so we're into august, so I worked the other day, yeah, august, to my last challenge. Last week I've done 2668 kilometers in four months. That's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:I think you've made obviously stupid that's what it is, mate.
Speaker 1:No, I think it's fantastic, you know, I think you've really got out. You've, you've said, right, I'm going to do something, and you've gone out and done it. A lot of people will talk about it. A lot of people will get five minutes into it and sack it off. You've, you've seen it through. That's really rewarding, I'm sure, for yourself and for your friends and on a mental level. I suppose. Have you seen that help you with the PTSD and with your mental health and your general character? Have you been doing all the exercise?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean, it's not what I do. It's my sort of way of medicine, you know, and it's my get up early, training and doing all that stuff is is now. I'm focusing, then, on a goal. You know I'm a big believer if you've got something to focus on, it takes your mind off other things. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still suffer with um, with the, the dreams and uh things during the day and intrusive thoughts, but um, stuff now that I can almost control in a way, but not um, I'm not cured from it and but it's just a focus, but and, as you said, it's just doing close concession to each other. It was only six weeks after that event. I attempted a 10 triathlon Ironman in 10 days in 10 locations, which has not been done in the UK before.
Speaker 1:Tell us about this. Everyone's obviously heard of Ironman, or most people have. Not many people would have thought about doing one, and or most people have. Um, not many people would have thought about doing one, and even less people have actually done an attempted one, or let alone finish one.
Speaker 2:So, swimming, you start the swim yeah, so you swim, um, uh, 3.8 kilometers, um, open water generally, um, and then you get straight on a bike and do 180 kilometers and then you run a marathon 42 kilometers. At the end, um, and, and that's that's it really. But up until doing it so the sort of the 12 weeks it was 11 weeks actually running up to that event I thought, could I do an iron man? Yeah, I could. Uh, all right, I'm gonna give 10 a go, and that was the conversation I had with myself and around the mate and who's the filmmakers. Like mate, this is my idea, which actually the documentary that's just been finished today. So, um, I'm looking forward to that being released on on endurance sports tv. I've picked that up and they're also so brilliant, um, but, um, the youtube link when it's there's a. There's a couple of tiny bit of graphics need to go now, but the document is finished, so I'll flick that across so you can share it with them?
Speaker 2:absolutely no, we'll put that out there over the next week or so, when it's all about perseverance in this one um. So in that 11 week period, um, I had the thing in scotland, the 933 kilometers coming up, so I had, in five weeks on I did that and during that there I fell off a bike and cracked my rib, um. So then I couldn't train because in six weeks later I was doing 10 iron men and I couldn't train really and I couldn't swim front crawl. So I asked someone to help me, so I did. I had a three, three sessions of front crawl training, um, and then and then just got cracking really straight into it, um, but I now know why they do, uh, iron men and triathlons in summer, because it was absolutely and so you didn't do these in the same place.
Speaker 1:You sort of moved every day to somewhere else yeah.
Speaker 2:So, um, I tried to do it in sort of iconic locations. Uh, I finished sort of and sort of bit in my military career. So the first one we did from fleet to my hometown and um, it's because, um, we had the house here and and the crew came here. It was good sort of everyone getting to know the routine. Then we went to the um perbright.
Speaker 2:Um, I've never been to perbright but it was a because I did in um litchfield but um, I went there is because of the opportunity was there was a fears, one train establishment and the rsm there helped me out quite a bit, um of getting me what we needed when we stayed in all the messes generally when we went. Then I went to uh, chabot barracks, three rsme, where I mentioned that I did the train earlier and then over to. Then it was over to chatham, so the other side of the thing, so it's a one rsme and that was day four when I got hypothermia, really sort of bad, and I was like I didn't want to get back in the water because of that 11 week period and the weight I'd lost. I lost 10 kilograms total up until that. Until finishing it, the wets that I had was too big so it was ineffective. So as soon as I got in the water, when it was nine degrees, just flushed through a cold water and just.
Speaker 2:I had to just grizz it, um, really, or until the crew pulled me out, so, um, I never actually completed, um the 10.
Speaker 2:The distance we uh that I covered was um just under seven um, and it was 1545 kilometers in that 10 day period. And there was lots of uh factors, um that I probably want to blame. And one was doing it in the middle of a pandemic, um, you know, and like one of the lakes, for example, um, there was a body pulled out of it in the middle of a pandemic, you know, and like one of the lakes, for example, there was a body pulled out of it at the weekend before it was due there on the Tuesday, so it was shut. So I had to get a swimming pool and there was only like a 45 minute session, so I couldn't swim that length and so we had to cut it down. So I just then turned it into 10 sort of endurance triathlons and covering anything from a full to um over a half yeah and in all of them so, which are covered nearly seven distances, um, and then that finished.
Speaker 2:Uh, we, we did like the top of the shard on a turbo trainer, which is goes down as the highest endurance event in the top of the in the uk, and then we actually finished in the london eye. So we had one pod with a turbo trainer in it to cycle and the other one with uh, uh bedman in it, which again was the longest event in in in the uk in in the pod.
Speaker 2:So you've done these 10 ironmans and, at the same time, you're smashing records and you're doing things that people haven't done before yeah, and, and I sort of like that because, um, instead of looking at the blueprints, it's up to me to work out what the blueprints are and write them, and it's pretty cool which then sort of leads on to the one I've just done. And last friday, which has not been done before, which was absolutely horrendous, um, as well, and it's uh, I'm waiting for the. It's not the records that, um, I'm interested in, I'm just interested in seeing what happens if I push myself to, to, to drop in, you know, and and you'll see in the document when it comes out I did collapse and stuff, and on on day one of the Ironman, so it was just like, uh, how do you, how do you then get up and keep going the next day and keep going and going, and that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1:So what is it that right, I'm going to do it, iron man. They collapse, they get to the end and they think that's it. I'm absolutely exhausted. I can't carry on. I'm out of here. You're exhausted, you're on your ass. Yet what is it inside you that helps you? What do you think about to get yourself back up the next morning to do it all again?
Speaker 2:Some of it is a bit of an ego thing. You know, um, I had people join me for certain parts of that and and one of them, uh, I don't mention his name because, um, you can get creative for this afterwards. So, john, and he's actually going to see a species and he's first is because he's wrecked his knee when he did a few of them at the end. And guys will text me the next day and I've never ran a marathon before and this was one of the sort of pulling on points was bringing people on to their own records.
Speaker 2:But I mean, really, I was doing it for the charity and and I sort of, when I'm struggling and I'm in my complete darkest moments and do not want to go on, I think of my kids, um, and I know I want to be proud. No, they want to. I want to be sort of then, to be sort of saying, oh, my dad did this in years to come. And this is the I want to say newspaper cut. But we're moving away from newspaper. This is the article that was on the Times and this is him talking to Sky News or Good Morning Britain. And he's raised all this money to know, of up to a total of nearly £25,000 this year for between Great Ormond Street Hospital and Help for Heroes. That's fantastic, isn't it? Especially of um, up to a total of nearly 25 000 pounds this year for between great ormond street hospital and help for heroes that's fantastic, isn't it?
Speaker 2:I mean, especially in a year of the pandemic, when people really haven't been putting hands in their pocket, that's a huge amount of money to have raised some great charities yeah, um, yeah, and it's just that there I do literally one of the hardest things, that I'll go back to, the 75 mile on the treadmill and there's an article written about this, I'll try and find it, it's been one of the magazines, social magazines and at 51 miles I was in bits and I thought I was, my body was starting to shut down. I was, I was pissing myself, shitting it and you know, and shaking. I couldn't do like 300 meters on the treadmill without having to go to the toilet. You know it was that type of that. And I sat down to myself and I thought, and my kids made me a little poster saying go daddy, you know.
Speaker 2:And I looked at that and then I thought, the reason why I'm doing this for kids in great ormond street hospital, it might not even wake up today when I finish this. And then it really sort of got me and I'm I'm moaning here, but I know I've got another 24 hours to go, I'm just gonna, and that's. You've got to find that length and because your mind will push you, your mind is a safety mechanism that will stop you from pushing yourself to die, but you've got to find out how do you unlock that you know where would you use 40 and if you can unlock that there's so much more potential than all of us.
Speaker 1:Um, and it's just finding that key I think you've definitely found that key and yeah so you, you've, you've finished that challenge. Um, you do the duathlon, so you just sort of touched on that. So that's what you just did last week. So was that you? It's a simulated, uh sort of chamber or something you go into which says that you're about 12 000 feet?
Speaker 2:yeah, absolutely that's it. So I um, I finished the um, the 10 triathlons, I um, and then four weeks later which is supposed to apparently give your body a month recovery for one iron man, you know and there's me, smashed like that and I wasn't recovered. I went for a 5k run and I nearly couldn't walk the next day. About a week after I was like oh my goodness. And then, um, but but again, I put this out there. I said I'm going to do it and, um, this is one of the again not being done.
Speaker 2:So the Altitude Centre in London, I wore this. So at sea level we breathe 21% oxygen and I said I want to do a long distance giraffe run Again, never done one. And it was running, obviously because it had to be indoors treadmill, turbo trainer, treadmill. So it was a 10 kilometer run on treadmill, followed by 150 kilometers on a bike, followed by a 30 kilometer run back on the treadmill. And this mask that I wore was probably it was ridiculously hard.
Speaker 2:You know, it was like the oxygen mask you get when you're in hospital and what that did was reduce the oxygen, because the only two ways to simulate the altitude is thin the air or reduce the oxygen. This is what I did. So I'm in a, I'm in a chamber, a room, um, not very big, and there's three treadmills in it and and three or four bikes in it, so not big at all. And that sticks at 9 000 feet, um and. And then to take it up higher, you've got to wear this mask. But I took out 12 000 feet, which is just shy of three times the height of their nevis, um andvis, and did it, and it reduced my oxygen levels to just below 13%. So I was breathing less than half or nearly half of what we were supposed to breathe, and boy did I feel it.
Speaker 1:And you got to the end of that. You must have been exhausted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it took me 11 and a half hours. So the run 40 kilometres total, or 100 laps of a running track, and it was basically like doing that because I was on the treadmill looking at a wall. There was nothing there and it was. It was more mental challenge there and the bike obviously in the middle. Um, at the first 10k I told my your oxygen level should be about 98 and and I was hovering around 74, but I dropped to 62, which is ridiculously low, and when I took the mask off they were like you're blue. I was all blue right here, so my extremities were gone blue and that's just lack of oxygen getting to the brain and and altitude sickness kicked in, probably in the bike and the world's biggest headache and probably the way to describe it is like the world's worst hangover, with the world's worth being pissed combined as one and it's just ridiculous.
Speaker 2:Um, and because of the mask, um, I had to like, um, liquidize my food. So I use resilient training and a resilient nutrition. They, they got pouches, so they put it into a shaker. I drank for the day. I drank three liters of milk with all these pouches of between 700 and 1400 calories just to get some stuff done and drink and then mask back on and go again and yeah, it was uh pretty brutal, to be honest, and um, it was uh at the end of that. I've not felt as sick as that at the end of any of the events, because that friday night, um, I was going to try and come meet you guys, um, but I was ridiculously sick feeling.
Speaker 2:I don't know why I don't know yeah, so I just wanted to get home and um and try and force some solids into me and uh, and then meet you on the saturdays.
Speaker 1:I did, yeah you did look a bit tired on the saturday, so uh, yeah, you might have an excuse now.
Speaker 1:Actually yeah, yeah, yeah, so well the last two years has obviously been like a whirlwind. You've done all these fantastic and amazing challenges. You've raised some brilliant sort of huge amounts of money for charity, and I'm sure you're going to continue to do it. So I think what everyone who's listening to this is going to want to know is what have you got planned next? What do you need? Do you need sponsors? Do you need people to open doors? How can anyone who's listening to this help you? And what crazy exploits are you going to get up to next?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think if anyone's listening away and wanting to help, it's more looking at leaving my full-time job. So I mean, I I'm working as a senior project manager, um, so I'm busy during the day. You know, I'm a dad, I'm a husband, um, I'm doing my master's and I'm writing a book and then trying to fit all this in. So I actually want to leave my day job and do this full-time, you know. So I'm looking sort of full-time, sort of financial sponsor would be the main thing, so I can get out and and really sort of inspire across not just the UK but Europe and beyond, you know, and then try and spread the sort of the mental health message and then you can do it.
Speaker 2:You know, we as a country we're sort of we're getting there but we're not there.
Speaker 2:I don't believe the strategy right and I'm only going to focus on veterans at the minute, you know, but we're having nearly 100 people killing themselves, veterans wise every year and, and of course this, the system's not right, because we would have zero if the system was right.
Speaker 2:So there's people that slip through the net and how do we approach that differently? And I don't know the answer to it, but I'm trying to work out and get the answer to it so we don't have to hear these horror stories of um someone just did it the other day, that through a friend that I know it was one of their mates and it's just not just not right and um, so how do we do it? And and I think believing by getting it right and spreading the message more and doing these probably another reason why I do the extreme events to be like bloody hell, what's he doing? You know, let's, let's follow his story and rather than saying I'm just going to run 5k not that that's not a good achievement, but it is um, you know everyone's running things like that, whereas everyone's not doing everything that I would do, so it's a more extreme event the more I think I get listened to yeah, so, um, uh, that that would be it.
Speaker 2:And you know next year, where I've got a couple of big two, I've got two main ones plans and and I can sort of go into the detail of one of them, which is Ben Parkinson, as you know, Yep.
Speaker 2:That's the UK's most injured veteran and we're looking at hopefully it's going to happen next year, but because of COVID it might get pushed to 2022 and he's looking at doing an Ironman and I'm going to assist him getting round one and basically it will be, um, you know me towing him in a boat, um, and then, uh, you've seen the bikes, the double bikes um, it's going to be 180k on one of them, um, which is going to be brutal, and then followed by the sort of pushing him around in one of these sort of running buggies to finish in a maxi sort of walk the last K and finish the line himself, you know and if no one knows Ben.
Speaker 2:Parkson. He's got 14 stone as a double amputee. So yeah, it's going to be brutal.
Speaker 1:I mean Ben, I'll send him a link to this podcast when you get it. And I mean Ben is an absolute machine. We a link to this podcast when you get it. And, uh, I mean ben is an absolute machine. We've done a couple of challenges together. We cycled across, uh, new zealand a couple years ago and then sort of did the old cockle shell uh paddle that was starting in the bear biscay and we uh sort of kayaked up to to bordeaux.
Speaker 1:And he is the true airborne warrior, and you're going to find this out because he's just, he just doesn't give up, he's relentless. So when one thing you're going to notice on these uh tandem bikes that you use which, um, I'd strongly recommend you check them before you use them because they've got a tendency to fall apart uh is is when the guy on the front, like in ben's case, because obviously uh that they haven't got any legs they they use the, the sort of the arm cranks you know, and they're sort of like pedaling with their arms and you're on the back, obviously, pedaling with your feet, but it's a fixed system, so when they're pedaling, you're pedaling. So when you're trying to get a break going downhill, ben just loves to beast it and wind it up and it'll be. It'll be properly sort of giving it big guns on the front and your feet will be having to go with it and uh yeah, but he's a, he's a, he's a strong guy, so I think he'll love that challenge.
Speaker 2:Well, absolutely, and you know it happened years ago. My dad took one of their sons on it, but no one's ever done it as a veteran combined. And actually we've got Endurance TV that's releasing my documentary, supporting us on this, and it's the financial sponsor that we're after at the minute to make this happen and looking at doing it in Kona. So Kona's the World Championships of Ironmen sponsor that we're after at the minute to make this happen, and and and looking at doing it in kona. So kona's are the world championships of iron men. You know you've got to qualify to get in, but there's a thing called wild cards and if you get the right sponsor behind you going as a wild card and yeah ben and I were going to do that this year.
Speaker 2:Actually, we were going to do that in um, in dory lake, but they, they said no, because the water was too cold, which is a fair one.
Speaker 2:Um, but uh, in endurance tv jumped on and said no, because the water was too cold, which is a fair one. Um, but uh, in endurance, tv jumped on and said no, why try and bring the world to support? No, the pilgrim bandits and helpful heroes for you, when, when we can bring you to the world and and that's it's really good and over in america as well, veterans, they support each other. Yeah, so that that's the idea and um, hopefully just saying it can be this year rather, or 2021, rather than 2022, and but that and then and then another world first. It's never been done, but I've got to sort of keep that one, the hash hash. Every time I sort of mention some, someone picks up the idea and has got more connection and goes and tries it, keep it yourself until you uh, you get out there but um, yeah, financial sponsorship is one of the biggest things to make these things happen and I really do believe it will save lives if we get the message out more.
Speaker 1:And I think that's what we've got to do. I mean, you briefly touched then on Pilgrim Bandits, which is a charity that's sort of close to both our hearts, and a good friend of ours, matt's the CEO there, and if there's anyone you need to sort of support you on one of your challenges, those guys I mean they don't know what limits are. I think that's not a word in their vocabulary. You put a challenge in front of them, they'll go ahead and do it, and so I think if you do anything with them, raise money for them, it's just so great and they've got some good connections. I'm sure that will help you.
Speaker 2:I think your mindset is the same. Yeah, 100%. And you know, I've already spoken to Matt and I'm looking at going to do stuff with you guys anyway next year, because I just want to, you know. We might not want to run our ultra marathon, so we'll drive the vehicle I told you next year 20, I think next year innit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, some of us aren't as young as you. Yeah, 20, I think next year, isn't it?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, some of us aren't as young as you. Yeah, I don't feel it at the minute. I'm just hobbling around like an old man, it's not surprising, is it?
Speaker 1:I mean I was listening, I was watching that documentary, was it Eddie Izzard he went to? I think it was South Africa a few years ago for one of the children in need or something, where he ran a marathon a day for like 30 days off the month. It was something really crazy you know, but but still nowhere near what, what you've done. And I think he said his body just took so long to recover after that yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:It's that recovery. And I said I lost 10 kilograms and during the 10 days I lost six of those 10 and my body was burning 10 000 calories a day and I was only intaking about three to four max because you just don't want to eat.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think that's how you're going to get your sponsorship, just like does your USP can be. You know the Darren 10,000, uh, a day calorie diet and uh, but say, give me a hundred pounds and I'll tell you what you do a beach bod in short succession, two weeks, and I'll do it for you, yeah, so I think.
Speaker 1:I mean it's been great to talk. You know sort of kept you on for long enough. We were having a chat beforehand and having a bit of a laugh about a few things. I think the main thing to take away from from this conversation is you know that you've you've sort of broken the mold. You've obviously struggled and you still will continue to do so.
Speaker 1:It's not a stigma. You know, ptsd, mental health is something we've got to talk about. If you are struggling, uh, you know, talk to someone, um, ideally a professional, you know, get help because, but talk to your friends, talk to your families. And I think it's understanding and knowing the warning signs. And you know if you, if you're a loved one of someone, you think struggling with mental health, you know, have a, have a look what. Knowing the warning signs. And you know if you, if you're a loved one of someone you think struggling with mental health, have a, have a look. What are the warning signs? Is your other half, is he changed? Is his behavior changed? Is he becoming rational? What other? What things can people look out for? That? That might be an indicator that there's something going on.
Speaker 2:A hundred, percent and percent and and I even sort of put that into the business world you know it's about it's basics from knowing your team. So know your team who lives in the house with you, and and knowing your team as you're up, was around you, and if you, if you see any of that that changes the atmospherics, as we say, you know, intervene and and and don't be scared or afraid of intervening, because that intervening can save a life, you know absolutely, and I think, just don't be scared to to speak up.
Speaker 1:You know it's there is a sort it will be too late if you don't. You know, step in now. Like you said earlier on, you know, never be afraid, say I love you, never be afraid to sort of ask how are you? Uh. So I think that's what we've got. You know, sometimes some of us can feel quite proud and you've got to speak up, um, but not everyone's going to want to sort of speak up or go and run an ultra marathon.
Speaker 1:But I think when I was talking to a doctor a little while back, he said, if I could prescribe exercise, you know, give you a pill, he goes. It would. It would help so many people and I think obviously what you're doing on some level has really helped you with the exercise and the release of, obviously, all of those chemicals into your body and um. I think you know next year is going to be fantastic. You're going to. You know, given on what you've achieved in the last six months, I think the next 12 months is going to be, uh, absolutely fantastic. Maybe not so fantastic if anyone decides to come on one of your runs with you.
Speaker 2:So, uh, I think I'll pass on that absolutely well, I've, um, I've been speaking to uh, a couple of your guys about Everest next year, so we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1:That is definitely something we can all get involved in. So yeah, if my wife's listening to this, that's an invite and I need to go and help. I can't say no.
Speaker 2:I think they need a podcaster there definitely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely get a podcaster. I could be a little Sherpa. I think I've got my Bergen out of the loft. Dust it down. Be a little Sherpa, I think I've got my.
Speaker 2:I get my Bergen out of the loft, dust it down. Yeah, you can carry my kit me if you want.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I'm all right. Actually, at the moment I think I struggled to carry a pencil case but that's been. But it's been great sort of talking to you. You know the podcast called another man's shoes. I think we've just spent an hour in your shoes and I imagine your trainers are probably quite smelly. But I mean, that's sort of the last thing. I'll finish on Recommendations. So three recommendations for the outdoor adventure. What would you, would you all be your three must-haves that you take with you?
Speaker 2:So only recently. So, if you talk about long distance running, I've tried a pair of shoes right there and Salomon Balance Sonic 3s are the best distance running. You know, I've tried a plethora of shoes right there and um, uh, solomon balance sonic threes are the best. Um, I got them, put them on. I ran two marathons straight out of the box and not even a hot spot and I was like you know when they were phenomenal. So I wore them during the last ones and so I said, must have um carrying, carrying kit has to be in an osprey bergen it's just because it's one is ali, and and and two, you know they're doing really some great stuff.
Speaker 2:I've got one um called the archon, which is uh, it's a recycled kit and like the stuff to make it, and that's the one that floated across the solar and I swam across so it worked and proved it yeah, proved it. Test improves um, and probably the uh. The third one is um, a bit more of of you know, a sense of humor. You've got to have it when, when, when shit has hit the fan, you've got to have a sense of humor and to get out of it, and, and the guys that work with me and the team is ultimately what gets us running at the end of the day as well.
Speaker 1:That is. I think that is true. That sense of humour is what gets you all through it when you're sitting around at night. You're wet, you're cold and that bit of banter or just being able to laugh it off, don't too seriously.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I know we talked about it back in Iraq, with mortars coming in every day and it's funny towards the end. Who you laugh, you know, and you put on your, your, your, you know, your armor duvet cover which is not an armor duvet cover for anyone listening, it doesn't. That means it is literally a sleeping bag and you get your head back down and laugh.
Speaker 1:So when you zip up that sleeping bag, you feel like nothing can touch you or if you're wearing your uh blue blue pti jacket, you can't be touched you can't.
Speaker 1:You are gods, clearly. Well, darren, you know I really appreciate you coming on. You know it's an hour in your shoes and you know it's been fantastic to to listen to the journey and I cannot wait to see what you're going to get up to next year and we're definitely going to follow and you know we're going to push the to see what we're going to get up to next year and we're definitely going to follow and we're going to push the message and we're going to try and get you some sponsorship and yeah, you know, really really brilliant Well done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cheers buddy. Thanks for having me mate.
Speaker 1:Well, that was Darren Hardy, and this is Another Man's Shoes, inspirational guy, truly motivated and I wish I just had one tenth of his motivation to get off the couch. I mean, he is smashing it. He's doing things that a lot of us can only dream of. If you want to follow him on his journey, then why don't you head over to instagram he is darren, underscore hardy4 or go over to his just giving page? If you're able to donate anything, small or large, it's all appreciated and he's got some fantastic charities that he's helping out. His page there is justgivingcom forward slash fundraising. Forward slash Darren hyphen, hardy seven. So through his page and through his Instagram, you'll be able to follow him and see where he's going next Moving forward.
Speaker 1:You can obviously subscribe to this show. You can do so by getting notifications off Instagram if you follow us. And also, why don't you head over to iTunes or Spotify or Amazon Music? We're on all of those servers, so you can subscribe to that, so you'll get a notification the next time an episode goes live, which are each week. If you want to leave us a review, you can do that through some of those pages we've just mentioned. So please leave a review, good or bad. You'd like your feedback. Lastly, if there's anyone you want to hear on the show, then why don't you drop us a DM? We'll try and reach out to that person. Or if you feel like you've got a story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. So why don't you drop me a line too? But for now, that is another episode of another man's shoes, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.