EVENT POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
OLD FAITHFUL
The ultimate training and testing ground for soldiers preparing for the infamous SAS 'Selection' program.
OLD FAITHFUL
The ultimate training and testing ground for soldiers preparing for the infamous SAS 'Selection' program.
"After the finish all the suffering turns to memories of pleasure, and the greater the suffering, the greater the pleasure. That is nature's payback to those who pay her homage by their suffering" Tim Krabbe.
For a generation of Shropshire born soldiers aspiring to join the Special Air Service (SAS), the ‘Old Faithful’ route has been the self induced training and testing ground to see and know if they were ready for 'Selection.' Starting in the peaceful market town of Church Stretton, colloquially known as ‘Little Switzerland,’ the route passes through miles of breathtaking scenery and takes on four lung busting, backbreaking and leg sapping mountain ascents that will test your physical fitness, endurance and mental stamina to the extreme. While the name ‘Old Faithful’ might sound more reminiscent of a loyal dog or a reliable vintage car, it should be understood that there is a more sinister side to the march for load-bearers and should not be underestimated. The route has been designed to replicate as best as possible a ‘Test Week’ ‘Selection’ march and is therefore not one for the faint hearted. Indeed, ‘Old Faithful’ has earned its name through its brutality, the barometer of which is the incredible number of soldiers who have trained on its slopes to have passed the SAS Selection program.
Like The Fan Dance, Old faithful is essentially a TAB (Tactical Advance to Battle). In the military context the exercise replicates advancing from the point of insertion towards the theater of operations while remaining undetected. By definition the main part of the mission commences once the TAB has been completed. The ability to TAB is essential to Special Forces soldiers and other elite military units such as the Parachute Regiment and Royal Marine Commandos who are required to cover large distances at speed over arduous mountain terrain while being completely self sustained, ie, carrying heavy loads made up of essential personal equipment, food and water, communications devices, weapon systems and ammunition supplies. If a trooper is unable through injury, poor personal administration or lack of fitness to be operationally effective and fulfill his role, he will become a liability and have put others’ lives in jeopardy.
Although markedly different in intensity it would serve the participant well to bear this military context in mind. It is one of the factors that separate our events from the multitude of endurance events out there. The nuts and bolts of the event are so simple. Carry all you need over a certain distance. No man made obstacles or tricks. But simple does not mean easy. Simple can also be primeval, brutal… all the mental & physical excess swept away by necessity. What is left? The stark beauty of such an experience has to be tasted firsthand.
Although 'Old Faithful has a race element participants should understand and appreciate that this is a challenge within yourself rather than think about the competition. It's not meant to be easy, if it was it wouldn't be worth it.
WHY SHOULD I DO THE OLD FAITHFUL MARCH?
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 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 Old Faithful SAS march.
The Old Faithful web pages are a work in progress so keep checking back for important event updates and information.
For a generation of Shropshire born soldiers aspiring to join the Special Air Service (SAS), the ‘Old Faithful’ route has been the self induced training and testing ground to see and know if they were ready for 'Selection.' Starting in the peaceful market town of Church Stretton, colloquially known as ‘Little Switzerland,’ the route passes through miles of breathtaking scenery and takes on four lung busting, backbreaking and leg sapping mountain ascents that will test your physical fitness, endurance and mental stamina to the extreme. While the name ‘Old Faithful’ might sound more reminiscent of a loyal dog or a reliable vintage car, it should be understood that there is a more sinister side to the march for load-bearers and should not be underestimated. The route has been designed to replicate as best as possible a ‘Test Week’ ‘Selection’ march and is therefore not one for the faint hearted. Indeed, ‘Old Faithful’ has earned its name through its brutality, the barometer of which is the incredible number of soldiers who have trained on its slopes to have passed the SAS Selection program.
Like The Fan Dance, Old faithful is essentially a TAB (Tactical Advance to Battle). In the military context the exercise replicates advancing from the point of insertion towards the theater of operations while remaining undetected. By definition the main part of the mission commences once the TAB has been completed. The ability to TAB is essential to Special Forces soldiers and other elite military units such as the Parachute Regiment and Royal Marine Commandos who are required to cover large distances at speed over arduous mountain terrain while being completely self sustained, ie, carrying heavy loads made up of essential personal equipment, food and water, communications devices, weapon systems and ammunition supplies. If a trooper is unable through injury, poor personal administration or lack of fitness to be operationally effective and fulfill his role, he will become a liability and have put others’ lives in jeopardy.
Although markedly different in intensity it would serve the participant well to bear this military context in mind. It is one of the factors that separate our events from the multitude of endurance events out there. The nuts and bolts of the event are so simple. Carry all you need over a certain distance. No man made obstacles or tricks. But simple does not mean easy. Simple can also be primeval, brutal… all the mental & physical excess swept away by necessity. What is left? The stark beauty of such an experience has to be tasted firsthand.
Although 'Old Faithful has a race element participants should understand and appreciate that this is a challenge within yourself rather than think about the competition. It's not meant to be easy, if it was it wouldn't be worth it.
WHY SHOULD I DO THE OLD FAITHFUL MARCH?
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 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 Old Faithful SAS march.
The Old Faithful web pages are a work in progress so keep checking back for important event updates and information.
