It's just like an oven out there
It's just a little game and it's not one I'm really enjoying
and I'm not winning either
I think when you start something like this, you have to be fully committed.
There are no half chances, there's no half thoughts.
The Speed Project is unique because it doesn't really have any rules.
There's no aid stations, there's no support.
It removes all of the frills, if you like.
It takes away the things that make races what they traditionally are.
And I like that.
Doing something unique and doing something that's different is really appealing.
Traveling from L.A. to Vegas
you just need to keep moving relentlessly.
My name is James Poole.
I'm 45 years old.
I'm an ultra runner from London.
Running has brought a lot of positive things in my life.
It's connected me with people across the world.
It's taken me to places that I probably never would have gone
had I not had the opportunity to put one foot in front of another and run
They've got no water have they
Oh they have got water. It's cash only.
Savage okay, so that's,
uh, that's not happening.
I still feel pretty fresh.
I don't want to get into the point where I'm, like, so tired
that I can't make good decisions because it's all about good decisions.
Whenever you're doing something as challenging as running 500 kilometers,
there's inevitably going to be some soul crushing lows and some epic highs.
It's just part of the process.
There's going to be a patch when there are no facilities,
no gas stations, no motels, no restaurants, nothing.
And there's going to be times for sure when all my plans are exhausted
and I have to use whatever I have to get myself out of that problem.
Temperature in the run is going to be fairly okay I think
we're talking about high twenties in the day.
That's going to be hard for sure because it's not much shade,
so it's going to be tough.
It's not my biggest concern, if I'm honest, maybe that's naive, and I'll regret that.
But I think there's other concerns that are bigger than the temperature.
It's actually a good time of year to run it.
The sun
it's like a laser.
Oh, there is no respite from that sun.
It feels a bit more emotional today than yesterday. I think yesterday,
just getting started was the main thing.
Today it's a bit more like as it starts to get harder doubts creep in a little bit
and the aches start to ache a bit more.
I still know where I'm going.
I have a pretty good tolerance for pain, but it's going to be painful
and it's going to be nagging pain, I suspect, for a long period of that time.
Just the dust in the air
It's crazy isn't it
Days and days of rubbish in here
My biggest concern is a sleep deprivation for sure,
to get to the end of something this long.
It's a series of making good decisions along that journey
and making sure you're looking at maps and things properly.
And it's so easy once you get more than 30 or 40 hours of not sleeping.
My brain doesn't function as well.
So my biggest concern is how I manage that.
The thing about suffering is that we often think of it in the negative,
but also it can be very positive and a necessary evil, if you like,
because within that suffering, within doing something to make you suffer,
there is also plenty of joy, plenty of things that can be taken away
that are really positive.
I'll be running across the desert somewhere that I haven't been before
From a place I haven't been before to another place I haven't been before.
That excites me. That's the adventure of doing something.
And if there's some suffering along the way, that's part of the process.
That's part of the adventure.
This is where I want to be.
This is where I'm most alive.
This is what adventure really is
Muchos Gracias, adios.
Bon dia.
The best part of running is the joy that comes from seeing somewhere new,
running with people that you do know, you don't know, making friends.
That's how I want to do running.
It would be wrong of me to judge other people for doing it differently.
It's so hot
just can't...just can't breathe out there
It's so hot
the opportunities to see somewhere new,
to experience something new, the memories of those things last for forever.
The medals and the t shirts, I don't know what half of them are these days
At some point during the race, everything will begin to hurt.
My feet will hurt, my body will hurt, my brain will hurt.
And it's at that point when you just want to give up.
You have to really dig deep and just keep doing what you do.
You just have to keep running.
Anyone who thinks they're going to do a marathon or an ultramarathon
has to also accept a level of sacrifice.
To train, to train your body,
to run longer distances
you have to spend more time running
and with that comes some sacrifice.
That's part, I think, of the joy of running.
Just like an oven out there.
So the canyon just er
The winds turn warm as well
so you get like the heat from the ground
and the walls and the sun and then you get the warm, warm air as well.
It's just hideous.
No other word for it.
Argh, everythng hurts.
If I'm 2 hours from civilization and I've got no water
I’m properly fucked, right.
So I have to like the whole time be thinking, don't drink that water.
I know you want it, but don't drink it
because it might be the last water you have today.
It's a bit stressful the whole scenario of just rationing water,
but then also wanting to move quicker so that I can get out of sun.
It's just a little game and it's not one I'm really enjoying
and I'm not winning either.
The sun is definitely beating me.
It's always the same isn't it when you do a race, you do a long run and you get to the end
And you just want it done and
it rarely, rarely comes easy
because you to get to that point, you have to work quite hard.
So it sort of comes with the territory,
doesn't mean it's ever pleasant, but um,
yeah, it passes.
Well, I'm glad that's done.
It was epic but erm
I’m also glad it's over,
Cheers!
Oh man,
Today. That's it today broke me
today was the tipping point.
It was the straw that broke the camel's back
But we're here right.
I made, I made it
This is the best finish line ever
because no one cares whether you ran 500 miles, 500 kilometers,
5000 miles because they've got their own stuff going on and that's cool.
This to me is the most epic finish line it's absolutely nuts.
And no one gives a damn that I ran 500 kilometres and I love that.
Because you know what it doesn't really matter does it.
There's much more important stuff going on.