Fit as a butcher's dog?

[John Turner]

What were your most extreme feats of physical endurance in The Army?

When were you at your fittest?

Who is/was the fittest person you know/knew?

If you are no longer serving, how fit are you now? Did you keep the basic fitness up or did you let yourself go to seed?

Nosey git aren't I!

I could mostly keep up with the best of them until you put some serious weight on my back!

Then came S Georgia - oh boy! week long patrols which thankfully started before the whole island was snow and ice (Two thirds so in Summer) I carried the same as anyone else PLUS A SEVENTEEN POUND RADIO!!!

I refused to let anyone swap bergens with me - then the Winter came - if you couldn't ski, you didn't move - I'd never TOUCHED a ski before, but I learned quick! I remember my first ski patrol - I was so shagged out from headplanting and struggling back up with such a huge weight that in the end I walked through a stream in my skis - the water immediately froze - skis would not slide - I COULD WALK AGAIN - albiet like a clown!

God was I fit when I left that place!

Fittest person? Steve Jones 88 - no contest - an animal - I can elaborate! Sadly no longer with us.

Now? Well, when I left I took up cycling - I'd do 20 miles before breakfast every other day, then 80 - 100 miles on a Saturday and 40 - 50 on the Sunday- just to loosen up from the Saturday ride - that was late Spring to Mid Autumn - between that I'd go mountain biking - well 'off road' it's flat as a witch's ti t around here - I'd get home covered in liquid cow **** usually!

Then I started working for myself - anyone wanna buy a road bike worth a grand in its day and a mountain bike worth 3? (We used to own a bike shop BTW!)

But I'm always on my feet and occasionaly jump on me bikes - constantly biting off more than I can now chew - get half way - realise I'm blown out and struggle back on empty.

[rolli25]

No one who knows me is going to buy this one but it was Ex Highland Harrier over the Brecon Beacons I had to follow the Platoon Commanders from Sandhusrts in their final exercise being pack man to a Colonel Commandant from Tactics Wing Warminster. I couldnt believe it when they came across a rive crossing one toe in to check if it was wet!!!
when we got back the poor boys were so tired that they emptied their mags via their rifle
safety catch off BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My best BFT was 8:15 Ray Williamns was PTI in Lemgo and we only went as far as the PUB. For those of you that know the BFT line was at least a quarter of a mile further.
Lenny took a short cut through the houses and came throughthe gate in about 10 minutes flat too bloody obvious Len

[Thom15]

I was exteremely fit in Hong Kong, worked out with the rugby team, swimming nearly every day, running everywhere. I remember an exercise on Lantau Island (spelling?) with D coy. We got dropped off by the Navy, like the D Day landings, in the water about 30 or so yards out. As we jumped into the water a Navy lad said " we could have put you straight on the beach but your officers wanted you in the water" Anyway at the end of the exercise I had my rifle, pack and had picked up a radio, GPMG and another guys pack. You could not tell it was me under all that stuff.
Once out of the army I became a Sports Leader with the Hampshire Probation Service and took clients out to try different sports every day. So a typical day could be - two hours of squash, two hours of badminton, an hours swim and a couple of hours in the gym pumping iron. With just a couple of breaks in between. Boy that gets you fit. I was built like a 5' 6" Arnie (I'll be bach)
Was very fit until a heart attack caught up with me whilst in the middle of an ice hockey game in 99 (Canada). It all boiled down to my families bad genes and could well have been the end of me if I had not been so fit. So unfortunately I have had to slow down but still stay healthy playing golf.

[Smokeyjoe]

Fit is not a word that descripes me now or when I was serving, I moved when I had to and the only sporting claim to fame was that I won the biggest splash competion in Belize on St Davids Day.
I have not changed since leaving the Regiment and reading about everyone else's exploits makes me want to lie down, well it is that time of year after all.
Regards,
Joe.

[BennytheBall]

John
Eifin Richards ex PTI from N Wales, he was married to the landlords daughter who had the RAM pub in Tidworth, she used to ride her horses over Salisbury Plain and Eifin used to out run them, now that's fit
Benny the Ball

[BennytheBall]

Or these was WO2 Kieran Hogan with the 3rd Bn RWF in Wrexham, he was an ardent Welsh 1000 runner and when he used to training running up Snowdon he used to beast his spaniel dog up there with him, one weekend the dog had enough, keeled over and died. Sadly, Kieran got killed in a cycle accident some years back 10 mins from his house.

Benny the Ball

[Thom15]

Benny,
I've bumped into E Richards in Andover High St. several times when I've been over to the UK He still runs and looks as fit as a fiddle.
Dil

[dai hood]

Benny,I knew keiron I did the cambrian patrol with him in 1986 good bloke

[Griff65]

when i was in around about 6 years ago, i had the battalion record for the bft at 7.20 its used to make shan hackney cringe whe he was running it with me evey run-'race' we done he could never come anywhere near me any mr hackney no hard feelings........eh me old china!..... i will always remember the battalion runs in chepstow when 'fergire' used to look at me and the expression his face was enough has if to say how did you get there when you started at the back ????

[Barry69]

The only time I finished in the top ten on the Bn run was in Brawdy when they did an staggered start allowing for age groups I finished first with wellies behind me in second place needless to say they did not place the top ten on PT Ones that week just my look aye?

I normaly came in around 10 min when I left in 98 for well behind the whippets, and not in the class of Eifin the horse chaser whom I do remeber from those Tidworth Days

Oh yer and yes I still run today 3 times a week only a few Ks and it does takes some motavating some days?

[dutchman]

never finished in the top ten , i did enough to pass , maybe im a realist but i would never outrun a bullet , if the s*** hit the fan adrenaline would do me and outright fear is a great motivator as for now i work bloody hard welding tons of steel that i have to hump and believe me no gimpy or 84 is as heavy as for running only if the mrs is chasing but as dai hood says i'm kinky (that don't mean sheep hoody before you say it , i would never queer your pitch)

[jcj]

I was probably at my fittest when I did my Plt Sgts course at Brecon (SCBC) 1975, and as a Pl Sgt in Berlin 75-77 also at RMA Sandhurst 77-79.One of the fittest guys I knew was Nick Ravenhill, he could be on the **** ALL NIGHT and then with no kip go jogging to run it off. He is an animal. I still excercise 3-4 times a week , we are lucky to have a very good gym in the AFCO and I jog in Bute park, but it is getting harder as time catches up.

[eightyseven]

The fittest bloke i know of was my old man!!! SSI in the Army Physical Training Corps, seriously fit. Before i joined up in 1987, he had me running with logs on my back in the sand banks of the River Dee to build me up as i was a tad too skinny at the time!!, hard bloody work but the physical training paid off. The BFTs & ICFTs were easy in comparison to what he had me doing!!!. As he always said the first mile is in your head.....the rest of the way is easy!!!. My section commander in Shorncliffe when i was in Juniors was Brian Bloor, a fit lad & a good soldier, Dai Williams 72 was SC in the same platoon. There was only five of us RWF lads in the platoon so on runs we had to do well!!! Good Days.

[ap1]

I was probably at my fittest when I did my Plt Sgts course at Brecon (SCBC) 1975, and as a Pl Sgt in Berlin 75-77 also at RMA Sandhurst 77-79.One of the fittest guys I knew was Nick Ravenhill, he could be on the **** ALL NIGHT and then with no kip go jogging to run it off. He is an animal. I still excercise 3-4 times a week , we are lucky to have a very good gym in the AFCO and I jog in Bute park, but it is getting harder as time catches up.

When Nick was RSM, he would keep us in the Sgts Mess all night, we discovered that when he was struggling, the Mess Barman was under his strict instructions, to slip him the odd soft drink, disguised as his drink of choice. He would then proceed to destroy us.

4 hours later, you would be summoned to his office, at 0800 to "Throw the dice" for some misdemeanour, that you thought had not been spotted(flares not wide enough, shirt top button open, white socks!! not singing loud enough during his rendition of Ringo!!).

He was competetive at everything he did, be it Battalion Run or happy hour

It was great time to be promoted, and learn the ways of the mess, it was an education.

[Barry69]

Yes Al it was a excellent time in Berlin, Nick joined our darts team in the mess, and the darts playing was only part at every venue we would have to put away a few bottles of port with Nick and more and the playing of darts was the easy part if you went on early as later you where half p....ed by then such "Happy days" and if you where BOS the next day well tuff because Nick would be there bright and early, and he woud just give that look to say are good you made it!

The Funny thing is we won the drinking and done quite well in the Darts Too

The Team was - Gwyn Nick, Gags 49,Martin Hargreaves"cost 20 mil for one them now? Mouse Adams,John Davies, Yoko, Nick, Me and a Chef who name excapes me Roy I think ?I dont think I missed anyone?

The hardest thing I ever had to do was to tell Nick and his Jim Pyke's, that he wasnt playing as he lost the week previous! and I lived to tell the story.

Yer Darting in Berlin was somthing else, we had a night where you all would name a drink and then after you all had to down it in one, not a problem but Gwyn close a pint of Black Stuff - oh yer happy days.

[richie264]

Will Pamph, he was a RRW Cpl who was with us in Lemgo, He was one of the instructors on the Section Commanders course that the Bn ran in Lemgo,he never did anything without his Bergen on & it weighed a ton, he could push out one arm & one finger push ups all day, We'd do runs every morning before breakfast, we requested a change of routine, so we played football on the square with full kit on Bergen's & all " AFTER WE'D COMPLETED THE RUN"
Den Morris I believe was the fittest student on the course, I found the course harder than my Brecon.

[rikoshea]

Well I must admit I was fit has a boy soldier in Crickhowell, But them Mo Ullah trained HQ company boxing team in Ternhill then i was fit. but since then I gave up smoking in 2000 and have run the LONDON & CARDIFF Marathons in 2002 and run 5 consecutive Great North Runs this year will be my 6th. because i wanted to be fitter at 40 than i was at 30. could even walk to the shop because of the smoking. still not has fit as when Mo had hold of me though.:notworthy:

[CARL PUGH]

Well a lot of the older ones wont believe this, but the fittest i have ever been was when Nick Ravenhill took over as the MTO in Tidworth. After a tour of Northern Ireland with the MT PL i lost nearly 5 stone in weight after a chat with Nick. On return from Ireland, and the second day back from leave was a HQ Coy BFT i which i came 2nd out of 120 approx men, completing the BFT in 7min 54sec. The only man ahead was The RSO Capt (cannot remember), the Bn cross country champ. From there i went on to run with Paul Gwilym, Chris Jones 23, Dai Vast, and many more of the elite runner of the Bn. But sad to say this all come to an end after a few years after shoulder charging a concrete bollard. Another story. They were the days.

[dutchman]

pug i am impressed , last time i saw you , you could,nt run a bath ., so well done