Ali’s Army Join the Navy

Throughout the recent lock down I have used remote coaching, weekly emails, strava & a few orienteering maps thrown in for good measure, but enthusiasm was starting to wane. So when I was approached by the Royal Navy with an offer of a zoom workout for the group I could not believe my luck.

They certainly supplied  the A team consisting of the boss Major Ryan Kestle who intrigued the boys with his account of running alongside Paula Radcliff in the closing stages of her final London Marathon in 2015. After many years in the Marines Ryan has recently trained as an Easy Jet pilot so has promised free drinks & doughnuts when we fly with him soon.

Leading the work-out session was Charleine Wain whose motivation was infectious & clearly these skills were put to excellent use several years ago when she was a very successful participant in the much acclaimed Alan Sugar Apprentice show reaching the semi-final.

Keeping everyone fit & healthy while on board ship keeps Charleine on her toes.

Finally the icing on the cake was chief chef Richard who gave an account of a typical day at sea along with the Navy’s favourite dish “cheesy, hamy, eggy” which no doubt the lads will have a go at some time.

After the team introduced themselves they gave a brief outline of why fitness is important & how being part of the Royal Navy had enabled them to continue their various passions & travel the world. All the lads were asked to think of  a question to ask at the end. After a warm up we split into 2 groups for a session of strength & conditioning. Each group exercising for approx  90 sec for each rep, followed by a short rest to think up a question or two.

The consensus of opinion concluded that this squad  can go the distance & everyone one gave it their best shot.

The final part consisted of Q&A which clearly could of gone on all night. From my perspective the lads were fascinated to hear the stories from Charleine, Ryan & Richard. Overall this was a highly positive evening evolving exercise & engagement with the Royal Navy who may well have won over many of Ali’s Army.

So we are booked in for the next couple of weeks & after that who knows!

Ali Hurford