My military ‘career’ before I even knew that’s what it was, started in 2011 upon joining the University Officer Training Corps whilst I was at Uni. It didn't last long before I transferred out to the Army Reserves with no desire to become an Officer in the British Army, look how that turned out! A 13:48 PFA run score at the time meant I was drastically unfit for the expectations of a 10:30 pass mark. This was the SPARK I needed.
I didn’t pass the AACC until July 2022 but I’ve had this ‘quality’ in spades throughout my adult life. Life is better with humour, in every capacity. Even when it shouldn’t be funny, it is, it adds to the moral.
Humour and moral go hand in hand, keep the humour high and the moral will stay, let moral dip and suddenly nothing is funny, your heads down and there’s nowhere to go.
‘Adversity’ - a hard time, bad luck or a difficult situation.
‘Relentless’ - never stopping, getting weaker or giving up. (Some that know me, may prefer the term endless!)
We’ll keep this in the context of serving, my first ‘hard time, bad luck or difficult situation’ came from an over ambitious MTB jump where the reality of my skill level didn’t quite meet expectations. Not entirely sure what happened apart from I ‘f**ked it’ coming down hard, breaking my shoulder and displacing my AC joint over the final leave period of the RMAS Commissioning Course, so close, yet so far! Unfortunately, this was just the start with a collapsed lung, and a saddle pulmonary embolism (a large blood clot across the Pulmonary Artery) dealing a fair blow a couple months after initial injury.
I’d argue this was a head down moment, not even out of training and a nurse from the RMAS Med centre called for an update, upon hearing the news, she ‘involuntarily’ divulged ‘you could die’ - yes thanks love. Was my career over before it began, well it could have been but cheerfulness was on my side and subsequently it’s infectiousness spread and the Dr was onside. 6 months medication and a review at that point left me hopeful. In true fashion once the initial risk had passed, 3 weeks out from hospital I was offered a ticket to Endure24 Reading where I thought I would run 100miles within the 24hrs to show I was ‘back in’. Needless to say that ambition outmatched reality again and at 55miles in under 12hrs I called it due to medical fears, having doubled any previous running distances prior. This still haunts me and I will nip the 100mile in sub 24hrs at some point! I had Ironman Wales booked too, so despite being in training and not allowed to ride bikes outdoors anymore, I spent A LOT of time on a WattBike and nipped IM Wales (sub 12hrs) in the Sept with a PB! You can’t keep a good man down, if I say so myself!
Still positive, a successful review, lots of research and arguing with the Dr’s, I passed out of RMAS and was loaded straight onto AAPPS(S) as was the original plan!
All well and good, AAPPS passed, jumps in sight … COVID hit. Bad luck or what! Well it brought other opportunities which weren’t to be sniffed at, so we keep pushing on. With the true ability to set patterns, another over ambitious bike ride would lead to landing on my head/neck from a 6ft drop in a skatepark in Colchester, unfortunately it didn’t knock any sense into me. A ‘sheepish’ walk back to camp, told a mate to wake me in the morning when I’d be right as rain. Fast forward 4 weeks and on course, I go to pull my Bergan off the wardrobe top for PT and ‘POP’ something in my shoulder goes … after a few concerned DS conversations, I was referred to hospital for an X-ray. Fractured C7 and into a neck brace for 4 weeks … how can that happen after I had been free reign for 4 weeks since initial injury! Once you have suffered with one PE, you are more susceptible to them for life, so in true form it would be rude not to develop another a month later. Back to thinking my career was over briefly before we got back on the research and arguing with the Dr’s.
Turned out this wasn’t the end however it was the end of ANY chance of getting my jumps in, Penguin for life! What’s the next obvious thing to do, look for the next challenge and it presented itself in the form of a PPP with (at that time) Commando Logistic Regiment being ‘No.1 Would love’. AACC here we come! It was here I learned the coined phrase ‘cheerfulness in the face of adversity’ that I had been living by for some time. The usual highs and lows of any arduous course but July 2022 saw AACC nipped as well. What a privilege to have had the opportunity to successfully pass two of the British Army’s most arduous courses.
Army life was great, I was back; deploying, racing Enduro MTB, Triathlon and Nordic Skiing at Corps level, when you guessed it, third times a charm. Another PE, this time out of nowhere and critically ‘unprovoked’ - the end of my ‘nine lives’! MND(P) and policy stated on track for an “Administrative discharge on medical grounds”. Luckily outside of the Army and now on life-long medication to mitigate further PE potential, the risk is my own and despite toning down the MTB ambitions, IM Barcelona nipped in sub 11:30 in 2024! The personal fight continues. 2025 my 12 month grace timeline ran out and the discharge process began.
Since the first PE in 2018, family life had changed drastically too; a girlfriend who became my wife, a dog and two crazy feral little boys. A lot more to consider than just myself now!
Granted an extension in post until FAD, this gave some stability whilst we plan our next move. For me the obvious choice was to help others reach their physical and mental potential or at the very minimum allow them to believe they can do more so into the coaching, both physical and mental, space we go!
Back in 2011, with a 13:48 PFA run score, I would never have dreamed I could achieve so much, never mind with so many hurdles along the way. Not because I’m special, I'll leave that to those that know me but because I’m relentless in pursuit of chasing potential and seeing how far I and others can go! Believe in yourself and just because the initial answer is no doesn’t mean it is always a no!
Numerous times over the years, I could have got my head down and sacked it, I have literally been told ‘I could die’, ‘this is serious’ etc far too many times. And yes I’ve toned the ‘extreme’ sports down a little for Mrs J’s mental health 😅but when it's part of your personality, you’ve got live it still. Stay humble, stay honorable, keep humour high and look adversity straight in the eyes, you vs you, always!
HARD TARGET JOURNAL CONTRIBUTOR
Written by: Greg Jardine
Passionate about fitness and staying cheerful in the face of adversity, no matter what situation you’re in
SOCIALS
Instagram: @gregj.coaching
TikTok: @gregj.coaching
0 comments