My name’s Jamie. I’m 22 years old and currently serving in the British Military.
I’ve always been drawn to challenging myself.
I believe pushing your limits is what separates you from the rest. Testing your mindset and seeing what you’re truly capable of is something I value massively, and the military has played a huge part in building that mentality throughout my life. It’s taught me discipline, resilience, and how to keep going even when things get uncomfortable.
Not long ago, I completed my first 50-mile race, which was by far the toughest challenge I’ve faced so far. I spent 10 weeks training with a strong focus on high mileage and long-distance runs, which prepared me physically, but mentally was a completely different battle. The race was made up of a constant 7-mile loop, and repeating that over and over really pushed my mental resilience to its limits.
I think this was one of the hardest parts of the race. And once you hit a certain mileage, you hit a wall and for me it was hard to focus and continue, but at the end of the day you've got to remember it’s going to be mentally draining but it’s how you get over that and continue.
I think being in the military and how I’ve grown up and adapted with life has definitely been on my side when it comes to mentally challenging things. Music is a big out for me, I train with and without music. Once I hit the half way point I put some tunes on and sing along.
Boosting my moral and keeping happy will always make situations and 'grizz' easier. If you haven’t got music or it’s not your thing, I suggest using something that’s important to you and picturing it/them and the finish line. When I lost my nan years back I always used to use her as motivation and picture her being on the finish line of every race.
Despite that, I got through it and came out stronger from the experience.
Next up, I’m taking on an even bigger challenge — a 24-hour ultra marathon consisting of 4 miles every hour, on the hour, for a total of 96 miles. It’ll be the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted, but I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got.
HARD TARGET JOURNAL CONTRIBUTOR
Written by: Jamie Nuttall
British Army Soldier passionate about fitness and pushing his mind and body past it's limits.
Instagram: @jamienuttall55
TikTok: @jamie.nuttall
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