Rogaining is long distance orienteering. You basically get a map which has a number of checkpoints located on it, each with different values. The aim is to score the most number of points by visitng checkpoints over the period of the competition. Competitions can be 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours in length. I have done a couple of 24 hour events. Once it was serious. Serious means we tried to run as much as possible, did not stop and did not sleep.
It was hard. I went through periods where I would have rather have been anywhere else than there, where I was seconds away from throwing the biggest dummy spit ever and taken my toys and gone home, where I was trying to work out which part of my body hurt the most. I was thinking and feeling these things for at least the last 7 hours. It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of time I have experienced.
And it was great.
It was great because by placing myself in that position I learnt so much, about myself, about what I can do when on my limit, about how I can rely on others, about how I can be useless and great at the same time.
It seems that we spend a lot of time trying to avoid placing ourselves in these positions. So at work we play it safe, make 'wise' decisions, don't rock the boat, go through the routines, keep comfortable. Sometimes the majority of our energy is spent on making sure we are comfortable- 'I can't do that.' ' I need these extra resources.' 'I'm so busy.'
It is a bit like going for regular short runs. They keep things ticking over, are enjoyable. They do not take you to a place where you find out about yourself, where you work out how YOU work. They don't teach you how you operate when the pain of reaching your goal is so intense you question whether the goal is worth it. For that, you have to be uncomfortable.
How uncomfortable are you?
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