Fan Dance

The Fan dance is a 24km SAS selection march across Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. The time required to pass is under 4hrs, which is pretty damn hard. You also have to carry a 40+ lb backpack. My father and I decided to give it a go, knowing before hand that the 4hr mark was probably not quite in reach for me with that weight on my back! (maybe next year though) We completed the challenge in 4hr 59min and I managed to get 1st Woman in the load bearing category.

Another highlight was that Lofty Wiseman former member of the SAS and youngest to pass selection was present to send us off and congratulate us at the end. What a brilliant guy, his story was inspiring and I've been hooked on his book SAS: Who dares grins. Defo recommend!

The route itself is really not too hard, however mentally the distance begins to take a toll after reaching the halfway point. Also, the blisters begin to say hello at that point... not nice. With a little more heavy backpack training I could probably try to get much closer to the 4hr mark.

After all this I have now been inspired to try out for the Royal Marines Commando after university, where if successful, I will be one of the first females to pass the selection.