5S are proud to announce that we will be providing Shaun Wilde with full use of the new 5S Facility all the Specialised Strength & Conditioning he needs to achieve the highest results!
Shaun is a diehard OCR (Obstacle Course Race) enthusiast and has quickly rose to becoming one of the best athletes out there.
Q&A with Shaun:
How long have you been obstacle racing for?
My first race was the London River Rat race in 2014 and then I dabbled with a few races through to the end of that year. It was part of what I called my Fit@50 project with an initial intention to do one race per month from my 50th birthday in July 2014 through to July 2015. I then got hooked on OCR and became fully competitive from Jan 2015 starting with Tough Guy. I had a full winter and summer season last year and competed as the oldest elite at the OCRWC.
What got you in to it?
Mainly the above but I’m an ex-soldier (1980-1996) so it very much appealed to me combining obstacle courses and endurance/trail running. I joined the Army as a 16 years old apprentice in the Royal Signals, and left when I was 32 attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. I’m now a co-owner and Director of an IT company specialising in learning and talent management.
What other events do you take part in?
I’m an ex canoe slalom athlete initially in the Army Team and then in my 40’s up until 2010. More recently I have dabbled with mountain and adventure racing, although I now focus on OCR with the odd road and trail race.
What are you best achievements to date?
Qualifying for the Spartan World Championships (earning the Spartan silver coin) and the OCRWC as an elite racer, and then finishing 64th elite at the OCRWC. I’m also an ex British veteran champion in Canoe Slalom, and I have a half marathon PB of 1hr18min set in my mid-20’s (and that’s on par with Conor Hancock if I could go back 25 years J)
What’s been your funniest/most interesting race story so far?
I have 2 epic DNF’s, one was at an early Suffering race where I twisted my knee just 30m into the race hurdling the first obstacle, and in the one race that I nearly won (X Warrior Water Wipe-out), I suffered a twist in my lower region 😉 near to the end of the race to then be taken away in an ambulance!
What do you most look forward to achieving in the year ahead?
My main goal is to reach the podium in my age group at the OCRWC in Canada, then I aim to finish in the top 3 of the UK OCR Masters League, and to win my age group at the UK OCR Championships.
Here’s Shaun’s Race Plan for this year:
Dirty Dozen (Kent) – 16 April 2016
Toughest London – 23 April 2016
Vision Wild Run (Oxford) – 07 May 2016
Nuclear Rush (London) – 14 May 2016
Spartan Super (Midlands) – 28 May 2016
Major Series (Scotland) – 04 June 2016
Pain and Suffering (Midlands) – 26 June 2016
Dirty Dozen and Dash (Wales) – 09 July 2016
Spartan Beast (Edinburgh) – 24 July 2016
London River Rat Race – 13 August 2016
Dirty Destroyer (London) – 20 August 2016
Spartan Sprint (Peterborough) – 03 September 2016
Nuclear Blast (London) – 17 September 2016
Born Survivor (Macclesfield) – 24 September 2016
Toughest Copenhagen – 1st October 2016
Toughest Manchester – 8th October 2016
OCR World Championships – 15 October 2016
Pain and Suffering (Midlands) – 29 October 2016
Survival of the Fittest (Manchester) – 05 November 2016
Nuclear Fallout (London) – 12 November 2016
OCR UK Championships – 19 November 2016
…Extremely busy man!
If you get a chance go support Shaun at one his races… We look forward to forward to seeing him progress!
Train Like an Athlete… Eat Like a Nutritionist!