Interview with Anne Strike: lessons from a Paralympian – completing a Tough Mudder Assault Course when you can’t use your legs.

 Interviewing Anne Strike on the second anniversary of her successful attempt to be the first person to complete a European Tough Mudder course in a wheelchair, I am struck by her incredible positive outlook and self-belief. Competitors are advised to train for a TM in the same way as for a marathon. A course typically comprises 15-20 obstacles over a 12 mile course, which tests the mental and physical limits of a fully able bodied athlete, let alone an athlete paralysed from the trunk down. Team Anne Strike was made up of people from all walks of life, who, under Anne's leadership, formed a team to conquer Tough Mudder. They worked together for 7 hours to achieve that goal, a goal of which anyone would feel immensely proud. Anne had to make it under/over/through obstacles such as crawl under razor wire, climb the dreaded Everest wall or swim submerged through icy muddy water.
 

 Richard Webber - First question that comes to mind is "Why?" 

Anne Strike - I wanted to raise money for children in Africa.  Growing up with a disability in Africa wasn't easy, and it still isn't easy for the people who live with a disability in the developing countries of the world. We were raising funds, and awareness, for AbleChildAfrica to continue their projects that supports disabled children to access their rights and give them the best possible chance of fulfilling their potential.

Anne was born in Kenya in 1969, she was a fit and healthy child before polio struck when she was two years old. Growing up in a country which is still ill equipped to fully support people born with disabilities, she often had to draw deep for strength to overcome obstacles and live a normal life.  

RW -  What helped you overcome the tougher parts?

AS - Teamwork and the power of the mind. What separates success from failure is a great team. I would not have conquered Tough Mudder without team support. Take the 'human-ladder’ for me to get over the Everest obstacle) 'Everest' - 15ft tall slope, 35ft wide, and almost vertical, and sometimes lubricated with water and vegetable oil to make getting up it even harder. Speed is vital to give you the impetus to ascend the obstacle. So how did I do it when I have no use of my legs so can't run?? TEAMWORK! Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success. My team formed a human ladder then I had to work myself upwards using their bodies for support, and my own upper body strength to climb higher and higher. Halfway up I almost gave up but the realisation that we were so close to the finish line spurred me on, as well as thinking about why we were doing the challenge. Sometimes as individuals, we have limited potential to achieve and grow - Also as a team you know there's always others on your side. 

Unity makes us strong and drives us to achieve greater things. Everyone I am sure had highs and lows during the event but when someone was struggling, the other team members helped to pick them up. Feeding off each other's energy, and achieving as a collective effort also increases your confidence. 

The power of the mind - the harder the challenge got the more determined we became as a team/group and we pooled our efforts and pushed to the finish line. People work harder as part of a team, we all felt a sense of responsibility to others to make sure we completed the course and stayed as positive as possible. 

RW - So where did you draw your strength from?

AS - my team mates.. Knowing that they were there on my side. We drew strength from one another, the unity of the team made me strong knowing we were all aiming towards a common goal (to raise funds to support young people living with disability in Africa) Knowing that the young disabled people in Africa lead tough lives every each day - drove me to push and kept pushing all the way to the finish line..

RW - What did you personally learn from TM?

AS - I learned we are always stronger than we think, it is amazing what we can accomplish when we need to – the human body and mind are capable of so much.  All my team mates were physically more capable than I was  . . but none of us was as capable as all of us.

 Anne is an ambassador for a number of worthy causes – please follow the links below to find out how you can help:

• The British Polio Fellowship which supports over 120,000 people in the UK who are suffering from Post-Polio Syndrome. Please visit https://www.britishpolio.org.uk/
• The Olympia-Wafula Foundation which is a charitable organisation dedicated to providing healthy living solutions for disabled and disadvantaged people. www.olympia-wafulafoundation.org
• AbleChildAfrica is unique in that they work exclusively with and for disabled children and their families in Africa, and are the leading UK charity to do so. The children they work with are some of the world’s most vulnerable. https://www.ablechildafrica.org/