Burning Rope - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'You must blaze a trail of your own' - Banks

Song Choice:- Yikes, it's 39 years since I saw the mighty Genesis 'Bandwagon' at Knebworth on Midsummer's Day, way back in 1978. Huge, on-stage, mirrors reflected a row of Boeing 747 landing lights into the night and took my appreciation of the band way past 'Eleven'. From their 'And then there were three' album, the lyrics of 'Burning Rope' have always projected a vivid image of an escapologist dangling by a thread as the flames eat away at his 'lifeline'.

I'm therefore not too sure how much of a 'Dare-Devil' I really am, as it's something I would never, ever consider undertaking and yet I'm encountering more and more people who live life with the same level of 'Risk Factor' as Houdini.

Sure there's 'Risk' associated with everything we do, and being an avid 'Googler' I tried to check out how many people had died dangling from a 'Burning Rope' in the UK last year... 

Ok, it's a bit macabre but I was actually side-tracked and astonished when I saw the '% Cause of Death as men's ages increases. The stats are shocking and a real eye-opener...

It would appear that if we are lucky enough to get to your teens and early 20's then we are more likely to kill ourselves in accidents or by our own hand and failing that, in middle age all of our poor past behaviour will come back and haunt us with major cardiac problems and finish us off in our 50's-70's. Pass 80, and then you'll most likely have Alzheimer’s and won't give a shit about much anyway, which made me think even harder about making sure I get the most out of the life whilst I still have my health and my marbles.

You see, it's just as easy to be 'Awesome' than 'Average' at anything. It doesn't necessarily have to take any more time than it does already, you just have to do it better - and increase your desire for Awesomeness.

I'm lucky, I meet lots of 'Awesome People' and my task now I feel is to keep them being 'Awesome' rather than let the flames burn through their 'Rope of Averageness'...it's going to be one hell of a journey - for them AND me...

So please start the process off and have a Great Monday and give it all you've got eh? No one cares who came second you know...

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,572 Days' Alcohol Free - 421 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

The Cinema Show – Genesis

Lyrics:- ‘Listen to the old one speak of all he has lived through’ – Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett & Rutherford

Song Choice:- Taken from the brilliant 1973 Album ‘Selling England by the Pound’, the lyrics outline the band’s social comment on the UK being ‘Sold off’. The early 70’s of course were of course a time of great uproar with the trade-union strikes, the three-day-week and a general feeling of gloom and doom – I can remember most things being nylon, plastic or brown… Optimism wasn’t a word that was banded around frequently back then. It took Punk and the Silver Jubilee to kick start the nation and get things going again I felt…the 80's were far better...

Being 55, and as Gabriel sings, I could comment on a lot of what’s gone on in the world. I mean, I can remember 1967 (Just) and have first-hand knowledge of most of major ‘Ups and down’s’ since then as they happened. It’s amazing just how many you can remember when you try – these last few weeks will be etched on all of our memories for sure and there are more to come of course..

Apart from the obvious shocking disasters, what we can do is to look back at the things that went wrong for us personally, our own personal disasters, you see, there’s one common theme.

We just didn’t try hard enough – FACT. 

And for some of the failures the solution at the time, was SO ‘Easy’ - One simple change would have solved a lifetime of pain, yet it’s ‘Easier’ not to. Doh - Oh how I hate excuses - I also hate 'Failure Enablers'...

To me you see, it’s all ‘Pure Laziness’ that drives us on to FAIL... 

And it's something you’ll never find MEguilty of... How about YOU?

Rory Coleman - 994 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,561 Days' Alcohol Free - 410 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

Undertow - Genesis

Don't look so sad Guys - you've got 40 years ahead of you...

Lyrics:- 'If this were the last day of your life, my friend
Tell me, what do you think you would do then?

Stand up to the blow that fate has struck upon you
Make the most of all you still have coming to you.
Lay down on the ground and let the tears run from youCrying to the grass and trees and heaven finally on your knees' - Banks

Song Choice:- This track is taken from the 1978 album 'And then there were three' and is my good friend Kevin Webber's favourite song. If you were watching BBC2 last night he was featured on the TV show 'A Time to Live' as he has terminal Prostate Cancer and it showed his amazing outlook on life and him running at the Marathon des Sables.

I think know Kevin pretty well as I've shared two MdS tents with him and had many conversations over the past couple of years about a multitude of different subjects, including his impending death. 

They haven't been doom and gloom jobs either, which is most interesting and definitely heart-warming.

You see, I've been critically ill but not dying and Kevin doesn't look ill at all but has a limited amount of time left before he's critically ill - how ironic is that! Life's so fucking cruel sometimes.

Listening to him last night on TV was actually a good kick up my tired legs backside and I ran hard today listening to 'Undertow' thinking that if this was going to be the last run of my life, then I may as well give it everything I'd got.

OMG it worked too as it got me an extra 1.3 miles on an hours out-and-back and only strengthened my foundations against the 'Undertow' that life can erode away at a lot of the time.

I dearly hope Kevin makes his third MdS as he looked so 'Alive' at the race this year - then again, it would be a good place to clock out, if it was the last day of your life my friend... wouldn't it.

Rory Coleman - 990 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,534 Days' Alcohol Free - 382 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Boscastle, Cornwall

Down and Out - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'I don't talk round corners, it's right between the eyes, if you're slow they'll run past you' - Banks, Collins & Rutherford

Song Choice:- This is the first track from the 1978 album, 'And then there were three'. Yes, it's nearly 40 years' since Steve Hackett picked up his guitar case, said 'I'm off Guys' and left the band for good. I wonder how they coped with that at the time - Yet, without him and Sir Peter of Gabriel, they went on to even greater success. Funny how things work out eh? I remember buying this album, the minute it was released though and still look back very fondly of my time listening to Genesis as a 16 year old lad.

Anyway, 'Down and Out' is how I felt this morning if I'm being honest as my legs just didn't want to move following a couple of days of hill bashing down here in Kernow. Post GBS they are a bit wobbly still you see when I go down hill. So I've decided to make my week down here an 'Out and Back' training camp to toughen 'em up. You might want to try this one - Same route every day - 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back trying to get further every day and running a negative split. It's a killer...

Especially not easy if you're running in the Cornish Alps but I managed an extra half mile on yesterday's run and still beat the hour, so I was well chuffed. My legs are f*cked though and OK, I hammered myself to do it but sometimes a good kick up your own arse stops you from being 'Down and Out' I've found.

You see I don't talk round corners...and are you in need of a 60 minute body and mind reset? I bet you are if you are being honest...

Rory Coleman - 990 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,531 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Boscastle, Cornwall

Squonk - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' - Banks & Rutherford

Song Choice:- I've always loved 'Squonk'. It's a song about a North-Amrican mythical creature of the same name that when captured, dissolves in a pool of tears, nice. The song was designed to sound like Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' which was recorded the previous year and funnily enough at Headley Grange where Genesis had recorded 'The Lamb'. 'Squonk' opened the band's live performances, right the way through their early 80's concerts, including the two that I was lucky enough to see in '78 & '80.

Anyway, it's the 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' line that I'm interested in for today's 'Bank Holiday Blog'. You see it's a year today since I went into Llandough Hospital to start my GBS recovery and it got me thinking into what I've learned during this past 365 days.

I'll go to what I've learned later on, but I didn't come to that conclusion from completing  this year's Marathon des Sables or by beating my brains out, bashing out 100 miles along the Thames Towpath this weekend, trying to please the Facebook Failure Enabler's that folk seem to attract nowadays. There's nothing worse than not-completing to a round of 'Well at least you trieds' or '50, 60 or 70 is extreme' etc. in my book. I'm pretty sure that none of my 'Life Learns' came from 100 mile Ultras...

What I've learned is that 'Satisfaction' comes from within. Within a world that exists between our ears and rather than searching deep down inside and correcting our own behaviour - We expend most of our time looking at and trying to change the world around us. I believe that whatever happens in the world around us or in other folks lives just doesn't matter - so why do we believe it does?

At the end of the day or 365 of them in my case, I wonder how many folk I will project my thoughts during the next year. It's not easy as the thing is, there's no right or wrong - and only time will tell if they get to see the world as clearly as I do without having to spend a year rebuilding their lives. You see for some 'All the King's horses and all the King's men' will never put them back together again.

More tomorrow...and enjoy your Bank Holiday, whatever you are doing - and then maybe look back over your day and wonder why you did what you did, instead of doing something else.

Rory Coleman - 989 Marathons - 243 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,517 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Ripples - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'Ripples never come back' - Banks & Rutherford

Song Choice:- We are now three-quarters of the way through my 'A Trick of the Tail' set of blogs and 'Ripples' represents one of the most iconic tracks of 'Post Gabriel Genesis' in my opinion and a real stand tack out from the 1976 film 'Genesis in Concert'. Take a look here and see what I mean. 

The whole track is amazingly multi-layered and Steve Hackett's guitar solo is probably one of his finest and for the aficionado he used a little gizmo called an 'E-bow' - a battery-powered device vibrating the string without any actual physical contact. Who'd have thought eh?...

Anyway, forget it's the multi-layered, fantastically produced 8:03 minutes of pure brilliance for a minute, and concentrate on the lyrics - as it's the 'Ripples never come back' line that I've always loved about this track.

You see, all of us, emit 'Ripples'. No not those ripples! Thoughts, actions and blogs in my case! Each one of us transmits thousands of messages about ourselves every day, written, spoken and lots unspoken that reflect how we see ourselves and others in this crazy old world we live in.

Get tuned into the right frequency and it's amazing how much receive on a very simple crystal set without trying too hard. Folk give off SO many messages without ever saying a word. It's something I've really concentrated over the last few years and it has certainly helped with my job in getting to the root of my client’s issues and how to overcome some of the negativity that they can find themselves amidst - and then avoid it.

To them I say follow the lyrics of the song and 'Sail away' as 'Ripples never come back' - Well only in exceptional circumstances. And that's only if you let them...

What messages are you saying, not saying today?...How are your 'Ripples'

More tomorrow.

Rory Coleman - 986 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,475 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Caerdydd, Cymru