Running for Resources
(originally posted at www.onpointtactical.com)
General physical fitness is really (really) important! Being in
good shape physically (strength, endurance, agility, mental clarity,
etc.) enables us to be effective at our given task -- be that as a
military scout, a law enforcement tracker, or as someone who overcomes
and succeeds in an extended survival situation. Setting up and
following a consistent and well-designed exercise routine, combined
with appropriate diet and sleep, is as important to mission success as
effective training and high quality equipment. And there are as many
different exercise programs, systems, and routines as there are people.
Pick (or develop) a program that works for you, given your time,
ability, starting point, and available resources. Also, frequency and
long-term mental commitment to your fitness goals are just as important
as the actual design of your specific routine. Rome wasn’t built in a
day, and neither is improved health achieved with one work out.
Becoming and staying physically fit is a lifestyle change and this
change demands new efforts, new food, and new priorities.
Having said this, I would like to focus on one small element of an
overall physical fitness and health regime – that of the “long run”. As
I stated previously in OPT (www.onpointtactical.com) discussion forums:
“The ability to run long distances for hours may be THE most
important survival skill from a physical fitness point of view. Here's
my logic: humans exist in teams/tribes/communities. And physical
strength can typically be a summation of all members of the tribe.
Let's lift this rock, let's build this barn, let's push this cart, etc.
However, when escaping or evading attackers or predators, you can't
really combine the endurance of many people. You have your own
endurance and that's it -- and then the wolves catch up to you. I could
conceivably help a child escape at the same speed (for a while), but I
couldn't carry a full-grown adult and still evade at top speed.”
The more I research this, the more I realize that the ability to
cover very long distances, either walking or running (or marching) has
been critical to human survival and success in previous generations of
human history. For example, ninja in feudal Japan were supposedly able
to run 40+ miles a day (and then complete a mission). U.S. Civil War
soldiers on both sides of the conflict frequently marched 20+ miles a
day, fully loaded (wearing wool!), for many days to quickly relocate to
a new front (see Stonewall Jackson, etc.). The Apache, from which Kevin
draws much of his training, could evade on foot for weeks when pursued
by mounted U.S. cavalry in the American Southwest. In our past, rapid
mobility over long distances has meant the difference between winning
and losing battles, rescuing stranded victims, and ultimately between
life and death for the runners themselves.
There are libraries full of books on how to improve your ability to
run really long distances. Perhaps most important is to actually go out
and start running. Don’t sit and read about running – go do it. And
list to your body. It will teach you as you slowly increase your
running distances. Be prudent, be wise, and progress slowly – but make
sure that you progress! Whatever your age or level of health, you can
improve your ability to move long distances. Crawl. Then walk. Then
run. Then run faster and farther. Make the effort while there is still
time...
There is another skill set you can hone and sharpen WHILE you are
practicing at running these longer distances. I run 5 mile loops
starting at my house and then return after a wide circle over various
routes. I constantly work at expanding my awareness and mental catalog
of available resources (among other mental activities). My perspective,
and the items for which I scan as I run these loops, has been focused
as a result of OPT courses in Urban Escape & Evasion and Wilderness
Survival. For example, here are my notes from my “Resource Run” this
morning:
Route ID: South East Loop
Distance: 5.21 miles
Time: 55.42 minutes
Terrain: moderate hills, paved road course w/ limited dirt road and off road running
Altitude variation: 6220 to 6435 feet
Physical response: usual runner’s wall hit at 4 miles (and 3
hills), could have continued beyond 5 miles but had to go to work,
shoes still working well
Plant resources spotted:
scrub oak – food (approximately 35 acres of it)
mullein – medicine (2 different patches)
cattail – food
banana yucca – food/medicine/cordage
bear grass – cordage (2 different patches)
dandelion – food/medicine
milk thistle - medicine
pine trees – food/medicine
aspen trees - medicine
Animal resources spotted:
rabbits – approximately 3
prairie dogs – 20 acres of them, thousands
hawks – 2, help me ID other calorie sources
crows – many, fletching & ID road kill
cattle – only in an emergency
deer scat – wrong time of day to see deer
Other resources spotted:
water source A – polluted with fertilizer
water source B – well, pump, & tank for cattle
water source C – stream (unknown quality, probably polluted with fertilizer, deer scat, could easily trap/hunt here)
I have similar routes that go West and East, and I am working on
scouting a North Loop route that will take me into a different area
with different resources. I am vaguely aware of another water source on
this North Loop route (there is also a family of foxes along this North
Loop).
Combining long distance running practice with resource scouting
“kills two birds with one stone,” so to speak. Obviously identifying
resources in your immediate vicinity can also be done driving around in
a car, but who knows how much longer that gasoline will be a)
affordable or b) available? If you mountain bike for exercise, similar
cataloging can be achieved. Running puts you at a slight advantage over
a mountain bike because you go a few more places (not many). Equipment
and food cache locations can also be identified while on these runs.
And if you vary the time of your runs, you can also get a feel for when
certain locations or roads are more frequented (rush hour, etc.).
In summary, this is a modification of the principle Kevin (OPT head instructor) teaches
in his OPT Wilderness Survival course – when in survival mode one walks
with a purpose, be that stalking prey, setting traps, or simply
foraging for resources. We should be running with this in mind, as
well. My next goal is (if I can swing the time) to work up to 10 mile
looped resource runs (occasionally) by the end of the summer. So keep
running (it may save your life some day). And WHILE you run, keep your
mind focused on identifying “resources” that may also come in handy as
our world darkens and we begin to deploy survival, scouting, and
tracking skills in everyday life.
“The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat.” - Bill Squires, Coach
“Long distance running is particularly good training in perseverance.” - Chairman Mao
“Run slowly, run daily, drink moderately and don't eat like a pig.” - Dr. Ernest van Aaken
“Now bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” – Shakespeare
“Anything is possible, but you have to believe and you have to fight.” - Lance Armstrong
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