Darren Grigas – Adventure Athlete
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  • 17th November 2019 Adventures, Blog, Challenges, Featured  1

    A world-first 127 mile foot-crossing over the 55 million year old Namib

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  • 9th March 2018 Adventures, Blog, Challenges, Featured, Race reviews  2

    100 miles of ice!

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  • Special forces bootcamp

    7th April 2017 Blog, Challenges, Race reviews  5

    14 hours in the hands of the Special Forces

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  • 29th September 2016 Adventures, Blog, Challenges, Race reviews  1

    Running the inaugural Cape Wrath Ultra, a truly Beautiful Behemoth

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Events, Featured

30th September 2022

Spanish Coast – Mind & Body Retreat

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Events, Featured

27th August 2022

Through the Mill – A challenging grind for body and mind

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Events, Featured

27th August 2022

The Dragon’s Tail – Running, Biking and Hiking Wales

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PSHE

Blog, Motivational talks

2nd February 2020

Talking to the children of Fulbridge Academy

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Blog, Motivational talks

21st May 2019

Speaking at Buckingham Palace

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Blog

6th September 2020

Cycling the Green Wheel

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Adventures, Blog, Challenges, Featured

17th November 2019

A world-first 127 mile foot-crossing over the 55 million year old Namib

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Adventures, Blog, Challenges, Featured, Race reviews

9th March 2018

100 miles of ice!

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  • PSHE

    2nd February 2020

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    Talking to the children of Fulbridge Academy

  • 21st May 2019

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    Speaking at Buckingham Palace

  • 3rd November 2016

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    Talking at the Palace

  • 29th September 2016

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    Cathedral abseil for its 900th birthday, yes please!

  • 29th September 2016

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    £26,000+ – Amazing support for Rory and family.

  • 23rd September 2016

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    Guest Speaker: Duke of Edinburgh Awards at TDA

  • 4th August 2016

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    Guest Speaking at Duke of Edinburgh Awards – Peterborough Town...

  • 27th January 2016

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    Dumball – It’s a Goa!

  • 27th January 2016

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    Individual Fundraiser of the Year! – £18,000 for Anna’s Hope

  • 27th January 2016

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    Jools Holland Fairies for Anna’s Hope

  • 30th September 2015

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    Prince’s Trust Motivational Talk

  • 18th August 2012

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    Pride in Peterborough Awards

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I stopped paddling for 10 seconds… and paid for I stopped paddling for 10 seconds… and paid for it. The current on the Panama Canal and Chargres river doesn’t care if you’re tired. It doesn’t care if you want a photo. Stop… and you’re off track or falling behind. Every time I paused for a quick photoor snack, I’d easily drift 50–100m behind the group—and then it was on me and my wingman to dig deep and fight our way back. So we didn’t stop much at all. 30 minutes paddling hard. Quick regroup to catch our breath. Go again. Shoulders burning. No let-up. But always looking around as we go... Massive container ships thundering past. Tropical birds skimming the surface, monkeys howling from the trees... And beneath us? Crocodiles. 🐊🐊🐊 At one point, our cameraman spotted a huge croc head rise just behind me as I passed over it—its head alone nearly 2ft long. Safe to say it was quite a whopper.. Let that sink in. Hundreds of them, right there under us as we paddled along Sometimes in life, you don’t get to stop. You just keep moving forward, watching for crocs but don't forget to enjoy the journey #panama #kayaking #adventure #mindset #motivation dontquit dontstoppaddling
Well that was a long commute into work at @foresta Well that was a long commute into work at @forestadventurecentre The old legs and body are feeling surprisingly good today though, which is somewhat reassuring as this distance isn't even a third of what lies ahead in May as @sarahjk1828 and I will attempt 100 miles across central Scotland (in one go 😬🥵). Silly idea. #100miler #ultrarunning #ultramarathon #100miletraining
I love to make an entrance 😉💪🏼🙌🏼 I I love to make an entrance 😉💪🏼🙌🏼 I'm very happy with how this has turned out, our new startline gateway for the assault course at Forest Facility Adventure Centre Just got to add the final START sign to it tomorrow and we're good to go. One of about a thousand jobs almost ticked off, next!....
Does this still count as hand luggage? Does this still count as hand luggage?
Kids and adults are loving the Tanktopia experienc Kids and adults are loving the Tanktopia experience here at the National Outdoor Expo. We have four of these awesome machines available to drive around Forest Facility Adventure Centre and they even shoot lasers to be included as part of our laser tag battles. Our Forest Adventure venture just keeps getting better!
This incredible 8-year-old girl hung on for over e This incredible 8-year-old girl hung on for over eight minutes at our @forestadventurecentre stand at the @nationaloutdoorexpo How long could you hang on for? #hangon #climb #expo #nec #holdon
Not all days are created equal. 😬😄🛻 It w Not all days are created equal. 😬😄🛻 It was totally worth it though, throwing a load of disadvantaged kids on the back of the truck and driving them around the forest and lake at @forestadventurecentre is always one of the absolute highlights of their visits. I probably could have saved a fortune on laser guns, axe ranges, obstacles and underground escape rooms and just offered off-road truck rides instead. To be fair, these tyres have over 40,000 miles on them already so they've done well. #truckride #truck #adventure
I often get asked about my old tentmate Ran (aka S I often get asked about my old tentmate Ran (aka Sir Ranulph Fiennes). Back in 2015 we were roomies in our 8-man tent with six other brilliant guys during our @marathondessables race. Ran is a lovely humble man, we had the most popular tent in camp, with Brits coming over to meet "The Greatest Living Explorer" in person, chat and get selfies. He was genuinely interested in them and their stories, saying as he talked about himself for a living he wanted to know about them instead of telling more stories himself. It wasn't until we were at the airport ready to fly home that I realised I may not have actually got a photo with him despite having camped together for 8 nights. I jokingly asked him, "Ran, do you want a photo with me so you can show your mates?" We sat for a pose, he leaned in and said to me "and I've even got the trademark fingers over your shoulder" 😄👋🏽 We've kept in touch over the years, and last met up in his dressing room for a chat when his tour came to Peterborough. He's a lovely guy, an inspiration and a true living legend. #ranulphfiennes #mds #marathondessables #sirranulphfiennes #stayhumble
A slower commute to work than the usual truck ride A slower commute to work than the usual truck ride today. 21 miles to test the old bones ahead of attempting 100 miles in May #100miletraining #ultrarunning
Ever wondered how big those shipping containers ar Ever wondered how big those shipping containers are up close? About this big! 🤯 (I'm in the slightly smaller yellow boat) I was doing the maths as we paddled along the Panama Canal watching in awe as dozens of these passed us by, each with containers stacked 9 high, 20 across and 18-20 long, that's as many as 3,600 containers on every one of these monster ships! And they just kept on passing all day long, that's a lot of stuff! Remember that next time you get your order from Temu or Amazon, and then just decide you don't like it and send it back, that's a long journey for a pair of trousers 👀 #panama #adventure #kayakingadventures
A world-first run 100 miles across a giant frozen A world-first run 100 miles across a giant frozen lake will always be an amazing highlight of my many experiences. The first morning we stepped onto the giant frozen lake, the temperature was -47°c "18° colder than the south pole" we were told. 🥶 By mid-afternoon it would 'warm up' to about -30° so despite the blue skies and sunshine it was pretty fresh out there, and personal admin was pretty crucial to get right. Wear too many layers, and you'll sweat too much and that sweat would then freeze inside your clothing, wear too few and you'll risk hypothermia if you don't move enough to generate body heat to stay warm and safe. My fingers went numb after removing my top two gloves for a few seconds to grab a snack even though I still had a liner glove on. It then took 20 minutes to warm them back up again. The giant Lake Khuvsghol in Outer Mongolia freezes over for half of the year, and as lead runner within a small group on a recce for a new event, I had the challenge of running 100 miles the entire length of it over a three-day crossing. I spent much of the runtime alone, just me an the ice, aside from my local support guide never too far away on his horse-drawn sled. The ice would crack and shift with an almighty boom like thunder in the distance as it moved like tectonic plates grinding together. There are always many experiences within the experience that make it so special, and one of those many special moments was as we ate our meals around a campfire at night, singing songs and sipping vodka with our local guides in temperatures of -50° whilst in the treeline 50ft away a pack of wolves howled around our camp. That, was truly a moment to remember. You don't get such memories by staying safely in your comfort zone, so say yes to the adventure, push boundaries, reach for ridiculous goals, because that's where the magic happens. #adventure #ultramarathon #mongol100 #publicspeaker
Run and read... Or better still, listen to books/ Run and read... Or better still, listen to books/podcasts, meaning you can improve your body and mind simultaneously. I'm always recommending books to people and this is a great one. I've just been for a nice slow and steady 10km with the final few chapters of this brilliant book from @drchatterjee In my years of running I've absorbed hundreds of hours of educational books, each with potentially life changing content from experts in their fields. For just a few hours of listening you can learn key points from someone's life's work, consequently changing your perspective and understanding of life, society, mental and physical wellbeing and more, and once learned, you can't unlearn such valuable insights that could vastly improve your mindset, relationships, successes and wellbeing. Just one key paragraph from a single book could be the one that resonates and changes your understanding of yourself and others.... and all for no extra time needed if done so whilst going for a run, walking the dog, driving somewhere, sitting on a train. Give this one a listen, you can thank me later. #happymind #bookreccomendations #runner
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Prince's Trust - Guest Speaker

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As a guest speaker Darren is a true inspiration to all. His approach to challenge, personal development and lifelong learning made him the perfect guest speaker to inspire and motivate our team. His adventures are the perfect hook to get the young people engage and his subtle but targeted “suggestions” on personal development stayed with the team throughout the twelve week programme.

Kit Lists - Everything you need for your running and adventure challenges

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If you're just starting out, or planning to cross a desert, jungle or 100 miles of ice, I share all the tips and recommended products here
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Peterborough Open Awards Centre CIC - Motivational Speaker

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Motivation and inspiration are key elements in encouraging young people to strive beyond their limiting beliefs. As a guest speaker on our National Citizen Service courses; the group listened attentively as he talked them through his various exploits as an extreme adventurer and charity fundraiser. His stories of completing the Marathon Des Sables and spending a week challenging alongside Sir Ranulph Fiennes as he became the oldest UK citizen to complete the challenge held his audience spellbound. A true motivational speaker.

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