Mountain ambitions 🗻🐴🤩

[roseabi]

Hi all!

I just finished re-reading a book I loved while I was growing up - "National Velvet" by Enid Bagnold 😊

First published in 1935, it tells the story of Velvet Brown, a fourteen year old, horse-obsessed butcher's daughter. Velvet wins a crazy piebald horse for a shilling in a raffle, and sets her sights on riding him in the Grand National - and winning it! She has to pretend to be a man (because it was 1935), and use faked documentation, to ride in the race. She and the horse win the race, but Velvet falls off him in a faint after passing the finishing post (not because she is a girl, but because she is delicate), her sex is discovered and she is disqualified. The story sets the world on fire for a short time, but then fizzles away. Velvet is left content that her dream for The Piebald to win the National was fulfilled, and with the rest of her life adventures still to unfold before her.

When I was a kid I loved the descriptive power of this book - and of course the horses 😊 Reading it as an adult it captivated me again, but this time I was struck by the sheer ambition and drive of Velvet Brown.

It made me think about setting that proverbial bar a bit higher for myself, so...

... how about the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc* in a couple of years time???😀

What books have inspired YOU?

youtu.be/2xKLYGVObAI(Not working as expected?)

* I am 49 today, so it could all just be a midlife crisis 😊

[AnnieW55]

Happy Birthday. 🍰🍰💐🍾🎉

Would have given you a full cake but emojis are sadly lacking at times!

On you’re special day, I hate to say I Told You So but I kind of did a few days ago - well I said “watch this space” when you were mentioning long distance challenges. That is a good one and if anyone can you can. Is this one for ju-ju- too? You could panther along together 😀

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to AnnieW55]

Ha ha, thank you!!! xx

Well, we'll see 😊

[Sqkr Half Marathon]

ARG I wanted to be Velvet Brown so much, and used to enter my haphazard horse into events as 'The Pie' just for my own amusement for many years after reading. It backfired when I somehow won the East Kent intermediate cross country trophy aged 15 (go me! But full disclosure, the three day eventing was rained off and downgraded to just cross country so barely anyone else turned up) and poor Dylan the horse was immortalised as The Pie for his greatest achievement.

Anyway, I don't have a running one really, at least not that I can think of. But I always have a copy of Candide in my bag to remind me to get a grip. You can open that book on any single page and get a one liner on why you are an idiot, and as the queen of ludicrous reasoning I often need a third party to point that out.

(Should also point out that Dylan was a farm horse and I was neither rich nor posh, hence why I enjoyed upsetting the very snooty Pony Club apple cart with The Pie!)

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Sqkr]

Eventing - completely awesome!

Also "one liner on why you are an idiot" 😊😊😊😊😊

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Sqkr]

Poor Dylan 😊

[Sqkr Half Marathon]

WAIT I JUST SAW THE BIRTHDAY BIT! 😃🎂 Happy cakeday!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Sqkr]

😊😊 Thank you!! xx

[ancientrunner Half Marathon]

Happy Birthday to you.

I have no doubts you can do anything you put your mind too!!!!!

How come none of them looked tired as they crossed the line!!!!!!!!!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to ancientrunner]

Thank you!! xx

I think they had gone beyond tired, back around, and resurfaced again!! Or something 😊

[Maddee_6333 Half Marathon]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🎉

If anyone can do it, you can!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Maddee_6333]

Aw, thank you!! xx

[benwill Marathon]

happy birthday

If you put your mind to it you can to UTMB, but just qualifying for it is hard enough, you have to get so many points etc but you can do it!

can't say i ever had the desire to ride a horse, was to busy playing on my zx spectrum.

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to benwill]

Thank you xx

Yes, three qualifying races, at least 15 points, and THEN a lottery!!! I think the London 2 Brighton I did earlier this year only gets me 3 or 4 points - seems pretty impossible 😂

ZX Spectrum, awesome. Safer than riding a horse too!

[ju-ju- Marathon]

Oh I would so love to do that too.... I am going to be 48 next week so a good opportunity to push our limits!! I must get that book for my daughter. She is totally horse mad and is lucky enough to have her own horse called Princess ( she didnt choose the name!!)

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to ju-ju-]

Horses get some stupid names - I remember riding one called Rasher! 😂 Why is there no bacon emoji????

[misswobble Marathon]

Did you ever see the film with the very young Elizabeth Taylor? 😃

Happy birthday 🍰😃

Did you get any running related stuff? 😃

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Loved Elizabeth Taylor as Velvet!🙂

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to misswobble]

Thank you xxxxxxxxx

Not really, I got myself a box of double espresso gels...

Didn't like the film, It didn't have the skill of the book 😊

[misswobble Marathon in reply to roseabi]

They rarely do, sadly

[Hidden]

i loved it too. I used to have a copy, but a box of books went missing when we moved. nd happy birthday!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! 😘

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Happy birthday 🎉🎂🎊

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to linda9389]

Thank you ❤️

[Whatsapp Half Marathon]

No book has ever made me want to do that before. I think I will be wary of reading National Velvet.

However, good for you - I'm sure you will smash it!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Whatsapp]

Thank you! At least I don't want to ride in the Grand National 😀

[Whatsapp Half Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Haha, thats the year after, surely?