TheMaverickSergeant

Conquer This. “ A soldier will fight long and hard for a piece of coloured ribbon.” - Napoleon My sodden combat assault boots pound the tarmac one by one like the sound of a war drum as I double through a seemingly airless, hazy country lane in the five-miles between me and the finish line back at the Commando Training Centre. I grimace with each step as the build up of lactic acid in my muscles burns as I move forward. My soul yearns for me to break into a walk and allow my heart and lungs to catch up and I despair at the impossibly thin air as I draw it in, hopelessly trying to satisfy my body’s crushing demand for oxygen. We’d set off in groups of three at the start point and over the initial two miles of tunnels, mud obstacles and water obstacles through woodland terrain I managed to lose the other two in the distance to my rear. I’m alone in this fight and although it is an individual test I looked at it as a race with these men. My   overly competitive natu