Ninja Warrior UK Series 5
2019 has been a big year for us, the arrival of our son River was always going to overshadow everything else this year but now that we're settling in to parenthood I figured I'd share my experience on this year's Ninja Warrior UK that was shown on ITV earlier this year.
Many of you may remember I've been lucky enough to take part in Ninja Warrior before. First all the way back in the first ever episode here in the UK. The following year I was back and made it all the way to the final. Although not selected to compete in series 3 or 4 I was fortunate enough to be invited to test the course for both series. That in its-self was a fantastic experience, being allowed to run the obstacles without the pressure of the audience. Mind you, the cameras are still there, and the production team watching on is always a fair amount of pressure on it's own!
Anyway, back in May last year I received a call inviting me back on the show. It was totally unexpected this time around as I hadn't even put in an application at that point but it's one of those things I don't think I'll ever turn down!
As usual, the difficulty level had been upped for series 5, with a host of new obstacles to intimidate even the most experienced Ninjas. Fortunately, having been a part of the show for the past 4 years I felt a lot more comfortable with the whole experience than when I first turned up 5 years ago. Contestants are invited to watch the other competitors backstage, with reactions being filmed for the show. In years past I used to love watching the other athletes run the course, but this time I approached things rather differently. I realised that every year, on every course, there are incredible athletes that fail. There's literally ALWAYS better athletes than me that fall in. But so what? Watching other people fall in just makes me second guess myself. Instead I spent time chatting to the crew, listening to my music, and generally thinking about anything other than the gigantic course I was about to tackle.
Walking out onto the start platform I felt a little nervous, but nothing like the fear I had felt in series 1 and 2. The production team had made a big deal out of the returning 'All Star' contestants, so I think a lot of us felt like winners just standing there! For the first time I actually spent a while appreciating the audience. Thousands of people just willing you on. I took my time, kept cool, and got through those first six obstacles without any problems. Hitting the buzzer that meant I would head on to the semi finals once more.
The semi finals course was probably my favourite of the runs I did this season. Mainly due to including the Wingnuts, fresh from their US debut a couple of years ago. Unfortunately this year just the last few obstacles from each of my runs was televised so I can't share them with you. But I did manage to get one of the official photos which was a nice consolation. I made it to the last semi finals obstacle, a simple 7 meter rope climb....and my arms gave out at 6 meters up...
I don't really know how to describe it other than the worse muscle pump ever. I literally had no grip at all left. Knowing that my performance was enough to take me to the final I wasn't too upset as I let go of the rope just short of the buzzer!
Here in the UK we call stage one of the finals the 'Eliminator', with only contestants that hit the final buzzer in under 5 minutes making it through to the next round. Fortunately for me I was one of the lucky 15 who made it to the buzzer in time, punching my ticket to the grand final once again!
So there I was, in the Ninja Warrior UK Grand Final for the second time, and with a stage 2 course that really suited me. It all started with the Double Twister (above)....and, this time to my surprise, that's where it all ended for me!
As is almost always the case with Ninja Warrior, one little slip up and you're out. For me that was the transition from one spinning trapeze to the next. From watching it back I think my hands landed unevenly, spinning the bar out of reach and spelling an end to my run
It's always gutting to go out, but, just as in series 2, it was very hard to be upset having made it all the way to the last episode with possibly the best lineup of Ninja's the UK has ever had. For the first time we saw a competitor (The incredible Tim Champion) make it all the way up Midoriyama and become the first ever Ninja Warrior UK. Let's just say if I could pick one series to be a part of, this could have been it!
I just can't wait to tell River about it when he's older!
