Deepak Shukla / First-hand journeys
Army preparation, island ultras, a fight in Rio and races that ran through the night. These are the things I have actually done — and the original stories behind them.
I’m a British-Indian founder and endurance runner. I applied to 21 SAS, but never attempted selection. I’ve run 30+ marathons and finished 100- and 200-mile races. This collection puts the experience before the slogan.
Read the storiesFrom my earlier ultramarathon preparation story; not a photograph of either 2024 Centurion race.
Some of these articles were written close to the experience. Others look back with a result sheet beside them. I keep the distinction visible: an original diary tells you what I wrote then; an official result establishes a finish; a planning feature explains what the evidence can usefully teach.
Not every chapter ends in a qualification or a finish line. My Army application ended before CIC and SAS selection. The Ironman dates still need checking. The value is in an accurate account, not a sporting or military CV polished beyond recognition.
Read the original 21 SAS diaryFour ways into the story
01 / Army Reserve / 21 SAS · First-hand accounts
An autumn 2014 application, early assessment at Pirbright and Alpha and Bravo Army preparation in 2015–2016. My story ends before CIC and SAS selection. The original diaries stay intact; today's recruiting questions belong to the Army.
02 / Ultras / Endurance · First-hand accounts
30+ marathons, island mountains and two publicly timed Centurion finishes in 2024. Read the contemporary stories for the experience and the new race ledgers for what the official results actually establish.
03 / Muay Thai / Action · First-hand accounts
I lived in Rio and trained Muay Thai before my first fight. It belongs here as a first-person experience of learning and competing, not as a claim to be a professional fighter or a substitute for coaching.
04 / Adventure travel · First-hand accounts
92 days through South America in 2009, from a Galápagos volcano to Bolivia's Death Road, then a seven-day hitchhike from London to Tallinn in 2011. Retold from my original diaries and photographs, with 2009 memories kept separate from today's travel advice.
Official results / 2024
Elapsed times include the whole race, not just moving time. Places below are overall positions in the individual event, not historical or age-group rankings.
8–9 June 2024 · Bib 561
22:43:38
Finish · 126th overall
11–14 December 2024 · Bib 167
69:14:32
Finish · 18th overall
From the archive / 2009–2011
Retold from the travel blogs I kept at the time, with my own photographs. Each story is a dated memory; where safety matters, it says what to check today.
June 2009 / Ecuador
On horseback, then on foot over volcanic rock to one of the world's largest calderas.
June 2009 / Peru
A bike descent towards Santa Teresa, jungle trekking and a railway walk. Not the Inca Trail.
July 2009 / Bolivia
One skid, a good guide and what to check before riding it today.
July 2009 / Bolivia
Volunteering with rescued monkeys, macaws and a spectacled bear, as it was then.
October 2009 / Chicago
4:25:55, and the official splits that show where a fast start caught up with me.
July 2011 / Europe
Seven days, eight borders and about 1,120 to 1,200 miles overland.
92 days backpacking from Venezuela to Argentina, then Chicago in October: 4:25:55 after a too-fast first half.
Read this chapterA 3:45 second marathon, leaving Deloitte to rap and run a home studio, then a seven-day hitchhike to Estonia.
Read this chapterAn island ultramarathon and an application to 21 SAS around autumn 2014. Separate challenges, neither a credential for the other.
Read this chapterAlpha and Bravo preparatory training. Ten days of private Georgian training were a separate experience with a former sniper. No CIC; never SAS selection.
Read this chapterMuay Thai in Rio, four marathons in consecutive weeks and an Ironman finish in Port Elizabeth. I leave uncertain dates out of the chronology.
Read this chapterSouth Downs Way 100 in June; Winter Downs 200 in December. Official results anchor the story beyond recollection.
Read this chapterThe finish lines are visible. Ordinary routines are less photogenic. My discipline essays explore that less dramatic side: repetition, focus and the habits that survive a normal working week.
Read the discipline collectionNew stories from ultras, selection prep, fight camps and building a business, when they're written. No schedule, no spam, unsubscribe any time.
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