Happy New Year!

Tomorrow, we’ll be launching our campaign to get people out running this January and getting the New Year off to a real flyer. In the coming couple of weeks, we’ll be launching my latest book, and before it goes live, I wanted to share with you the foreword.

In my hypnosis career, I have been truly blessed to have met some brilliant people. Gary Turner is one such brilliant man. Gary is someone who strives to be a ‘serial champion’ – He wants to be the best at everything he does.

I think this is demonstrated when you look at his sporting achievements over the last 30 years that has seen him win thirteen World Titles across a variety of fighting sports. This year he took on the challenge of ultra running and it has been a massive honour for me that he agreed to write the foreword to my latest book. Look out for tomorrow’s blog entry as we’ll be giving away hypnosis audios for those that get out running.

Foreword: Hypnosis for Running

The smiles and excited chatter ceased. Around 150 ultra-marathon racers sparked into life and surged forward over the start line. I bumbled forward, the line went taught, and I was away – my two huskies pulled forward ahead of me, we turned sharply right, and started to scramble up the first craggy climb. The Brecon Beacons Ultra-Marathon had started. Ahead of us lay 42 miles of mud, ice, bog, shale, rock, water crossings and some of the biggest mountains in Wales.

I wasn’t worried about going up the mountains – I was concerned about the downhill sections. On my own I can run downhill very well, almost detaching my legs at the hips and just letting them turn. However, I was running canicross (canine cross country, running with trained dogs in harness) with my two young huskies. They pull steadily going uphill, yet, they also pull hard going downhill. This meant that on every downhill I would be leaning back and braking against 58kg of husky powering forward – on very difficult conditions underfoot, for miles at a time. I would not gain anything here running with huskies, in fact, I would be hindered. This was not going to be an easy race. It was also my first ultra-marathon. It was also a week after I received an early copy of this book.

Let me introduce myself. I’m Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner, and I have had a successful sporting career. I have been fortunate enough to win thirteen World Titles across three different fighting sports. I’ve competed in over twenty-five countries and been an international since 1983.  I’ve been in three different British Teams. I’ve had a satisfying career.

I retired from competition a couple of years ago and needed a new focus in my life to keep me fit. So I started running for fun. I once read a sign that said “age doesn’t make you inactive – inactivity makes you age”.  I wasn’t going to let myself age. I was going to keep active. I did some research, lots of thinking, and welcomed two young huskies into my home. They now ensure I get up and out every single day.

I run canicross. My huskies and I all have appropriate harnesses on and are linked by a bungee cord. My huskies ‘line out’ in front of me, and we’re away. Every day we go out running anywhere from two to a maximum recently of thirty miles. It keeps me fit, healthy, and satisfies the huskies’ genetic need to run. I run for my life and health – I also run to give the huskies a good life. A happy husky is a tired husky.

I am also a hypnotherapist (clinical hypnotist) and though hypnosis is how I met Adam Eason. We were both booked to give talks at the prestigious School of Medicine at Kings College London on particular uses of hypnosis. I was presenting on the use of hypnosis for sports performance, and Adam was presenting on self-hypnosis.

I had networked with Adam for a couple of years before we met. I already knew that he is very well respected amongst all of my leading peers, is arguably the best hypnotherapy trainer in the UK, a world renowned expert when it comes to self-hypnosis, a published author, an exceptional speaker, and has a brilliant depth of knowledge in respect to hypnosis – both the science and the application. To be honest, he and I are both geeks. Always learning, testing, developing and thinking. This will be to your advantage as you read this book.

When we finally met in person I also discovered he was indeed a thoroughly nice man too, amiable, and very giving in time, attention and knowledge.

Adam is also a marathon runner and a fast one.  Combine this with being possibly the world’s leading expert on self-hypnosis, and there is no better person available to present you with the knowledge in this book.

My legs were wobbling and cramping at the same time – in fact, it was the cramping that was probably stopping me from falling over, providing some stability. I had braced against the huskies, holding them back with leg strength as we dropped 300m in elevation before driving upwards once more for another 400m. Now my legs were telling me they’d had enough. And I’d only done 13 miles at this stage.

As I wobbled onto the ridge of the mountains the sleet drove horizontally in my face. The wonderful view had disappeared with the arrival of the weather-front, bringing with it cloud that covered the mountainside. I stumbled as my foot broke through ice into a knee deep bog. The huskies drove forward. I put one foot in front of the other. I smiled. “Just one more step, just one more step” I repeated in my mind, focusing on just what I needed to do. I kept my legs turning. My body started to relax, my form improved, the cramping and wobbling eased, and my pace picked up. And my smile grew larger.

I have been a very successful sportsman. I’ve also completed events such as the Red Bull 24hr Mountain Bike Race and the London Marathon. I know what is needed to be the best. As a successful sportsman I state that performance relies 100% on the mind. Sure, your body conditioning and your technical ability are necessary – yet if your mind is not in the right place these will never be developed.

This book is aimed at runners and is unique in approach. It focuses on all the mental skills you need to be a great runner and helps you achieve them. I consider it the fast-track to running success and enjoyment. As you read this book you will learn how to fun faster, easier, more efficiently, run for longer distances, achieve your running goals, increase and maintain motivation – it will help you improve every area of your running. At the same time, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll learn to enjoy every step too.

As I approached Checkpoint 6, the 30mile point, I was in a great deal of pain. Pen Y Fan had nearly broken me physically. The 350m of near vertical ascent across slippery icy granite had been incredibly hard on already tired legs, yet was nothing compared to holding back the huskies on the descent the other side. Bracing against the huskies with tired legs conspired with a slippery slurry of mud on the slope to produce a good ten or so tumbles coming down the mountain.

I gave my number at the checkpoint and I understood that the race was about to get even harder. The difficult terrain, the surfaces under foot, finding my way was all about to be complicated by darkness. I put my head torch on and shuffled onwards. “Only 12 miles to go” I thought. “Excellent!”

When the draft of Adam’s book dropped through my door the timing couldn’t have been better. One week before my first ultra-marathon. I eagerly turned the pages and found it a compelling read. It completely captured my attention, as I’m sure it will yours. The information and knowledge, and the application of it, is first class. Being a fast reader I read it three times in as many days. I checked the contents, studied the steps, researched the reference material, and became a vastly better runner – just through the knowledge from the book alone.

Then the real magic happened. I started to put into practice the steps in the book. I practiced dropping myself in and out of self-hypnosis using Adam’s methods. It was easy to achieve. I just followed his clear steps. From here I started to work through the book, one step at a time, carrying out all the self-hypnosis applications he lists. My final loosening run, two days before my race, was one of my best runs ever. It just ‘happened’ that way. I didn’t need to consciously think, I was just in a perfect state of ‘flow’.

The night before my Ultra-marathon I slept in my truck in a small village nestled amongst the Brecon Beacons. The huskies snuggled in against my sleeping bag to keep me warm and I dropped into self-hypnosis one last time. I mentally rehearsed every part of the run. I went through the pre-race preparation, the terrain, and how I would easily get through every worst case situation I could think of. I mentally planned for every eventuality. I rehearsed my physical state throughout the race. I rehearsed my mental state, ensuring that I always maintained a smile especially for the tougher sections. I was not stepping into the unknown. I had made it known.

The final approach to the race HQ was heart-warming. A huge grin appeared on my face. “Hike on!” I commanded the huskies and they gave a final surge forward. My legs drove onwards to keep up. The only word I can use to describe the final sprint is ‘awesome’! All the runners and support crew who had completed the race to this point were out on the finish line, out in the cold, clapping, cheering and giving support, having left their warm meals and hot drinks inside, all to bring me home.

“Easy!” I commanded and we slowed as we crossed the line, laughing, the other runners instantly making a fuss of the huskies. They didn’t even appear tired. Yet, at that moment, I didn’t appear to be either. I was elated. I had finished the Brecon Beacons Ultra-Marathon – 42 miles of the toughest terrain and the greatest distance I had ever run. I am now an ‘Ultra-Runner’.

I am an Ultra-Runner. I love the sound of that. I feel even better about it when I consider the terrain that I had covered. The Brecon Beacons are used for UK 22 Regiment SAS training for a good reason – the environment is tough! I ran 42 miles across these mountains. This is the type of event where if your mind is not right you would not finish. Luckily, thanks to carefully preparing and using the guidance of this book, I not only finished, I enjoyed every single step along the way – as could you by applying the knowledge in this amazing book.

Gary Turner

World Champion Sportsman, Hypnotherapist, and now Ultra-runner too

Author of the book “No Worries

– My most heartfelt thanks to Gary for this. I have expressed my thanks and admiration for all Gary does in the book.