To live without dreams is to live without joy. We all have dreams, hopes, and goals that spark inside the brain. Like a wax candle, they burn strong and bright initially, reaching and striving for oxygen, but as time goes on, the fire can begin to flicker as the fuel slows down, and other elements sway the balance of chemistry.
Holding onto dreams, and keeping that fire burning is something to be celebrated. Yet, in an increasingly fast-paced world, our lives can be shaped and dictated to us by the views of society. As we age, our bodies – aches, pains, and all – and the subtle mental scarring from past endeavors where we felt we didn’t reach our best can dampen our spirits to act out our dreams.
Rab Wardell is striving, fighting, and living his life full of fire and joy. His dreams are still bright, and at 36 his desire to compete at the highest level, and be the best athlete he can be, is a chance for all of us to analyze if we should ever be “old enough to know better.”
This is it. Starting back with his West Highland Way FKT, Rab has now been on an 18-month journey. What started as an idea, and went through various iterations of a fragile dream, has now become a very lucid reality. Rab will take to the start the line in Plymouth, on a course steeped in UK cycling folklore, against the best the nation has to offer. As the pressure mounts, it’s important to remember that this is a choice, and no matter the outcome, Rab is slowly proving to himself, and others, that dreams, in all their unfiltered chaos, are there to be chased.