THE BACKPAGE PODCAST: MARK POLLOCK

Mark Pollock is no ordinary inspirational figure. In 1998 at the age of 22, he went suddenly blind. Mark dealt with this life changing moment by becoming an adventure athlete, competing in ultra-endurance races across deserts, mountains, and the polar ice caps including becoming the first blind person to race to the South Pole. He also won medals for rowing at the Commonwealth Games and became a now world famous motivational speaker.

In 2010, however, Mark was dealt another devastating blow when he fell from a second storey window and was nearly killed. Mark broke his back and the damage to his spinal cord left him paralysed. Since then, Mark has been on a new expedition to find a cure for paralysis in our lifetime.

To help achieve this goal and deal with the ongoing impact of his catastrophic spinal cord injury, Mark set up the incredible global running series called Run in the Dark 10 years ago. Run In The Dark is a mass running event that takes place simultaneously in cities all round the world: from Dublin to London to Belfast to Sydney.

This year, because of Covid-19, Run In The Dark will be going virtual. As darkness sweeps around the globe on 18 November, 25,000 people worldwide will get up from their living rooms, slip on their red flashing armbands and put on their running shoes to complete a 5k or 10k. Running separately while connecting socially across 7 continents, this global movement will light up the night as people hit the road to Run in the Dark for the Mark Pollock Trust. All to enable Mark to pursue his personal mission to find a cure for paralysis.

On this episode of The BackPage podcast, Mark joins Andrew Nixon and Jonny Madill and talks about the incredible RITD journey and how it’s become a truly global brand, and the challenges this year of trying to run an international event virtually.

Mark also opens up about his inspirational journey and experiences in overcoming the sort of adversity that most of us can only begin to imagine. He talks about his mind-boggling achievements as an adventurist and explorer, most notably becoming the first blind person to race to the South Pole, which became the subject of a famous book by Ben Fogle and James Cracknell who competed in the event that same year. The other 8 competing teams had sight; Mark did it without that essential sense, in unimaginable conditions for 43 days and 43 nights across the world’s most brutal terrain.

Mark also talks about the subject of Stoicism and the teachings of Stoic philosophy, a mindset that has served him so well. As a speaker, Mark is best known for his 2018 TED Talk; it’s called “A love letter to realism in a time of grief” and is delivered jointly with his fiancée, Simone George. It has over 1.7 million views and counting, and has inspired people in hundreds of organisations around the world. Mark is also the subject of the acclaimed documentaries ‘Blind Man Walking’ and ‘Unbreakable’.

To have Mark share his story on The BackPage has been a true honour and inspiration. It makes us all reflect on what is truly possible – in sport, and in business – when we put our minds to it.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Mark’s inspirational 2018 Ted Talk (“A love letter to realism in a time of grief”) can also be watched here.