Sport & Fitness

A mad dash across Marble Arch roundabout or dodging drunken yobs in Soho on a Saturday night may be the closest some of us get to an adrenalin rush in the capital. But many Londoners, together with a growing number of thrill-seekers around the world, are looking for more wholesome ways to get their pulses racing.

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It’s a common misconception that aficionados of ‘adrenalin’ or ‘extreme’ sports are lunatics who harbour a death wish. Of course, there’s no denying the inherent element of danger in, say, dangling off a cliff or riding a double overhead wave, but talk to any climber, surfer, skateboarder or traceur (someone who practises parkour) and it becomes clear that these are people who want to live life to the full, not end it prematurely. No sane person runs before they walk in these sports – which means mastering the basics and conditioning yourself both mentally and physically before attempting the more daring feats.

The one cliché that is true, though, is that adrenalin sports are addictive. The rush of completing your first climb or the sense of achievement you feel at the end of an adventure race is indescribable. In fact, you might even find yourself getting a little spiritual about the whole experience.

‘Roaring down the face of a wave is a feeling unlike any other,’ says Ben Farwagi, founder of the London Surf Club. ‘It’s something I’ve come to live for – and it continues to be a thrill after 15 years. It’s better than any drug, and a lot healthier.’ To the uninitiated, such rigorous activities may sound exhausting, but in fact, they can be revitalising – an antidote to stressful, office-bound urban life, whether practised in the city or outside it.

‘Going surfing at the weekend may entail a few hours in the car, but you see amazing countryside and have adventures,’ says Farwagi. ‘And when you get back to work on Monday, while most of your colleagues have spent Saturday and Sunday recovering from their hangovers and just slouching around, you’re healthily exhausted and beaming with life.’

Another likely reason for the rising popularity of adrenalin activities is the sense of community they bring. Far from entering closed cliques, you’ll find yourself engaged with a crew of welcoming and supportive athletes of all levels. This could be why women are showing more enthusiasm for sports that were once male-dominated. Girls-only surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding holidays have taken off over the past few years (Girlie Camps, www.girliecamps.com, does all three), a glossy surf-chick magazine, Cooler, was launched in summer 2005, and last September the first-ever all-female parkour event took place in London.Whatever personal limits – mental or physical – you want to explore, there is likely to be a sport that presents the type of challenge you’re looking for. Here, we’ve listed a selection of the most popular heart-pounding pursuits.

Urban thrills
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