Social Movement Fancy a nice run with the SAS? Go tabbing
Why the military exercise of tabbing
is proving popular on civvy street
DITCHING YOUR running shoes for leather boots and hoisting a 20kg pack on your back to march over mountains might not be everyone’s idea of a fun weekend. But for some people, ‘tabbing’ is proving irresistible.
The word ‘tab’ stands for ‘tactical advance to battle’ and is a core skill in the Special Forces and other elite military units, such as the Royal Marine Commandos. It requires the individual to self-navigate long distances over arduous terrain while carrying survival equipment – hence the heavy backpacks.
This gruelling form of exercise is now being embraced by a growing number of civilians. Over 1,500 eager tabbers currently share their love for the sport via a Facebook group called ‘Gone Tabbing’. There are more and more events, too, such as the Fan Dance, which is run by ex-SAS officers and takes participants through the 24km test march over Pen Y Fan – the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons.
‘It hasn’t got the razzmatazz that you’d find at a marathon,’ says Steve O’Connor, who hosts the tabbing podcast series The Allycast. ‘I arrived late to the start of the Fan Dance last year and was shouted at and made to do press-ups before I set off. So it has that military ethos, but it is fun, too, with lots of camaraderie.’
When O’Connor began entering the events, only a few others would turn up, mostly ex-military. The Fan Dance now welcomes up to 4,000 people a year, spread across two weekends in both January and July, and tabbing events have become popular among men and women of all abilities.
Angela Copeland is just one of the many women to have thrown herself into tabbing and fallen in love with it. Despite getting lost during her first race and thinking she ‘was going to die’, she has quickly risen through the ranks of the tabbing world and is now a regular at some of its biggest events.
‘They [the SAS veterans] are quite gruff and scary to begin with, but that’s their style of training and when you get to know them, they are incredibly down-to-earth, humble people,’ she says. ‘They have such good training, so to be able to rub shoulders with them and take part in these events, and learn from their training, is just great.’
The ex-Virgin Airlines cabin crew member is testament to the sport’s growing inclusiveness. ‘I had red painted nails and lipstick for 20 years,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t be more opposite to a military, tomboy kind of girl, I’m not that kind of person. But I fit in so well; everyone is so welcoming.’