It all comes down to a shortage of dragons. There simply aren’t enough of them in modern life. So people run mountain marathons, jump out of aeroplanes, find things that go terribly fast, cling on to cliffs by their fingertips or creep to the bottom of the Earth in caves.

People say “you must be mad” while those who are mad enough to do these things say “we must be sane”. But when people talk about a death wish those that take part in risk activities get truly baffled. Where’s the fun in being dead?

Me, I’ve mostly done it on horses. I’ve never felt so intensely alive as during cross-country events, bum in the air, teeth in the mane, a series of terrifying (well, they terrified me) obstacles in front and you and your horse out to conquer them.

There are a thousand ways of seeking this kind of delight, with skates and skis and wings and your own two feet. Whatever sphere of activities you explore, you will always find some prepared to push things that little bit farther. There are always people who are that little bit madder, that little bit saner.

Competition can be a part of it, but a comparatively small one. You don’t do these things to be better than other people – doing it at all is glory enough. It is no pious thing to say that taking part is more important than winning: it is the literal truth.

I remember a parachutist trying to tell me that jumping out of aircraft was not about death. It’s about the exact opposite. It’s about a vivid joy and impossible intensity. It’s about realising “how green the bloody grass is”, as he put it, with a gesture to show how pitifully inadequate these words were. And don’t think that risk sports are an attempt to mimic the effects of drugs. Rather, drugs mimic the effects of an all-consuming task fizzing with the Tabasco of risk.

I’m not going to praise stupidity. I’m all for proper precautions: fell runners carry the right kit, I always ride in a hard hat, people doing hang-gliding make preflight checks. Doing mad stuff and waiting for others to pick up the pieces is not praiseworthy.

Life without risk, life without stretching yourself, is pretty dull fare. Our current century is full of safe options and people to blame for everything that goes wrong. Is it surprising that so many people take the decision to leave that world for a while? Seek to slay a dragon or two? Some people think it’s got something to do with a death wish. It’s not. Life wish, more like.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Phoebe Caldwell wins Times/Sternberg Award
• Raging against fake pop has its own pitfalls
• How a voice for everyone led to stalemate