A little about me
Hi guys - thank you so much for visiting the website. This is the section in which I try to explain some of the method behind the madness of this challenge!
I started rowing on the water when I was 15 years old and fell in love with the sport almost instantly. Learning to row off Portsmouth in the Solent was a pretty scruffy affair because of the choppy water but it was also utterly exhilarating - crossing the shipping lane and causing an Isle of Wight bound hovercraft to rapidly alter course was one high point...coming 12th in a racing category of 7 boats due to an administration error was a particularly low one!
In spite of our tendency to struggle against some excellent crews in the regattas I was tremendously proud to captain the school team throughout sixth form and, whilst studying drama at Exeter University continued rowing in the senior VIII's and IV's boat. However, at 5ft 10" and 11 stone I was the shortest and lightest in the crew by some way and whilst I loved every minute of training and rowing with the guys I always found the sprint work on the rowing machines exceptionally tough going compared to the big chaps in the crew.
Unfortunately I've never really had a frame designed for speed but I've always been a decent plodder and tried to think of ways I could put that to use. As such throughout our final year at university my best friend Jim (the powerhouse of the pairing) and I ( the "twiglet"!) found ourselves rowing different town centres across the south to raise money for a number of terrific charities.
Jim was sensible and got an excellent job after his degree - I decided instead to train as an actor in London and consign myself to part-time leafleting jobs.
The Basingstoke years
After moving to Basingstoke I started to complete more and more solo rowathons, and began to dream up daft challenges that I could attempt, challenges that perhaps no one else had attempted before. I started calculating the distances between certain land marks - thinking that I could perhaps row the virtual distance of the Great Wall of China for a few hours a day in town and raise money for a good cause.
To add an extra bit of excitement I spontaneously decided to call Guinness World Records to see if a record could be set - they were very polite but said such an unusual distance was unlikely to be recognised as a world record. I thanked them and put the phone down only to call back straight away and ask if a category could be opened to row around the earth's equator.
To this day I can't recollect why I asked but I'm so pleased I did - Guinness Publishing opened a new category to row around the world on a land rowing machine. I decided that my work as a jobbing actor would fit in and around the five days a week that I need to complete the challenge.
Rowing Preparation
I spent the next four months running and rowing in a desperate bid to try and get fit for the challenge. Six weeks before the start of the row I ran the London Marathon in full firefighter kit to see if I could push it a little harder. It was a wonderful day but the heavy duty boots ripped my feet to shreds and took two toe nails clean off. Sore and blistered, the remaining training for the row became a bit tricky but by the time I started I convinced myself all would be okay.
At the end of the first week, having rowed for six hours every day, I'd been completely rumbled - I felt physically terrible and, worst of all, I seriously doubted my mental strength to even get through the following week. I started the second week feeling tired and stupid, angry with myself for being so arrogant and not preparing properly - it was a big uphill struggle and I knew I wouldn't get through it on my own.
